English in the World
History, diversity, change
Introduction + Chapter 1
English in the World Today
by Philip Seargeant
General Introduction
• English first emerged when a group of Germanic tribes,
now referred to as the Anglo-Saxons (including Angles,
Saxons, Jutes, the Frisians), arrived in Britain. These tribes had
their ‘indigenous’ dialects. This happened around 450 A.D.
• Only about 500 years later, did the name English come to
be give to the language (around 890 A.D.)
• In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles written around 1150 A.D.,
there is reference to five languages that were spoken in
Britain at the time: English, Brito-Welsh, Scottish, Pictish
and Latin.
• “So …English was just one language among several; it was
a language without a particular strong identity and with
no special status”(Seargeant 1).
General Introduction
• One and a half millennia after (1500 years after = around
the year 2000), English has the status of a global language.
• “The book takes at its starting point the global existence
of the English language” (2). Questions to be answered in
the book are:
 how & why has English become global
 What have bee the consequences of this global spread
 The way English is used and perceived around the world.
• First 4 chapters cover the historical story of English
• Second half (Chapters 5,6&7) consider s the forms that
English takes, how it is used as a means of expression, and
how it relates to issues of both personal and cultural
identity (3,4)
English in the world today
• Michael Toolan suggested that the English
used today as an international language is so
culturally removed from the traditional
national language of England that it should
not be called ‘English’.
• It does not reflect the identity of the
language.
English in the world today
• The linguist Braj Kachru said ‘English now has
multicultural identities … the term “English”
does not capture the sociolinguistic reality’ of
the language’.
• Kachru suggested the term “Englishes”
instead.
English in the world today
• So whether a renaming is proposed or
not, the ‘multicultural identities’ of
English are emphasized by both the
above linguists and many others
English in the world today
1. What counts as English today?
• Do speaking skills only count, or should
writing be included in the evaluation of who
speaks English?
• At what point do we say that people are
speaking different varieties of the language
as opposed to different languages?
• Definitions pages 7-8
English in the world today
1. What counts as English today?
So the definitions in the book are most of all social
definitions and are not directly related to the
structure of the language for example.
The number estimations of 1500 and 2000million
(1.5 to 2 billion) speaks of English may raise more
questions that give answers.
English in the world today
So is there a central version of the language
which we should think of as authentic
English?
Or are each of the varieties equally valid
systems of linguistic expression which
happen to be different?
So far many terms have been introduced and
can be used to discuss the issues at hand:
English in the world today
Language
Variety: is the general term and is used to
refer to any distinct form of a language.
Dialect: language variety in which aspects
of the vocabulary and grammar
indicate the personal's regional or
social background.
Accent: the differences in pronunciation
p.13
English in the world today
English has developed through history.
See Activity 1.3 pp. 12-17 to check out different excerpts from different stages and observe variations
and similarities / (historical development).
Old English:
þ
different characters such as Ž (yogh) for y ; ∂ (eth) for th (as in ‘the’) ; (thorn) for th as in thin;
æ (ash) for a as in ∂ æt
different spelling of many words (lyuynge instead of living) with y instead i and u instead of v
obsolete vocabulary words (feller meaning crueller/more ruthless in Mod. Eng.) p.15
change in meaning of some words ( næddre (now adder) has become specialized type of
serpeht, while it used to mean serpent in general) p.16
Middle English: qu is first used instead of cw (queen instead of cwene)
Early Modern English: change in meaning of some words (wife has become specialized to female
spouse, while it used to mean ‘woman’ in general) p.17
Modern English:
Change and development have happened in terms of: (p.17)
Lexis:
Orthography:
Semantics:
Syntax:
-
English in the world today
English through History:
One reason for the change that has happened over
English over the centuries is that, since its very
beginnings, English has always been in contact
with other languages. Language has changed in
terms of Lexis ( vocabulary) orthography
(spelling), semantics ( meaning) and syntax
(word order).
The influence from this contact can be most seen in
terms of loanwords.
English in the world today
• Loanword or borrowing is used to refer to an
item of vocabulary from one language which has
been adopted into the vocabulary of another.
The process is usually a result of language
contact, where two or more languages exist in
close geographical or social proximity. The
dominant language usually absorbs new items
of vocabulary, either to cover concepts for which
it has no specific word of its own, or to generate
a slightly different function or nuance for
concepts for which it does have existing words.
English in the world today
Who speaks English?
The answer to this question needs to be addressed
away from the statistics and numbers and with
more focus on the attitudes and the political
views of the people towards English itself, and
its speakers, as well as motivations for learning
that language, mainly as a means of access to
global economy. See examples in Activity 1.4,
Activity 1.5, Activity 1.6 pp. 20-26;
English in the world today
How do we model the spread of English?
There is a first distinction that is often made
between the English that is spoken by:
native speakers as opposed to non-native
speakers.
Native means “natus” in Latin, which is “to be
born”
English in the world today
• native speakers have also been called
mother tongue speakers of English.
• People growing up in bilingual or multilingual
environments might learn more than one
language from birth, and may have more than
one mother tongue. A native speaker is
someone who has learned a particular language
– in this case English – since early childhood.
English in the world today
In this same respect we speak of teaching English. We can talk about:
English as a native language or as a non-native language that has
as much to do with the biography of the speaker as with the nature of
the language itself.
Another distinction used is between
English as a Second Language (ESL)
and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) .
The difference being that in case of English as a Second Language, there is
an official or legal status for English in the country it is spoken.
[People who speak English as a Foreign language, such as in Japan, are
not expecting to use it as part of their everyday life but a useful tool
should they travel abroad or want to learn about the cultures of Englishspeaking nations.](p.28)
English in the world today
Since the emergence of English as a ‘preeminent language of international communication’ it
is beginning to be seen less as a foreign language and
more as an international language. It is used in
Japan, for example, not simply to communicate with,
or learn about, people from the UK or the USA, but to
allow communication with people from a wide range
of places. And therefore, the term English as an
International Language (EIL) is more helpful or
accurate in the ‘conceptualization’ of how English is
used today.
English in the world today
English now is the world’s lingua franca – the
language that “operates as a means of
communication for people across the globe
who do not share a mother tongue and yet,
given the globalized society in which we now
live, have the need to interact” (Seargeant 29).
English in the world today
The Three Circles of English
NL, non-NL, MT, ESL, EFL, EIL can
describe and identify how people use the
English language, but they do not describe
how English spread around the globe or
explain the dynamics of this spread or the
nature of the distribution of English.
English in the world today
Many models have been suggested for describing
the dynamics of the spread of English and the
nature of its distribution, but the most efficient
and influential has been that suggested by the
linguist Braj Kachru known as :The Three Circles of English.
The Inner Circle
The Outer Circle
The Expanding Circle
English in the world today
China, Japan,
Finland, Norway,
Kuwait
Bangladesh,
Ghana, India,
Kenya, Malasia
The Inner
Circle
UK, USA, New
Zealand, Canada,
Australia
The Outer Circle
The Expanding Circle
English in the world today
EFL- EIL
Norm Dependent
ESL
Norm Developing
Inner Circle
NL-MT
Norm Providers
Outer Circle
Expanding Circle
English in the world today
The Inner Circle refers to the traditional
culture and linguistic bases of English.
In the inner circle countries, English is the mothertongue, the native language, such as in England, or
where English replaced the indigenous languages
and has become ‘firmly embedded as the majority
language’ such as in the USA, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand.
Kachru calls these countries the “norm-providing”
in that English there operates as the model for the
type of English taught around the world.
The Outer Circle represents the institutionalized nonnative varieties (ESL), in the regions that have
passed through extended periods of colonization…
In these countries, English has not displaced the
indigenous languages, but instead was used
alongside them for certain specific roles. English is
not the first language of the majority, but is rather
an additional language used in institutional contexts
such as bureaucracy and education. Examples of
these countries are Kenya and India.
(Kachru, 1992, qtd in Seargent 30-1).
See Table 1.1 p. 32
English in the world today
The Expanding Circle includes the
regions where the performance varieties of
the language are used essentially in EFL
contexts (i.e. varieties that lack official
status and are typically restricted in their
use.
(Kachru, 1992, qtd in Seargent 30-2).
English in the world today
The strength of Kachru’s model is that it
allows for speaking of several world
Englishes rather than a single, monolithic
entity.
-The model has helped focus on non-native
varieties and legitimize them as valid
linguistic systems
English in the world today
BUT the model has its limitations :.
•
It deals with language only at the level of the
nation state. .. Varieties is a limited notion.
Sometimes people mix phrases from English
with native or other languages they speak.
•
Some countries do not fit neatly within the
scheme (Canada, New Zealand)
•
The model doesn’t take into account
countries that are in shifting status from EFL
into EIL ; e.g. Scandinavian countries.
English in the world today
• See the opinions of both Kachru , Pennycook,
Qurik & others about dialects, Englishes and
their validity ( pp.32-4).
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1. Pre- English
Period
1. Early Old English
-c. AD 450
1. Later Old English
c. 850 - 1100
1. Middle English
c. 1100- 1450
1. Early Modern
English
1. Modern English
c. 1450- 1750
1. Late Modern
c. 1950 -
450- c 850
c. 1750- 1950
Britain retreats from empire. New standardized
varieties of English merge into newly
independent countries. English becomes
international language of communications
technology.
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1. Pre- English
Period
1. Early Old
English
-c. AD 450
1. Later Old
English
1. Middle English
c. 850 - 1100
1. Early Modern
English
1. Modern English
c. 1450- 1750
1. Late Modern
c. 1950 -
450- c 850
c. 1100- 1450
c. 1750- 1950
Anglo-Saxon invasion c. AD 499 after the Romans have
withdrawn in 410. Settlers bring their Germanic dialects
from Mainland Europe. First English literature appears in
c. AD700 . English borrows many words from Latin via
church.
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1. Pre- English
Period
1. Early Old
English
1. Later Old
English
-c. AD 450
1. Middle
English
1. Early Modern
English
1. Modern
English
1. Late Modern
c. 11001450
c. 14501750
c. 17501950
c. 1950 -
450- c 850
c. 850 - 1100 Extensive invasion and settlement from Scandinavia. In
the north of England dialects of English become
strongly influenced by Scandinavian language.
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1. Pre- English Period
-c. AD 450
1. Early Old English
450- c 850
1. Later Old English
c. 850 - 1100
1. Middle English
c. 1100- 1450
1. Early Modern
English
1. Modern English
c. 1450- 1750
1. Late Modern
c. 1950 -
c. 1750- 1950
Norman conquest and the Norman rule.
English vocabulary and spelling affected by
French, which becomes the official language
in England. Educated English people
trilingual ( French, Latin, English) Chaucer.
England becomes to become recognized as a
political entity within Britain.
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1.
1.
1.
1.
1.
1.
1.
Pre- English
Period
Early Old
English
Later Old
English
Middle
English
Early
Modern
English
-c. AD 450
Modern
English
Late Modern
c. 1750- 1950
450- c 850
c. 850 - 1100
c. 1100- 1450
c. 1450- 1750
c. 1950 -
Includes the Renaissance, the Elizabethan era and Shakespeare. The role
of the church, of Latin and French declines and English becomes a
language of science and government. Britain grows commercially and
acquires overseas colonies. English taken to Americas Australia and
India. Slave trade carries African people speaking different African
languages to Caribbean and America , giving rise to English creoles.
English acquires typographic identity with the rise of printing. Many
attempts to standardize and fix the language with dictionaries and
grammars. Union of England and Scotland ( 1707).
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1. Pre- English Period
-c. AD 450
1. Early Old English
450- c 850
1. Later Old English
c. 850 - 1100
1. Middle English
c. 1100- 1450
1. Early Modern
English
1. Modern English
c. 1450- 1750
1. Late Modern
c. 1950 -
c. 1750- 1950
Britain experiences industrial revolution and
consolidates imperial power, introducing
English medium education in many parts of
the world. English becomes the international
language of advertising and consumerism.
English through history:
The seven stages of English
1. Pre- English
Period
-c. AD 450
2. Early Old
English
3. Later Old
English
4. Middle English
450- c 850
c. 850 - 1100
c. 1100- 1450
5. Early Modern
c. 1450- 1750
English
6. Modern English c. 1750- 1950
7. Late Modern
c. 1950 -
The local language is Celtic and the inhabitants are Celts or
Britons. After the 55AD Roman invasion the dominant
language is Latin of culture and government.
the languages are Celtic and Latin.