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WIKIMAG n. 9 - Agosto 2013
International English
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International English is the concept of the
English language as a global means of communication in numerous
dialects, and also the movement towards an international standard for
the language. It is also referred to as Global English, World
English, Common English, Continental English,
General English, Engas (English as associate language), or
Globish.[1]
Sometimes, these terms refer simply to the array of varieties of English
spoken throughout the world.
Sometimes, "international English" and the related terms above refer
to a desired standardisation, i.e.
Standard English; however, there is no consensus on the path to this
goal. There have been many proposals for making International English
more accessible to people from different nationalities.
Basic English is an example, but it failed to make progress. More
recently, there have been proposals for
English as a lingua franca (ELF). It has also been argued that
International English is held back by its traditional spelling. There
has been slow progress in adopting alternate spellings.
Historical context
The modern concept of International English does not exist in
isolation, but is the product of centuries of development of the
English language.
The
English language evolved in
England,
from a set of
West Germanic dialects spoken by the
Angles
and Saxons,
who arrived from continental Europe in the 5th century. Those dialects
came to be known as Englisc (literally "Anglish"), the language
today referred to as Anglo-Saxon or
Old English (the language of the poem
Beowulf).
English is thus more closely related to
West Frisian than to any other modern language, although less than a
quarter of the vocabulary of
Modern English is shared with West Frisian or other
West Germanic languages because of extensive borrowings from
Norse,
Norman,
Latin, and other languages. It was during the
Viking invasions of the Anglo-Saxon period that Old English was
influenced by contact with
Norse, a group of
North Germanic dialects spoken by the
Vikings,
who came to control a large region in the North of England known as the
Danelaw.
Vocabulary items entering English from Norse (including the pronouns
they, and them) are thus attributable to the
on-again-off-again Viking occupation of Northern England during the
centuries prior to the
Norman Conquest (see, e.g.,
Canute the Great). Soon after the
Norman Conquest of 1066, the Englisc language ceased being a
literary language (see, e.g.,
Ormulum)
and was replaced by
Anglo-Norman as the written language of England. During the Norman
Period, English absorbed a significant component of French vocabulary
(approximately one-third of the vocabulary of
Modern English). With this new vocabulary, additional vocabulary
borrowed from Latin (with Greek, another approximately one-third of
Modern English vocabulary, though some borrowings from Latin and
Greek date from later periods), a simplified grammar, and use of the
orthographic conventions of French instead of Old English orthography,
the language became
Middle English (the language of
Chaucer). The "difficulty" of English as a written language thus
began in the
High Middle Ages, when French orthographic conventions were used to
spell a language whose original, more suitable orthography had been
forgotten after centuries of nonuse. During the late medieval period,
King
Henry V of England (lived 1387-1422) ordered the use of the English
of his day in proceedings before him and before the government
bureaucracies. That led to the development of
Chancery English, a standardised form used in the government
bureaucracy. (The use of so-called
Law
French in English courts continued through the Renaissance,
however.)
The emergence of English as a language of
Wales
results from the incorporation of Wales into England and also dates from
approximately this time period. Soon afterward, the development of
printing by
Caxton and others accelerated the development of a standardised form
of English. Following
a change in vowel pronunciation that marks the transition of English
from the medieval to the Renaissance period, the language of the
Chancery and Caxton became
Early Modern English (the language of
Shakespeare's day) and with relatively moderate changes eventually
developed into the English language of today.
Scots, as spoken in the lowlands and along the east coast of
Scotland, developed independently from Modern English and is based on
the Northern dialects of Anglo-Saxon, particularly
Northumbrian, which also serve as the basis of Northern English
dialects such as those of
Yorkshire and
Newcastle
upon Tyne. Northumbria was within the Danelaw and therefore
experienced greater influence from Norse than did the Southern dialects.
As the political influence of London grew, the
Chancery version of the language developed into a written standard
across
Great Britain, further progressing in the modern period as
Scotland became united with England as a result of the
Acts of Union of 1707.
There have been two introductions of English to
Ireland,
a medieval introduction that led to the development of the now-extinct
Yola dialect and a modern introduction in which
Hibernian English largely replaced
Irish as the most widely spoken language during the 19th century,
following the
Act of Union of 1800.
Received Pronunciation (RP) is generally viewed as a 19th-century
development and is not reflected in
North American English dialects, which are based on 18th-century
English.
The establishment of the first permanent English-speaking colony in
North America in 1607 was a major step towards the
globalisation of the language.
British English was only partially standardised when the American
colonies were established. Isolated from each other by the Atlantic
Ocean, the dialects in England and the colonies began evolving
independently.
The
settlement of Australia in 1788 brought the English language to
Oceania. By the 19th century, the standardisation of
British English was more settled than it had been in the previous
century, and this relatively well-established English was brought to
Africa,
Asia and
New Zealand. It developed both as the language of English-speaking
settlers from Britain and Ireland, and as the administrative language
imposed on speakers of other languages in the various parts of the
British Empire. The first form can be seen in
New Zealand English, and the latter in
Indian English. In
Europe,
English received a more central role particularly since 1919, when the
Treaty of Versailles was composed not only in
French, the common language of diplomacy at the time, but, under
special request from American president Woodrow Wilson, also in English
- a major milestone in the globalisation of English.
The English-speaking regions of
Canada
and the
Caribbean are caught between historical connections with the UK and
the Commonwealth, and geographical and economic connections with the
U.S. In some things, and more formally, they tend to follow British
standards, whereas in others, especially commercial, they follow the
U.S. standard.
English
as a global language
Braj Kachru divides the use of English into three concentric
circles.
The inner circle is the traditional base of English and
includes countries such as the
United Kingdom and
Ireland and the anglophone populations of the former British
colonies of the
United States,
Australia,
New Zealand,
South Africa,
Canada,
and various islands of the
Caribbean,
Indian Ocean and
Pacific Ocean.
In the outer circle are those countries where English has
official or historical importance ("special significance"). This
includes most of the countries of the
Commonwealth of Nations (the former British Empire), including
populous countries such as
India,
Pakistan and
Nigeria;
and others, such as the
Philippines, under the sphere of influence of English-speaking
countries. Here English may serve as a useful
lingua franca between ethnic and language groups.
Higher education, the legislature and judiciary, national commerce,
and so on, may all be carried out predominantly in English.
The expanding circle refers to those countries where English
has no official role, but is nonetheless important for certain
functions, notably international business. By the twenty-first century,
the number of non-native English speakers has come to significantly
outnumber the number of native speakers by a factor of three, according
to the British Council.[2]
Darius Degher, a professor at
Malmö University in
Sweden,
uses the term decentered English to describe this shift, along
with attendant changes in what is considered to be important to English
users and learners.
Research on English as a lingua franca in the sense of "English in
the Expanding Circle" is comparatively recent. Linguists who have been
active in this field are Jennifer Jenkins, Barbara Seidlhofer,
Christiane Meierkord and
Joachim Grzega.
English as a lingua franca in foreign language teaching
English as an additional language (EAL) is usually based on the
standards of either American English or British English as well as
incorporating foreign terms. English as an international language (EIL)
is EAL with emphasis on learning different major dialect forms; in
particular, it aims to equip students with the linguistic tools to
communicate internationally.[citation
needed]
Roger Nunn considers different types of competence in relation to
the teaching of English as an International Language, arguing that
linguistic competence has yet to be adequately addressed in recent
considerations of EIL.[3]
Several models of "simplified English" have been suggested for
teaching English as a foreign language:
Furthermore,
Randolph Quirk and Gabriele Stein thought about a Nuclear English,
which, however, has never been fully developed.
With reference to the term "Globish", Robert McCrum has used this to
mean "English as global language". Jean-Paul Nerriere uses it for a
constructed language.
Varying concepts
Universality and flexibility
International English sometimes refers to English as it is actually
being used and developed in the world; as a language owned not just by
native speakers, but by all those who come to use it.
Basically, it covers the English language at large, often (but
not always or necessarily) implicitly seen as standard. It is
certainly also commonly used in connection with the acquisition,
use, and study of English as the world's lingua franca ('TEIL:
Teaching English as an International Language'), and especially when
the language is considered as a whole in contrast with British
English, American English, South African English,
and the like. — McArthur (2002, p. 444–445)
It especially means English words and phrases generally understood
throughout the English-speaking world as opposed to localisms. The
importance of non-native English language skills can be recognised
behind the long-standing joke that the international language of science
and technology is broken English.
Neutrality
International English reaches towards cultural neutrality. This has a
practical use:
"What could be better than a type of English that saves you from
having to re-edit publications for individual regional markets!
Teachers and learners of English as a second language also find it
an attractive idea — both often concerned that their English should
be neutral, without American or British or Canadian or Australian
coloring. Any regional variety of English has a set of political,
social and cultural connotations attached to it, even the so-called
'standard' forms." — Peters (2004, International English)
According to this viewpoint, International English is a concept of
English that minimises the aspects defined by either the colonial
imperialism of
Victorian Britain or the
cultural imperialism of the 20th century
United States. While British
colonialism laid the foundation for English over much of the world,
International English is a product of an emerging world culture, very
much attributable to the influence of the United States as well, but
conceptually based on a far greater degree of cross-talk and linguistic
transculturation, which tends to mitigate both U.S. influence and
British colonial influence.
The development of International English often centres on
academic and
scientific communities, where formal English usage is prevalent, and
creative use of the language is at a minimum. This formal International
English allows entry into
Western culture as a whole and Western cultural
values in general.
Opposition
The continued growth of the English language itself is seen by many[who?]
as a kind of
cultural imperialism, whether it is English in one form or English
in two slightly different forms.
Robert Phillipson argues against the possibility of such neutrality
in his Linguistic Imperialism (1992).[clarification
needed] Learners who wish to use purportedly
correct English are in fact faced with the dual standard of American
English and British English, and other less known standard Englishes
(including Australian, Scottish and Canadian).
Edward Trimnell, author of Why You Need a Foreign Language & How
to Learn One (2005) argues that the international version of English
is only adequate for communicating basic ideas. For complex discussions
and business/technical situations, English is not an adequate
communication tool for non-native speakers of the language. Trimnell
also asserts that native English-speakers have become "dependent on the
language skills of others" by placing their faith in international
English.
Appropriation
theory
There are also some who reject both linguistic imperialism and
David Crystal's theory of the neutrality of English. They argue that
the phenomenon of the global spread of English is better understood in
the framework of
appropriation (e.g. Spichtinger 2000), that is, English used for
local purposes around the world. Demonstrators in non-English speaking
countries often use signs in English to convey their demands to
TV-audiences around the globe, for instance.
In English-language teaching Bobda shows how
Cameroon has moved away from a mono-cultural, Anglo-centered way of
teaching English and has gradually appropriated teaching material to a
Cameroonian context. Non Western-topics treated are, for instance, the
rule of Emirs, traditional medicine or polygamy (1997:225). Kramsch and
Sullivan (1996) describe how Western methodology and textbooks have been
appropriated to suit local
Vietnamese culture. The
Pakistani textbook "Primary Stage English" includes lessons such as
"Pakistan My Country", "Our Flag", or "Our Great Leader" (Malik 1993:
5,6,7) which might well sound jingoistic to Western ears. Within the
native culture, however, establishing a connection between English
Language Teaching (ELT), patriotism and Muslim faith is seen as one of
the aims of ELT, as the chairman of the Punjab Textbook Board openly
states: "The board ... takes care, through these books to inoculate in
the students a love of the Islamic values and awareness to guard the
ideological frontiers of your [the students] home lands" (Punjab Text
Book Board 1997).
Many Englishes
There are many difficult choices that have to be made if there is to
be further standardisation of English in the future. These include the
choice over whether to adopt a current standard, or move towards a more
neutral, but artificial one. A true International English might supplant
both current American and British English as a variety of English for
international communication, leaving these as local dialects, or would
rise from a merger of General American and standard British English with
admixture of other varieties of English and would generally replace all
these varieties of English.
We may, in due course, all need to be in control of two standard
Englishes—the one which gives us our national and local identity,
and the other which puts us in touch with the rest of the human
race. In effect, we may all need to become bilingual in our own
language. — David Crystal (1988: p. 265)
This is the situation long faced by many users of English who possess
a "non-standard" dialect of English as their birth tongue but have also
learned to write (and perhaps also speak) a more standard dialect. Many
academics often publish material in journals requiring different
varieties of English and change style and spellings as necessary without
great difficulty.
As far as spelling is concerned, the differences between American and
British usage became noticeable due to the first influential
lexicographers (dictionary writers) on each side of the Atlantic.
Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 greatly favoured
Norman-influenced spellings such as centre and colour; on
the other hand,
Noah Webster's first guide to American spelling, published in 1783,
preferred spellings like center and the Latinate color.
The difference in strategy and philosophy of Johnson and Webster are
largely responsible for the main division in English spelling that
exists today. However, these differences are extremely minor. Spelling
is but a small part of the differences between
dialects of English, and may not even reflect dialect differences at
all (except in phonetically spelled dialogue). International English
refers to much more than an agreed spelling pattern.
Dual standard
Two approaches to International English are the individualistic and
inclusive approach and the new dialect approach.
The individualistic approach gives control to individual authors to
write and spell as they wish (within purported standard conventions) and
to accept the validity of differences. The Longman Grammar of Spoken
and Written English, published in 1999, is a descriptive study of
both American and British English in which each chapter follows
individual spelling conventions according to the preference of the main
editor of that chapter.
The new dialect approach appears in The Cambridge Guide to English
Usage (Peters, 2004) which attempts to avoid any language bias and
accordingly uses an idiosyncratic international spelling system of mixed
American and British forms (but tending to prefer the American English
spellings).
See also
Notes
References
- Acar, A. (2006). "Models,
Norms and Goals for English as an International Language
Pedagogy and Task Based Language Teaching and Learning.",
The Asian EFL Journal, Volume 8. Issue 3, Article 9.
- Albu, Rodica (2005). "Using English(es). Introduction to the
Study of Present-day English Varieties & Terminological
Glossary", 3rd edition. Iasi: Demiurg.
ISBN 973-7603-07-9
- Biber, Douglas; Johansson, Stig; Leech, Geoffrey; Conrad,
Susan; Finnegan, Edward (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and
Written English. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education.
ISBN 0-582-23725-4.
- Bobda, Augustin Simo (1997) "Sociocultural Constraints in
EFL Teaching in Cameroon." In: Pütz, Martin (ed.) The cultural
Context in Foreign Language Teaching. Frankfurt a.M.: Lang.
221-240.
-
Crystal, David (1988). The English Language. London:
Penguin.
ISBN 0-14-013532-4.
- ————— (1997).
English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
ISBN 0-521-59247-X.
-
Erling, Elizabeth J. (2000). "International/Global/World
English: Is a Consensus Possible?", Postgraduate Conference
Proceedings, The University of Edinburgh, Department of Applied
Linguistics. (Postscript.)
- Grzega, Joachim (2005),
"Reflection on Concepts of English for Europe: British English,
American English, Euro-English, Global English",
Journal for EuroLinguistiX 2: 44-64
- Grzega, Joachim (2005),
“Towards Global English via Basic Global English (BGE):
Socioeconomic and Pedagogic Ideas for a European and Global
Language (with Didactic Examples for Native Speakers of German),
Journal for EuroLinguistiX 2: 65-164. (For Basic
Global English see also the press releases accessible at the
Basic Global English website)
- House, Juliane (2002), “Pragmatic Competence in Lingua
Franca English”, in: Knapp, Karlfried / Meierkord, Christiane
(eds.), Lingua Franca Communication, 245-267, Frankfurt
(Main): Peter Lang.
- Jenkins, Jennifer (2003), World Englishes, London:
Routledge.
- Kachru, Braj (1985), "Standards, Codification and
Sociolinguistic Realism", in: Quirk, Randolph (ed.), English
in the World, 11-34, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kachru, Braj (1986). The Alchemy of English: The Spread,
Functions, and Models of Non-native Englishes. Chicago:
University of Illinois Press.
ISBN 0-252-06172-1.
- Klaire Kramsch and Patricia Sullivan (1996) "Appropriate
Pedagogy". ELT Journal 50/3 199-212.
- Malik, S.A. Primary Stage English (1993). Lahore: Tario
Brothers.
- McArthur, T. (Oxford, 1992) "The Oxford Companion to the
English Language," Oxford University Press,
ISBN 0-19-214183-X
- ————— (2001). "World English and World Englishes: Trends,
tensions, varieties, and standards", Language Teaching
Vol. 34, issue 1. Available in PDF format at
Cambridge: Language Teaching: Sample article and
Learning and Teacher Support Centre: McArthur.
- ————— (2002). Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-866248-3 hardback,
ISBN 0-19-860771-7 paperback.
- Meierkord, Christiane (1996), Englisch als Medium der
interkulturellen Kommunikation: Untersuchungen zum
non-native/non-native-speakers-Diskurs, Frankfurt (Main)
etc.: Lang.
- Nerrière, Jean-Paul and Hon, David (2009), Globish The
World Over,IGI,Paris.
ISBN 978-0-578-02879-8
- Nerrière in Globish (Video)[1]
- Ogden, Charles K. (1934), The System of Basic English,
New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co.
- Paredes, Xoán M. and da Silva Mendes, S. (2002).
"The Geography of Languages: a strictly geopolitical issue? The
case of 'international English'", Chimera 17:104-112,
University College Cork, Ireland (PDF)
- Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-62181-X.
- Phillipson, Robert (1992). Linguistic Imperialism.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-437146-8.
- Quirk, Randolph (1981), “International Communication and the
Concept of Nuclear English”, in: Smith, Larry E. (ed.),
English for Cross-Cultural Communication, 151-165, London:
Macmillan.
- Seidlhofer, Barbara (2004), “Research Perspectives on
Teaching English as a Lingua Franca”, Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics 24: 209-239.
-
Spichtinger, David (2000). "The Spread of English and its
Appropriation." Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des Magistergrades
der Philosophie eingereicht an der Geisteswissenschaftlichen
Fakultät der Universität Wien. (PDF.) Retrieved June 6,
2007.
- Sharifian, Farzad (ed.)(2009). English as an International
Language: Perspectives and pedagogical issues. Bristol, UK:
Multilingual Matters.
- Stein, Gabriele (1979), “Nuclear English: Reflections on the
Structure of Its Vocabulary”, Poetica (Tokyo) 10: 64-76.
- van Ek, J.A. / Alexander, L.G. (1980), Threshold Level
English, Oxford: Pergamon.
- Templer, Bill (2005),
“Towards a People’s English: Back to BASIC in EIL”,
Humanising Language Teaching September 2005.
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