World Englishes
Numa Markee
UIUC
NELTA Conference
Kathmandu, 19 February 2010
Overview of the talk (1)
• A historical overview of the evolution of the
notion of standard varieties of English
• World Englishes (WE)
• The geographical, ideological, and
sociocultural contexts of WE
Overview of the talk (2)
• Implications of WE for Second Language
Acquisition (SLA) research
• Implications of WE for English Language
Teaching (ELT)
• Implications of WE for Nepalese applied
linguists and ELT teachers
Standard Varieties
• The notion of World Englishes is rooted in the
fact that, over several centuries, a number of
different L1 standard varieties have emerged:
– British English (Received Pronunciation)
– American English (General American)
– Canadian English
– Australian and New Zealand English
– South African English
World Englishes
• World Englishes (or New Englishes) are forms
of L2 English that have developed or are
developing into standard varieties since World
War II:
– In former (mainly British) colonies
• Indian, Nigerian, Singaporean, Philipino Englishes (ESL)
– In countries which never experienced colonization
but which have a need for English as the de facto
lingua franca of science, technology, business, etc.
• Nepal, Japan, Korea, China, Russia, European Union
(EFL)
A summary (1)
• Until the 19th century, there were only two L1
standard varieties of English:
– British/American English
• In the first half of the 20th century, other L1
standard varieties developed as ties with
Britain gradually loosened
– Australian, New Zealand, South African English
A summary (2)
• In the second half of the 20th century onwards, L2, ESL
varieties of English developed rather quickly as a result
of independence from Britain and the emergence of
the US as a political, economic and cultural super
power
– Indian, African Englishes
• During approximately the same time period, L2 EFL
varieties of English began to develop as a result of
general processes of development and globalization
– Chinese, Euro Englishes
• Kachru (1988) calls these sites of standard varieties the
Inner Circle (L1), the Outer Circle (ESL), and the
Expanding Circle (EFL) , respectively
The geographical, ideological, and
sociocultural contexts of WE (1)
• The field of WE is concerned with describing
the linguistic characteristics of new and
emerging varieties of English in widely
different geographical locations
– Discourse/Pragmatics
– Grammar
– Lexis
– Phonology
– (Spelling)
The geographical, ideological, and
sociocultural contexts of WE (2)
• It is also concerned with the ideological
dimensions of the spread of this language
– Linguicism (= linguistic and cultural racism)
– “Killer” English
– Quality/Mutual intelligibility
– The privileged position of the Native Speaker (NS)
• NS: A monolingual construct?
• See also the role of the NS in SLA research
The geographical, ideological, and
sociocultural contexts of WE (3)
• (Educational) Language planning issues
– English as a tool of modernity, development,
inter/intranational communication, globalization,
cultural (in)authenticity, youth culture, etc
– The status of English in multilingual and multiethnic communities and educational systems
• Official language?
• Medium of Instruction? At which level(s) of education?
The geographical, ideological, and
sociocultural contexts of WE (4)
• And it is also concerned with how English has
become nativized (= adapted to new social,
and cultural ecologies)
– The creative ability of L2 (ESL) varieties of English
to express new national, cultural, and personal
identities and concerns
– The emergence of new L2 literatures and forms of
entertainment
• Novels, short stories, Bollywood films
Implications of WE for Second
Language Acquisition (SLA) research
• The main problem concerning the potential
interface between WE research and SLA research
is that very little SLA research has been carried
out in L2 (ESL or EFL) contexts
• WE is primarily a sociolinguistic discipline, while
mainstream SLA is primarily a cognitive discipline
• Empirical SLA research in WE contexts is
desperately needed to enrich our knowledge of
language learning processes and products
Implications of WE for English
Language Teaching (ELT) (1)
• The roles of NS and NNS teachers in WE contexts
– NS teachers tend to have high prestige and credibility
(at least, in EFL contexts)
– NS teachers may (or may not) be trained in applied
linguistics and/or in ELT
– Even when they do have AL/ELT training, the language
varieties, technologies, methodologies and textbooks
NS teachers bring with them may (or may not) be
locally appropriate
– NS teachers tend to be expensive to hire and maintain
Implications of WE for English
Language Teaching (ELT) (2)
• NNS teachers tend to have lower prestige and
credibility than NS teachers (at least, in EFL
contexts)
• NNS teachers’ personal communication skills,
even in a local variety of English, may be
limited, encouraging an excessive focus on
teaching the formal aspects of grammar and
vocabulary, and a de facto concentration on
rote reading and (perhaps) writing skills
Implications of WE for English
Language Teaching (ELT) (3)
• On the other hand, NNS speakers are much more
likely to have some training in ELT than NS
teachers
• NNS speakers understand local expectations of
what constitutes “good” or “appropriate” ELT
practice
• NNS teachers − particularly those who are well
trained and have good communication skills in
English − are cheaper to hire and to maintain
than NS teachers
Implications of WE for English
Language Teaching (ELT) (4)
• The selection of an appropriate L2 variety and
appropriate texts (both written and spoken) as
sources of instructional input and language
assessment takes on particular significance in
educational language planning at all
educational levels
Implications of WE for Nepalese
applied linguists and ELT teachers (1)
• In the complex linguistic, geographical,
ideological, and sociocultural ecology that
characterizes WE, Nepal is in perhaps a
uniquely difficult position
• Geographically, it is a small, under-developed
country which is sandwiched between the
world’s largest emerging economic super
powers of the 21st century, India and China,
respectively
Implications of WE for Nepalese
applied linguists and ELT teachers (2)
• Linguistically, Nepal is an Expanding Circle
country, as is China
• On the other hand, India is the largest and most
established country in the Outer Circle
• With respect to standard variety selection:
– Is there an identifiable Nepalese variety of English?
– If so, should it therefore automatically become the
target variety used in English instruction in Nepal?
• Consider the costs of producing textbooks in this variety;
might it not be cheaper to continue importing textbooks
from India, thereby accepting Indian English as the de facto
variety?
Implications of WE for Nepalese
applied linguists and ELT teachers (3)
• Nepal is in the process of developing a new
constitution
– Nepalese applied linguists and ELT teachers should
take a leading role in framing the discussion of
language issues that is bound to ensue
– In particular, what (quasi) official role (if any)
should English play in relation to indigenous
Nepalese languages, and in particular sectors of
the economy?
• Education
• Science
• Business (e.g., tourism)
Implications of WE for Nepalese
applied linguists and ELT teachers (4)
• Should Nepal explicitly formulate a national
policy regarding the use of English as a medium
of instruction at different levels of education, or
just leave it to the market to make these
decisions?
• What steps should Nepal take to encourage and
enable Nepalese citizens to learn English in an
increasingly globalizing world?
• What steps should Nepal take to maintain its
linguistic and cultural heritage from the potential
“killer” characteristics of English?
Thanks!
Any Questions?