Languages, Dialects, Varieties & Models of English Flashcards
lingua franca
OED: Any language that is used by speakers of different languages as a common medium of communication; a common language.
Status of English Around the World - ENL
- English as a native language
- Speakers who are born into it in countries where English is traditionally the first language to be
spoken → UK, US, etc.
Status of English Around the World - ESL
- English as a second language
- L2 speakers for whom E. has an important country-internal function
- spoken in many former British colonies → India, etc. → often, English is part of bi-/multilingual repertoire EFL / EIL / ELF - English as a foreign, international language
Status of English Around the World - EFL / EIL / ELF
- English as a foreign, international language, lingua franca
- English used as medium for international communication, in science, business & media
- No strong country-internal function
- Proficiency among speakers varies greatly → Germany, etc.
Language
a collection of mutually comprehensible dialects
Dialects
= subdivisions of a particular language
- Mutual intelligibility is not always a valid criterion
Language Variety
- useful term because it avoids controversy, has a neutral connotation:
- can be used to apply to any particular kind of language
- can be used at a number of levels: geographical & social
Streven’s Map of World Englishes (1980)
- separated all English varieties into having either British or American
standards as their root
pro: Visual representation where English is spoken as Native Language
con: Too general; no historical background; British and American really as “roots”?
Kachru’s Three Circles (1992)
- the diffusion of English is captured in terms of 3 Concentric Circles:
- Inner Circle: “traditional bases of English”, regions where E. is primary lge
- Outer Circle: E. arrived with exploitation colonization, important role in education, legislation, media, often (co-) official lge
- Expanding Circle: presence of E. more recent, linked to status as international lingua franca
Kachru’s Three Circles (1992) - Pro & Con
Pro: outer/expanding circles are inclusive/leave room for development
Con: reductionist; no sociolinguistic background; strict boundaries
Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007)
- shows how language evolves as a process and how certain linguistic features emerge
Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007) - 1. Foundation
- British settlers arrive
- English is introduced to a “new” territory for the first time
- Settlers still consider themselves part of their original nation
- Identity of indigenous people remains unchanged
Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007) - 2. Exonormative Stabilisation
- English is used for administrative purposes
- Borrowings from local lges begin to enter English
- settlers’ identity begins to distinguish itself from the original nation
- identities of those indigenous who are in contact with the settlers also starts to change, bilingualism is common
Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007) - 3. Nativization
- settlers and their offspring are inhabitants of the “new” territory
- their cultural link to GB has substantially weakened
- Grammatical structure and accent of English might be altered to fit local sociocultural frame
- indigenous population is significantly influenced
Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007) - 4. Endonormative Stabilization
- Settlers and indigenous people see themselves as one nation
- Features of the new variety (grammar, vocabulary, accent etc.) become stable and internally codified
