global english Flashcards
What is Sapir’s Whorf Hypothesis and criticisms ?
States that language controls the way we think.
Language and thoughts are interdependent. Each of the two influence each other. Theory argues that the language we learn determines the way we view the world. Therefore, people who learn different language view the world differently.
CRITICISMS - 1. Language is more flexible than this suggests
2. Not having the language doesnt mean we cant understand the concepts
3. Language change happens - if language was determining our thoughts, we’d never habe new ideas
What is a diaspora ?
a spreading of a language
How did English develop ?
Until the 19th Century, there were only 2 L1 (first language speaking) varieties of English. 2 Diasporas.
- FIRST DIASPORA - migration to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
- L1 varieties of English = ‘new Englishes’
- SECOND DIASPORA - colonisations of Asia and Africa
- L2 varieties of English = ‘new Englishes’
What happened in the 20th century ?
- In the 20th century, L2 developed quickly due to independence from Britain and the emergence of the US as a power.
- EFL varieties of English begin to develop due to general processes of globalization and development
What is ESL, EFL and ENL ?
ESL = English second language (live, integrate)
EFL = English foreign language (interest, academic)
ENL = English Native language
David Crystal “language becomes a global language because of…”
“Language becomes a global language because of the power of the people who speak it”
French in English FACTS ?
- 30% of English language come from French words
- They share 40% of the same vocab
- e.g. ‘baguette’ , ‘eclair’ , ‘hotel’ , ‘cafe’
- began to enter English in the 11th century
China in English FACTS ?
- 1300 words originated from China
- Ramen, Kung Fu, brainwash
- Late 16th century
German in English FACTS ?
- English belongs to the Germanic language family
- strongly linked with Germany
- e.g. mother, father, water, pretzel, kindergarten
Russian in English FACTS ?
- 400-500 words
- e.g. mammoth, vodka
Spanish in English FACTS ?
- 2000 -3000 words
- e.g. patio, taco, fiesta, poncho
Japanese in English FACTS ?
- 16th century
- 900+ words
- e.g. emoji, origami, doju, zen
how can we classify the english language when its from everywhere?
What is a Lingua Franca ?
A common language
What is Kachru’s three circles method of classification (1992) ?
Stated that the roles of English in the world as 3 concentric circles ; The Inner Circle, The outer circle and the expanding circle
What is the Inner Circle ?
- refers to English when it originally took shape
- the total number of English speakers in The Inner Circle is as high as 380 million
- english is the native language of most from these countries
e.g. USA, UK
What is The Outer Circle ?
- was produced by the second diaspora
- in these regions, English is not the native tongue but serves as a useful lingua franca between ethnic and language groups
- ‘forced’ english speaking
e.g. India, Ghana
What is The Expanding Circle ?
- regions in which English plays no historical role, but is still used as a medium
- difficult to estimate
Advantages and disadvantages of Kachrus circle model ?
Advantages - makes sense historically
- it makes English plural
- doesnt suggest that a variety is better
- ‘english now has multicultural identities’
Disadvantages - 1992 ; before internet
- doesnt address the diversity of English
- ‘inner’ and ‘outer’
- simplistic
What is McArthur’s circle of English (1987) ?
- more equal
- ‘world english’
- for everyone
- no standard
- inclusive
- more factual than historical
- ‘family of languages’
What is Strevens World Map of English ?
- sees British and American English as two separate entities and shows that every derivation of English since that is connected to one or the other
- old
- like a family tree
- gives us power
What is The Dynamic Model by Schneider ?
- FOUNDATION - The intro to English in a new territory over a few weeks. Two linguistic processes are operative at this stage, (a.) language contact between English and indigenous languages. (b.) contact between different dialects of English of the settlers which eventually results in a new stable dialect.
- EXONORMATIVE STABILIZATION - Now, the settlers stabilize politically under British rule and speakers look to England for their formal norms. Local vocab grows.
- NATIVISATION - The indigenous form has stabilised and neologisms stabilize as English is made to adapt to local cultural practices
- ENDONORMATIVE STABILIZATION - By this time, they can’t break apart in a sense of nationhood independent of britain. Interlinked.
- DIFFERENTIATION - Next generation are not defined by power but on regional, social and ethnic lines.
What percentage speak RP ?
2%
Jay Walker TED TALK - ‘The world english mania’
- 2 billion people in the world trying to learn English world wide
- In China, it’s the law to learn English, most are English speakers
- 25% of grade based on English
- Common language to solve common problems
Jennifer Jenkins (2006) - English as a lingua franca ELF theory
- It is used by speakers of different languages allowing them to communicate.
- ELF is used as a functional communication tool and so, blending in is not seen as significant
- ELF may include innovations that might characterise local varieties of English as well as ‘correct’ English
- Linguistic accommodations and code-switching are seen as useful strategies in ELF. ELF forms depend on the specific communication context rather than being an ‘all purpose English’.
- The language of proficient ELF users tend to be used for transactional purpose
Robert Phillipson (1992) ?
Argued that the spread of English as a global language disadvantages other languages, causing them to lose prestige or to die out.
Nicholas Ostler?
States that as American and British power declines around the world, English will lose its power.
Suzanne Talhouk - ‘dont kill you language’ speech
- “I’m denied the right to speak my own language in my own country”
- If you want to kill a nation, kill its language
- killing a language, kills an identity
- to appear modern and civilised
- The Arabic language adapts and satisfies todays needs
- We shouldnt allow anyone to have authority over us when it comes to language
Geographical language?
- concerned with describing the linguistic characteristics of new and emerging varieties of Englishes, wildly different geographical locations
what is the ‘friends’ effect?
foreigners use friends to learn American English
Matthew Engal?
“Nowadays, people have no idea where American ends and English begins. And that’s a disaster for our national self-esteem. We are in danger of subordinating our language to someone else’s - and woth it large aspects of British life”
- tries to position the reader to feel fear that we are losing our nationality
- semantic field - ‘danger’ and the idea of loss
- hes a journalist so has an influence on the public but he’s not an expert
- prescriptivist
