The British Empire is dead. Many of the organs that made Britain great are but shadows of their former selves. But one thing still remains, wielding the same influence over the world that it did during Britain’s glory days. Even today, the sun hasn’t set on the English language.

The English language has some legal or official status, or is heavily influential, in a total of 115 countries. The magazine Language Today lists it as the most influential language in the world. Yet in Britain, the birthplace of the English language and some of its greatest orators, few bother to preserve, or even teach, Britain’s most-used legacy, and its last great institution. In Britain, a whole segment of society is simply unable to communicate effectively. This exposes something very wrong within its society.

A decadent language is no mere academic problem: It is both a symptom and a cause of a decadent society.

“Dere was somefing minging in de State of Denmark which was making ‘Amlet all uncool,” begins a translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, based on today’s “street” English. “Verona was de turf of de feuding Montagues and de Capulet families,” begins the modern-day Romeo and Juliet. “And coz they was always brawling and stuff, de prince of Verona told them to cool it or else they was gonna get well mashed if they carried on larging it with each other.”

Anyone who’s been in England for any length of time is bound to recognize this type of speech immediately. Not only is it spoken throughout the major cities, it’s also on TV, and it saturates schools.

Teachers noted this trend in 2007, when the biggest phrases making their way from the TV to the classroom were “Wha’ever” and “Am I bovvered?”—two idioms that are the catchphrases of the new generation.

It’s one thing to learn this language from television, but now students are even being taught this type of language in schools.

Last month, an article about a nativity play performed at a school in England appeared in the British press. Most eye-catching about the story, aside from the sheer irreverence of the play’s script, was the language used in the play. In this case, teachers actually taught the children to get up on stage, and talk with this “street” lingo. Instead of trying to educate the children, fix their grammar and prepare them to take on a role as productive members of society, teachers actually condoned the abuse of English.

No wonder standards of literacy are sinking so low in Britain! Those responsible for teaching the proper use of the English language have largely turned their backs on it. Schools for the most part no longer bother trying to teach children how to spell correctly. University professors are finding that many of their students cannot communicate effectively at all. “Spelling and punctuation is only part of the problem,” said university professor Tony Marcel. “Their vocabulary is poor and mistaken; they have little idea of syntax, cannot punctuate and seem to have no idea of what constitutes a sentence.”

British sociologist Theodore Dalrymple, is an article titled “The Gift of Language,” expressed his shock and disgust at how many in Britain lack basic communication skills. Referring to the time when he was a medical practitioner, he observed (emphasis mine throughout):

For the most part … I was struck not by the verbal felicity and invention of my patients and those around them but by their inability to express themselves with anything like facility: and this after 11 years of compulsory education, or (more accurately) attendance at school.

Telegraph.co.uk reports that “thousands of children leave school too innumerate and illiterate to hold down a job.” It’s only logical that illiteracy and the inability to communicate would be linked to unemployment.

But this is about far more than just being able to speak and write well enough to get a job. In his landmark essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell drew the connection between language and thought. Our language, he writes, “becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” Poor-quality communication is a product of poor-quality thinking. We are what we think! Fuzzy thoughts lead to unclear writing. If we cannot speak clearly, we cannot think clearly.

The Bible teaches the same principle. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus Christ tells us, “[O]ut of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The inability of a person to speak properly reveals a weak, undisciplined heart and mind. The mouth that spouts nonsense springs from a confused and muddled mind.

Orwell made another point along these lines in his book 1984. There he painted the picture of a totalitarian government that restricts the language of its people so much that they cannot even think about being free—the word freedom no longer exists in their vocabulary. The same principle applies today with the improper use of the English language. How can young people become responsible members of society if they don’t understand what a responsible member of society is?

How can a people with a confused, muddled and garbled language hope to have a clear sense of national identity?

A common adage states that if you cannot define something, then you do not understand it. If you cannot say it in words, then it is not clear in your mind.

What does this say about all those who would not be able to explain what democracy is, or what freedom is? All that many such people are capable of doing is repeating prepackaged phrases like “no blood for oil” or “Bush lied, people died,” without ever understanding any of the issues behind them.

The point is: Language shapes thought, and thought shapes language.

If a person cannot articulate his or her thoughts, that person is not truly free. America’s Founding Fathers understood that principle. “An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic,” said Thomas Jefferson. “Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens.”

Healthy societies are comprised of quality, effective thinkers. And quality thought, Orwell said, is a function related to clear, effective communication.

A person doesn’t need to have read the works of Locke or Hobbs to function in a democracy. But a person does need to be able to articulate what his or her basic rights and responsibilities are. If citizens cannot do that, then they cannot ensure their rights or do their duty.

Britain’s language problem is not just about an annoying way of talking, or even Britain’s economy being destroyed as companies seek a better-educated workforce elsewhere. It is about the destruction of Britain’s core. Men were once proud to be British. Now, so many do not even know what it means. Some few may still believe Britain to be a place of chivalry and old-fashioned virtue. Ask the average young person in Britain what chivalry and old-fashioned virtue mean, and he will have no idea.

As Jefferson warned, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Today’s muddled language is a result of a muddled purpose and a lack of national will. It exposes a deep rot, right at the heart of British society.

There is cause and effect. There was a cause for Britain’s glory days of empire. Likewise, its current decline and decadence also have a cause. To learn why Britain has declined from empire to third-rate power, read our book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.