world englishes Flashcards
1
Q
What is MLE?
A
MLE stands for Multicultural London English
- mix of London English, west Indian, west Africa + Bangladeshi influences
2
Q
What was Trudgill’s theory on world Englishes?
A
Trudgill: “Standard English is a dialect”
- differs from other dialects, has greater prestige
- doesn’t have an associated accent
- doesn’t form part of a geographical continuum
- purely a social dialect
3
Q
What is meant by a ‘Pidgin’?
A
- it’s a mixture of multiple languages where there’s no shared language or lingua franca
- e.g Chinese Pidgin English
4
Q
What is meant by ‘Neosemy’?
A
- the process by which an existing word develops a new meaning
5
Q
In what two senses, is English a global language?
A
- lexicon is derived from languages all over the world
- used by a billion speakers over the world
6
Q
What is the theory of Monogenesis?
A
- derived from Portuguese pidgin; used in the world’s trade routes during the 15th and 16th century
evidence for theory:
- many linguistic similarities between present-day Portuguese pidgins and creoles
7
Q
Why do people around the world want to speak English?
A
- personal advantage
- communication
- job opportunities
- lingua franca
- more desirable + expensive
- fashionable
- making something seem more authoritative
