Why We Will Stop Saying 'Will'

Linguist Mikael Parkvall addresses a common observation about the evolving use of Swedish future tense constructions. Reader RvB notes that many Swedes are omitting the word 'att' in the phrase 'kommer att' when expressing future actions, a change that 'greatly irritates him.' Parkvall acknowledges the observation's validity, stating that while scientific analysis should avoid aesthetic judgments, the phenomenon is indeed more prevalent now than in the past.

Parkvall explains this linguistic shift through the concept of 'grammaticalization.' This is a natural process where words or phrases gradually evolve in form and function over time. In this specific case, the omission of 'att' in 'kommer att' is presented not as an error, but as a consequence of this ongoing linguistic evolution. He suggests that without this process, our ancestors might have sounded quite different, perhaps akin to the alien E.T., implying a more stilted or less natural mode of speech.

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Perhaps we would have sounded like E.T. if our ancestors had not engaged in grammaticalization.

The article frames this change as a natural progression in language development. While some listeners might find the shortened form jarring, Parkvall implies that such changes are inevitable and reflect how languages adapt and simplify over time. The piece encourages an understanding of linguistic change as a dynamic and continuous process, rather than a deviation from a fixed norm.

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Now, people always think that things they dislike are spreading like wildfire, but sometimes it is true, and the omission of that 'att':et is probably more common now than before.