Introduction to Linguistics 12
The Future of English
Prof. Jo Lewkowicz
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Languages of the world
• The number of languages used around the
world at present is around 4,000.
• Exact number of languages cannot be
determined as some languages ‘die’ while
others ‘are born’.
• It is also difficult to determine exactly what
constitutes a language.
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How widely is English used?
• English is the 3rd most commonly used first language L1- (after Chinese & Hindi/Urdu)
• English is the most commonly learned second language
• At present the number of ESL/EFL speakers of English
surpasses that of NSs
• English is a lingua franca facilitating communication in
numerous situations around the world
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Language of academic publications
Language of business negotiations
Language of entertainment
Language of technology
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Users of English
• Over 360 million users of English
• Who are these users?
– Native speakers (UK, USA, Australia, etc)
– Speakers of English as a second / additional
language (e.g. in Asia, Africa & the Caribbean)
– Users of English as a foreign language (e.g.
Europe, South America, etc.)
• Do they /should they be using the same
language in order to communicate effectively?
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Is English the ‘world language’?
• There is disagreement among linguists whether
English is the dominant language of the world.
• Crystal argues that it is.
– Linguistic shift has determined that English is now used in
all walks of life.
– 50 years ago no one would have predicted the spread of
English to such an extent.
• Not all agree with Crystal, e.g. Barbara Wallraff who
has pointed out that the number of English speakers
in the U.S. is shrinking, not rising.
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Krachu’s concentric circles
Inner
circle: NSs
Outer
circle: EAL
Expanding
circle: EFL
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Whose English?
•
•
•
•
•
Does English belong to the British?
Does English belong to the Americans?
Does English belong to, Australinans/New Zealanders?
Need to recognise that language have no borders.
Need to accept that English is spreading not only in terms of
the number of speakers, but also in terms of being
incorporated into other languages?
• In the past, ‘foreign words’ were absorbed into English –
nowadays English words are being rapidly absorbed by other
languages.
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‘Foreign’ words
• Make a list of 10 words in English that
originate from other language such as
German, French or Latin.
• Now make a list of 10 words in Polish that are
of English origin.
• Do you think that the use of English words in
Polish is a good thing?
• Do you think that linguistic purity can/should
be maintained?
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Is the spread/dominance of English a
good thing?
• Spread of language is inevitable and cannot be stopped
(even though some governments may try to intervene
to preserve the purity of their language). Therefore
not useful to judge it in terms of being good or bad.
• Dominance of English is seen by some (e.g. Robert
Phillipson) as a form of imperialism, termed linguistic
imperialism (implying subjugation and exploitation).
– economically & politically stronger powers have
encouraged the spread of English to enhance their own
position in the world
– this is leading to the death of minority languages
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Language variation
• As languages spread, so does diversity, e.g. British and
American English
• Languages may diversify to such an extent that they are
no longer mutually intelligible among different
communities
• Diversification can lead to the development of:
– pidgins: hybrid languages used for communication
between people who do not share a common language
– creoles: a pidgin that has evolved into a language of its
own right – has become the L1 of a particular speech
community (e.g. Tok Pisin in New Guinea)
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Do NSs speak the same language?
• Within one country such as Britain there is linguistic
variation according to:
– Geographical location
– Education
– Class
• Across the world English varies in terms of:
– Pronunciation
– Vocabulary
– Spelling
• American English often seen as a fossilized version of
English
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Language death
• Currently 4,000 – 6,000 in use.
• Fewer than 300 of these spoken by one million
speakers (critical mass for a language to survive)
• Smaller languages are being ‘gobbled up’ by the
dominant languages, especially English?
• Suggestions are that about 3,000 languages will die
in the next 100 year
• Why should we be concerned about the
disappearance of the minority languages?
– Each time a language dies, so does a culture
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Future of English?
• Unknown
• Little evidence that its influence will diminish within
the next 50 years because it is the language of:
–
–
–
–
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Science
Technology
Business
Tourism
Entertainment
• But in a longer time scale the varieties of English that
emerge may become no longer intelligible, i.e.
undergo pidginization/creolization.
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