Eng506 Handouts (Lec 1-22)
Eng506 Handouts (Lec 1-22)
Eng506 Handouts (Lec 1-22)
(ENG506)
Lesson-01
The course gives an engaging overview of the development and concept of World Englishes. The
course discusses the role of English as a single global language all over the world and its advantages for
the world as well as the dangers for the minor languages. The course also describes various political,
social and historical contexts which led to the spread of English throughout the world and eventually
caused it to become a lingua franca.
World Englishes is a term coined by Braj Kachru (an Indian-American linguist) initially to refer
to the institutionalized varieties of English. Now the term refers to various varieties of English across the
world. The pluralization of World English in the title refers to the large number of varieties that English is
accrued as a result of its contact with sociolinguistic context. It means that English is no longer used by
native English speakers in native English speaking countries like America, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Now English is also used by non-native English speakers in non-native English speaking countries for
various professional, official and educational purposes. These countries include Pakistan, India, Sri
Lanka, Hong Kong, etc. These distinct varieties are grouped together under the heading of World
Englishes.
Globalization refers to a great number of things taking place in the world and their
interconnectedness. It is a process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and
governments of different nations. This interaction can take various forms, e.g. political cooperation
among countries with the hope that this kind of co-operation will help prevent disputes or in case of a
dispute will help resolve such disputes. Some examples are SAARC, European Union and NATO.
Another form that this interaction can take is through sharing of ideas and information. In today’s world
sharing of information takes place through social media and internet. This can also take place with the
help of TV programs, films and books.
Trade and exchange of resources greatly enhances this interaction. Countries like America sell
their finished products and technologies to countries which lack them. Similarly, developing countries sell
their natural resources to the developed countries which need them.
Globalization is not a new phenomenon. For thousands of years countries and later corporation have been
selling and buying things from far off lands. Similarly, for centuries, countries have been investing in
enterprises in foreign countries. It increased as result of technological development. Globalization has
also led to cultural exchange among different countries and this cultural exchange may lead to
harmonization of world cultures with the result that one day all the people of the world maybe eating the
same food, listening to the same music and speaking the same language.
There is an urgent need for global language but this need is not new. Linguistically mixed
communities have been communicating with each other for thousands of years. Communication in the
past was through translators and interpreters. Monarchs, kings and ambassadors met with each other in
the presence of interpreters. However, this kind of communication has its own problems. It was restricted
and incomplete information because intensity and mildness of feelings cannot be communicated through
translation. Having a common language (lingua franca) is the solution to this problem. Lingua franca can
be defined in the follow words:
A lingua franca is a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose
native languages are different.
Global lingua franca is comparatively a newer idea. It emerged in the twentieth century (in
particular since 1950s after World War II). There are two separate factors which are responsible for the
growth in contacts among countries:
Increased Interaction among countries at international forums. After 2nd world war, several
international organizations such as United Nations Organization (UNO), World Bank, World
Health Organization (WHO), The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
(UNICEF), were developed to bring countries closer and to resolve their disputes.
Increased contacts among countries because of technological developments, especially
advancement in communication technology and technology for transportation.
Need for a common language at international forums
UN has a membership of 190 countries at the moment. It started with five official languages but
there was a need to reduce the number of official languages in order to save the cost of translation and
interpretation. However, language choice is a sensitive issue as no country would like the official status of
its language to be changed or lowered at international levels. The solution is the voluntary use of a
common language as a working language. English has proved to be such a language due to the increase of
general competence in it or its popularity to be learnt as a foreign language.
Another need for a global language is on business and academic front. Collaboration among
scientists and scholars from different countries is possible only through a lingua franca, e.g. a scientist
from Sweden and a scientist from India want to work together on a research project, they will not be able
to do so without using a common language. Similarly, a common language provides a lot of facilitation in
international business. A businessman from Japan and a businessman from America cannot work together
on a business project unless they use a common language.
Topic-004: What Makes a Global Language?
In the following, some misunderstandings about the popularity of English have been provided.
Ease of learning
Few inflectional endings,
a word changes form in the end, e.g., adopt, adopted (V), word, words (Noun)
Gender neutral
English makes no distinction of gender in the use of nouns, verbs and adjectives.
Appealing properties of a language
Familiar vocabulary because thousands of words are borrowed from various languages.
Democratic nature of the language (English grammar does not distinguish between social classes)
Cosmopolitan (multicultural) character because of a large number of borrowed words
Now-a-days, along with politics and military power, economics is also the chief driving force behind
the world events. If the military power establishes a language in a region, it is the economic power
which spreads and maintains it.
The following question arises in the minds of the people about the global status of English:
Is the reversal of status of English possible? The answer is yes it is possible.
Possibility of change in the status of English
• A change in the existing balance of power
• An alternative method of communication
Change in the balance of power
• Political power
• Economic influence
Change in the balance of power
A large scale change in the current balance of power may lead to a change in the status of
English. A small change cannot reverse the status of English as the popularity and use of
English has spread to countess nations; therefore, its ownership belongs to many nations.
An alternative method of communication
• Using machine translations
• Making it possible to communicate in the first language
An alternative method of communication
• Global spread and economic accessibility of such a method
• Doesn’t pose a threat to the need of a global language
Lesson-02
Having a single global language for the whole world may have its advantages; e.g. it may facilitate
interaction among countries thus promoting trade and business among them. It may also open new
avenues for education, research and scholarship. A single global language may also contribute to
bringing countries closer by enabling them to share books, music and movies thus promoting peace and
harmony in the world. But we cannot overlook the fact that a global language also has its disadvantages.
It can unduly empower its native speakers as well as eliminate minor languages entirely from the face of
the world.
Due to the hegemonic presence of English, an elite monolingual class comes into existence which is
overly self-satisfied due to the fact that it has access to the global language and the people belonging to
this class look down upon other languages. Therefore a gap between social classes is created.
Users have an advantage over non-users of English in:
• Business
• Employment
• Academics
• Computers
• Entertainment
Unpopularity of other languages
• Lack of interest in learning other languages
• Reduced opportunities for learning other languages
One of the most important disadvantages of a single global language is the advantaged position of mother
tongue users as compared to the non-native users. As language as an instrument of action and power, the
mother tongue speakers of English get empowerment in professional fields such as
• Science and technology
• Business
• Academics
The solution to this problem is powerful bilingualism. To maintain powerful bilingualism, proper
attention should be paid to language teaching/ learning of the global language in educational contexts.
The global language should be introduced early in schools to improve students’ skills.
• Financial implications
Only those countries are able to achieve powerful bilingualism which are financially better off e.g.
Germany, Sweden, etc. This type of bilingualism is not available to the citizens of the developing
countries e.g. Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.
Linguistic Complacency means being satisfied with one’s language and lack of motivation for
learning other languages. The following factors in involved in linguistic complacency.
• Lack of money
• Lack of opportunity
• Lack of interest
A change of attitude is needed to save the minor languages from elimination.
• Breakaway from monolingual bias
• Sensitivity to business partner’s language
• Respect of other cultures
• Readiness for language learning
The phenomenon of language death is an occurrence throughout the history. There are 7, 099 languages
in the world these days out of which fifty percent are at risk.
The following international organizations have been formed for conservation of endangered languages.
• The International Clearing House for Endangered Languages, Tokyo
• The Foundation for Endangered Languages
• The Endangered Language Fund, USA
Language is a major means (some would say the chief means) of showing where we belong, and
of distinguishing one social group from another, and all over the world we can see evidence of
linguistic divergence rather than convergence. For decades, many people in the countries of
former Yugoslavia made use of a common language, Serbo-Croatian. But since the civil wars of
the early 1990s, the Serbs have referred to their language as Serbian, the Bosnians to theirs as
Bosnian, and the Croats to theirs as Croatian, with each community drawing attention to the
linguistic features which are distinctive. A similar situation exists in Scandinavia, where
Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are largely mutually intelligible, but are none the less
considered to be different languages.
Arguments about the need for national or cultural identity are often seen as being opposed to
those about the need for mutual intelligibility. But this is misleading. It is perfectly possible to
develop a situation in which intelligibility and identity happily co-exist. This situation is the
familiar one of bilingualism – but a bilingualism where one of the languages within a speaker is
the global language, providing access to the world community, and the other is a well-resourced
regional language, providing access to a local community.
Lesson-03
Origins of English
• Was spoken in the north-west corner of Europe
• Then called Teutish, or Teutsch, or Deutsch
• Brought to Britain by settlers like Jutes, Angles and Saxons in 449
Arrival of English in Britain
• An invading army or uncoordinated bands?
• Ruling minority or large group of settlers?
• Pushed the inhabitants of the island – the Britons – to the north and west (Scotland, Wales,
Cornwall and Ireland)
Arrival of English in Britain
• The settlers had more power and prestige e.g. Wealh = Britons, foreigners/slaves
• Germanic became the dominant language
• These groups were closely related in language and culture.
• The word Engle ‘the Angles’ was applied to all the settlers.
• The related adjective Englisc was applied to all these people and their language.
Spread of English over Britain
•The Jutes who came from Juteland (Jutland) settled in Kent
•The Saxons settled in the south and western parts of England.
Spread of English over Britain
•Essex: the kingdom of the East Saxons
•Wessex: the kingdom of the West Saxons
•Middlesex: the kingdom of the Middle Saxons
•Sussex: The kingdom of the South Saxons
Spread of English over Britain
•The Angles settled chiefly on the east coast.
•The kingdom of East Anglia was divided into the regions of the:
• North Folk (Norfolk)
• South Folk (Suffolk)
Settlement history
Expeditions to America
1584
•First expedition ending in failure
1607
• (Chesapeake Bay): First permanent settlement
Expeditions to America
1640
•Successful settlement
•Number of immigrants increased (twenty-five thousand more immigrants arrived)
Dialectical diffusion
• Diverse group: different regional, social, occupational and linguistic backgrounds
Tidewater accent
•Southern settlement included settlers from England’s ‘West Country’
•Brought their characteristic accent
•z voicing of s sounds
•r strongly pronounced after vowels
Dialectical diffusion
•Northern colonists came from the east of England lacked r sound after vowels
•Later population movements preserved this dialect distinction
•Blurred dialect picture because of frequent movements
Topic 18: Spread of English Through Migrations and Settlements: Australia and New Zealand
Settlement history
1770
• James Cook discovered and charted New Zealand and Australia
1788
• Australia was colonized by the British
1840
• New Zealand was colonized by the British
Settlement history of Australia
• Australia was made a penal colony.
• Housed 130, 000 prisoners between 1788 and 1808
• Other settlers also entered the country but in small numbers
Increase in Population
• Rate of immigration increased rapidly in mid nineteenth century
• Population grew from 400, 000 to 4 million in 50 years
• In 2002, it was nearly 19 million
• In 2016, 24.13 million
Influences on Australian English
• Settlers included convicts from London and Ireland
• Cockney accent of London and brogue of Ireland
• Aboriginal languages
• American English
• Immigrants
Settlement history of New Zealand
1790
• European settlements began
1814
• Christian missionary work
Settlement history of New Zealand
1840
• Treaty of Waitangi between Maori chiefs and the Crown
• Official establishment of a British colony
Increase in immigrant population
• 1840-1850: 20, 000 – 25, 000
• 1850 – 1900: 25, 000 –750, 000
• Gold rush
• Increased immigration from Britain
• 2002: 3.8 million
• 2016: 4. 693 million
Influences on New Zealand English
• Perception of stronger ties with Britain
• A growing sense of national identity
• Concern for the rights and needs of the Maori people
Lesson-04
Slave trade gave rise to a distinctive kind of English in West Indies and mainland America.
America established its sovereignty over Philippines in 1898. Strong influence of American
English in Philippines persists. It includes the largest population of the English speaking states in the
region (90 million in 2016). British colonial empire in Southeast Asia was begun by Sir Thomas Stamford
Raffles (British statesman). After that, several British settlements took place in Penang, Malacca and most
notable Singapore (1786 - 1824). By 1867, English had been established as the medium of law and
administration. English rapidly became the language of power in the British territories of South-east Asia.
Many other regions in Southeast Asia also came under the British control:
•Hong Kong island (1842) Kowloon (1860)
• The New Territories, which form the largest part of the colony, were leased from China in 1898
for ninety-nine years.
Introduction of a British educational system:
•English medium schools began in Penang (now Malaysia’s leading port) in 1816.
•Teaching staff routinely brought in from Britain.
•Standard British English model
•English became the language of professional advancement and the language of higher education
•Became a prestigious lingua franca among those who had received an English education
Southeast Asian Englishes: Singapore
• 1950s: a bilingual educational system with English alongside Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.
• English remained the language of government, legal system, education and the media.
•Popular among population in family settings
•Development of Singlish
Southeast Asian Englishes: Malaysia
•Bahasa Malaysia was adopted as the national language after the independence in 1957
•Role of English became restricted.
•Malay-medium education was introduced, with English as a compulsory subject
Contemporary situation
•Eleven national languages
•Afrikaans is the first language of the whites of Dutch origin.
•Symbol of identity for Afrikaners
• First language of most of the coloured population
•English enjoys more prestige than any other language
Contemporary situation
•English belongs to two of the three concentric circles in Kachru’s model of world Englishes:
•Inner
•Outer
•Expanding
Contemporary situation
•English used by the whites of British background ( 4.9 million, 9.6%)
•Increasingly used by black population
•Taken up by Afrikaners due to its value for upward mobility
•Roughly 11 million users of English as a second language
South African Varieties of English
A continuum of accents exists:
•Influenced by Afrikaans
•Influenced by British Received Pronunciation
•Influenced by African languages
South African varieties of English
A continuum of accents exists:
•White South African English (SAE)
• Black SAE
• Indian SAE
• Colored SAE
South African varieties of English
Gradually, a more homogeneous accent has emerged.
1.Uses of English in South Africa
•Interpersonal
•Instrumental
•Regulative
•Innovative/imaginative
Colonial rules
• Dutch from 1652 to 1795
• British from 1795 to 1948
• Dutch (by now called Afrikaners) 1948 – 1994
• Several British settlements were established in 1840s and1850s.
Immigrations
• Witwatersrand gold rush attracted a large number of immigrants in the 1870s
• Arrival of half a million English speaking immigrants towards the end of nineteenth century
Colonial Africa
• Cape of Good Hope: the only colonial settlement until 1794
• By 1914 several colonial territories had emerged.
Colonial Africa
• Repartitioning after the two World Wars
• Liberation of African countries towards the second half of the 20th century
• Formation of Organization of African Unity
Spread of English in Africa
• Increase in commerce
• Anti-slave activities facilitated the spread of English.
Spread of English in Africa
• In 1807, the British Parliament passed an Act for the abolition of the slave trade.
• Royal Navy’s West Indies squadron seized thousands of ships and slaves were freed.
Spread of English in Africa
• Settlements made for freed slaves
• Served as bases for the anti-slave trade squadrons
• Later became crown colonies
• Visited by missionaries
Britain’s industrialization
• Population growth
• Economic growth
• Production growth
Production growth
• Massive changes in technology and organization
• Large scale production of manufactured goods
• Britain becoming the workshop of the world
USA’s industrialization
• USA over took Britain
• Many American inventers came to fame
Linguistic consequences
• Most research being done by English speaking countries or by their collaboration
• Between 1700 – 1900 most of the scientific research had been documented in English
Linguistic consequences of industrialization
• Addition in the English lexicon
• Need of English for borrowing or buying this technology
• Exchange/hiring of expertise
Economic imperialism
• London and New York became the investment capitals of the world.
• £4,500 thousand million investment abroad
Pidgin
It is the product of a multilingual contact situation in which those who wish to communicate must
find or improvise a simple language system that will enable them to do so.
Language contact
• A linguistic and social phenomenon
• Speakers of different languages interact with one another
• This results in transfer of linguistic features
Pidgin
• A reduced variety of a language
• Results from extended contact between groups of people with no language in common
• Arises to fulfill the restricted communication needs of such people
Origin of the term pidgin
• A Chinese corruption of the English word ‘business’
gospidgin man = God’s businessman (priest)
chow chow pidgin = cooking
• Portuguese ocupaçao meaning ‘trade, job, occupation’.
Origin of the term pidgin
• A form from the South American language Yayo ‘pidian’ meaning ‘people’
• Hebrew word ‘pidjom’ meaning ‘barter’
Creole
• A pidgin that has become the first language of a new generation of speakers.
• Creoles arise when pidgins become mother tongues
Background
• A result of European colonization into Africa and Asia
• New World slavery
Background
• Slaves were deliberately drawn from a variety of language backgrounds.
• The reason was to avoid rebellion against their masters.
Background
Communication was needed between:
• Slave master and slave
• Slave and slave
Process of pidginization
The simplification of a language used by groups of speakers separated from each other by different
languages.
Process of pidginization
Contact between speakers of:
• A dominant European language
• Mutually unintelligible African and Asian languages
"Fantom, em i go we?"
Process of creolization
"Sapos yu kaikai planti pinat, bai yu kamap strong olsem phantom."
"Fantom, em i go we?"
“If you eat plenty of peanuts, you will come up strong like the phantom.”
“Phantom, you are a true friend of mine. Are you able to help me now?”
“Where did he go?”
Common view about creoles
• Speakers range from a low of 6–7 million to as many as 10–17
• Often regarded as lesser languages
• Speakers feel a great sense of inferiority about their languages
Topic-035: Process of Creolization-II
Process of Creolization
• Most pidgins are lingua francas, existing to meet temporary local needs.
• Very few pidgins undergo the process of creolisation.
• Pidgins are spoken by those who also use another language.
• If a pidgin is no longer needed, it dies out.
Emergence of creole continuum
• A creole continuum arises because of its relationship with a superstrate language
• An English based creole can develop a number of varieties when it is in contact with Standard
English
Decreolization
• Increase in varieties leads to an increase in the influence of the Standard English
• This process has become known as decreolization
• Considerable social stratification is involved in the process
Parts of the creole continuum
Acrolect (High speech)
• Shift toward standard form of the language
• Educated variety
• Has very few differences from the standard language
Basilect (Low speech)
• The variety at the other extreme of the continuum
• Least comprehensible to a speaker of the standard language
Mesolect (Middle speech)
• Intermediate varieties
• Not discrete varieties
• Blend into each other
Condition for continuum
• Two extreme varieties are varieties of the same language
• When different languages are involved there can be no continuum
• In case of no contact between the standard language and the creole there will be no continuum
Hypercreolization
• Aggressive reaction against the standard language on the part of creole speakers
• Speakers focus on what they see as the “pure” form of the creole
Recreolization
• Deliberately recreolize the standard language they use to assert their ethnic identity and
solidarity
Samples from the continuum
1. ai tÑuld him
2. ai to:ld him
3. ai to:l im
4. ai tyl im
5. a tyl im
6. ai tyl i
7. a tyl i
8. mi tyl i
9. mi tyl am
• The lingua franca not a pidginized standard language was used on trading routes
• Was passed on to the Asians and Africans the sailors came in contact with
• Served as the origin for various pidgins
Characteristics
• Consisted of a core vocabulary of nautical items and a simplified grammar
• Evidence is the presence of nautical elements in many pidgins and creoles
Examples:
hivim = heave
kapsite = capsize
haisim = hoist
Evidence against the theory
• There are only a few sea-based terms in different pidgins
• Structural similarities among existing pidgins and creoles that arose from different European
languages
Origin
• Proposed in 1876 by Charles Leland
• Considered the earliest pidgin generation theory
• Compares pidgin speakers to young children first learning to speak
Rationale
• Similarities identified between early speech of children and certain pidgins:
• Use of a high proportion of content
• Lack of structural words
• Lack of morphological change
• Approximation of standard pronunciation
Use of the baby-talk
• The subordinate class perceived as unable to master the dominant class’s language
• Masters try to imitate their servants’ incorrect speech patterns
• Results from intentional simplification of speech
Use of the baby-talk
• Deprives the learners the opportunity to learn the correct model
• Their only option is to learn the new “baby-talk" pidgin.
• Simplified forms provide pidgins with their basic structures and lexicon
Evidence against the theory
• Pidgins are far more frequently used among non-Europeans than between Europeans and non-
Europeans
Theory of relexification
• All European-language-based pidgins derive from a single source: A pidgin called Sabir
Theory of relexification
• Sabir was used as a lingua franca by traders on trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea in the
Middle Ages
• Portuguese relexified Sabir
What is relexification?
• A a mechanism of language change
• One language changes its vocabulary with the vocabulary of another language
• Not much change occurs in the relexified language's grammar
Process of relexification
• This pidgin was relexified into pidginized French, English, and Spanish
• Vocabulary was replaced
• Grammar remained intact
Sabir
Portuguese Pidgin
AtlanticIndian-Pacific
Portuguese Portuguese
Pidgin Pidgin
Classification
• Atlantic Portuguese Pidgin
• Portuguese varieties (Guiné Crioule)
• Hispanic varieties
(Papiamentu)
• Anglicized varieties
(Jamaican)
• Gallicized varieties
(Louisiana, Haitian)
Classification
• Indo-Pacific Portuguese Pidgin
• Gallicized varieties (Seychelles)
• Nederlandized (Afrikaan)
• Anglicized (Tok Pisin)
Topic-042: Universal Principles Theory
Source
• Dominant language: the source of lexis
• Usually a European language
• The dominant language is called the lexifier
Pidgin lexis
• Is systematic
• Uses rules
• Rules move from simpler to more complicated
Rules of pidgin lexis
Lengthy coding of concepts
Example:
Bilong (of) = Belong
Papa bilong me = my father
Haus bilong you = your house
Rules of pidgin lexis
Reduplication
• To intensify meaning
Example:
tok= talk
toktok = chatter
look = look
looklook = stare
Haus bilong you = your house
Rules of pidgin lexis
Reduplication
• To avoid confusion
Example:
sip = ship
sipsip = sheep
was = watch
waswas = wash
Topic-044: Phonology
Reduction of sounds
Vowels
• Have fewer sounds than the corresponding standard languages
• Pacific pidgins have only five vowel sounds
• Some Caribbean pidgins have 12
• Compared to American English’s 17 and British English’s 20 Vowels
Examples
/i:/ (deep) = / ɪ/ (dip)
eat = it
ɔ: (walk) = /3:/ (work)
Simplification of consonant clusters
Examples:
friend = fren
salt = sol
cold = col
Conflation of consonants
The process of reducing inflected words to their word stem, base or root form.
Examples (Caribbean Creoles)
/t/ = /θ/
/d/ = /ð/
/tʃ/ = /ʃ/
Conflation of consonants
Examples (Pacific Pidgin:Tok Pisin Creoles)
/f/ = /p/
friend = pren
/s/, / ʃ / = /tʃ/
Topic-045: Grammar I
Morphology
Number
Example:
• Lexical item indicating plurality
Ol opisa bilong Melanesin Envairomen Faundesen
Morphology
Gender
• Gender distinctions are missing
• A single pronoun stands for both male and female referents:
• em = 'he' and 'him‘
‘she’ and ‘her’
Prepositions
• Only two proper prepositions:
• bilon = means "of" or "for“
• long (means everything else)
Tense
• Verbs not inflected to mark tense
• Tense is marked externally to the verb by a lexical item
Example:
Bung i bin stat long Mande
Topic-046: Grammar II
Grammar
Sentence structure
• Negative formed with a negative particle ‘no’
Jan no waan go
John no want go
John does not want to go
Clause structure is not complicated
• There are no embedded clauses
Sentence structure
• There are no complex sentences (e.g. sentences with relative clauses)
Upi lo pikanin yena funa skafu?
London Jamaican
(Patios/Patwa)
• Originated from the Atlantic creoles of West Africa and Caribbean
• A combination of creole and a form of non-standard English
• Also called:
• Black talk
• Nation language
• Black slang
Symbol of group identity
Used as a symbol of group identity by:
• British Black children
• British Black adolescents
• White adolescents
Recreolization
The movement of a creole language towards the more-creole end of the continuum
Recreolization of Jamaican Creole
Post-creole continuum
• A situation where a creole language consists of a spectrum of varieties arranged on a continuum
according to level of formality and prestige
Post-Creole Continuum
Features of London Jamaican Creole
• Interchangeable use of pronouns
• ‘i’ and ‘me’ both used for I and me
• ‘im’ and ‘i’ both used for he, she, it , him, her, its, his, hers
• Use of present tense for both present and past
• ‘an I se’ (and I said)
Features of London Jamaican Creole
• Elimination of tense suffixes and of participle endings: - es, -ed, -t, - ing, -ed, -en,
• Yu bret stink (Your breath stinks)
• Expressing negation with ‘no’ with phonological changes
• ‘no bret stink’ (my breath doesn’t stink)
Ebonics (African American Vernacular English)
• A blend of words ‘ebony’ (black) and ‘phonics’ (sound)
• Considered improper speech by many Americans
• Symbol of linguistic and social identity among African Americans
Linguistic Features of Ebonics
• Habitual be for intermitten activity
• Sometimes my ears be itching
• Absence of copula in contracted forms of ‘is’ and ‘are’
• She nice
• Present tense third person – s absence
• She walk
Linguistic Features of Ebonics
• Ain’t for didn’t
• He ain’t do it
• Use of ‘f’ and ‘v’ for final ‘th’
• Smoov for smooth and toof for tooth
Ebonics controversy (1996)
• Oakland (CA) School Board recognized it as the 'primary' language of its majority African
American students
• Resolved to use it for teaching them standard or academic English and subsequently other
subjects
Ebonics controversy (1996)
Was considered by many as:
• A separatist move
• An action that stigmatized the English varieties of disenfranchised
• Labelling African Americans as foreigners
• Encouraging a dialect that is likely to to increase their alienation
Lesson-09
Native speakerism
• The monolingual tenet was central to the colonial agenda
• It marginalizes the English language learners and privileges native speakers
• Extends the colonial agenda of economic exploitation and cultural domination
• Mid 20th century brought the realization that all English language learning situations
were not the same
English English as
as a Second a Foreign
Language Language
(ESL) (EFL)
• Academics
• The teacher may be the only English speaker students have exposure to
• IE refers to particular variety of English e.g. Australian English, Singaporean English, Chinese
English etc.
Difference between EIL and International English (IE)
• EIL paradigm overlooks the symbolic markers of the politicized construct of native speaker
• It focuses on communication instead of the speakers’ nationality or race
English as an International Language
• Does not refer to a particular variety of English
• Rejects the idea of selecting a particular variety as a lingua franca for international
communication
EIL and the paradigm shift
• Refers to a paradigm shift in response to the complexities emerging from the rapid global spread
of English
• Suggests a revisiting of the notions, analytical tools, approaches and methodologies within the
established disciplines of English studies
English as an International Language
• Recognizes English as a language of international and intercultural communication
EIL and the paradigm shift
• In EIL context, English is used between speakers from different cultural and national
backgrounds
• Recognizes world Englishes irrespective of its origin
Speech Community
• Speech communities are groups that share values and attitudes about language use, varieties and
practices
Speech Community
Speech:
• A form of social identity
• Is used as an indication of membership of different social groups and speech communities
Membership of a speech community
People who speak the same language are not always members of the same speech community
Speech community and speech fellowship
The current state English require us to make a distinction between speech community and speech
fellowship
Speech community and speech fellowship
Speech community
• A wide-ranging ‘association’ of different varieties
• Subsumable as ‘sub-varieties’ under a broad label
Speech fellowship
Refers to the:
• Real world of English users
• Their underlying distinct differences and characteristics
• Sub varieties
Speech fellowship
The distinction suggests fellowship to be narrow and close and community to be wider
Speech fellowship
• The distinctions and dichotomies between NS/NNS or ESL/EFL on the basis of forms an
functions are not very useful
• Grouping together different varieties under the concept of Englishes functional characteristics is
more desirable
Lesson-10
Strevens’ Model
• American English accounts for Canada, the US, Puerto Rico and the Philippines
• British English accounts for the rest of the world
Weakness of Strevens’ Model
• Overlooks the varieties that developed through contact with local vernaculars
• Developed without any direct association with either British or American Standard
English (e.g. China)
• Mainly influenced by other culturally relevant sources that are available through the
global media
• McArthur’s Model
• Gorlarch’s Model
• Kachru’s Model
• Concentric circles reflect the cline of intelligibility that all varieties of English (native
and non-native) demonstrate
• The distance from the center of the circle decreases the mutual intelligibility of the
variety
• The varieties become more localized the further they are from the centre
McArthur’s Wheel Model (1987)
1. Regional and national standards (e.g. (African, British Canadian, Caribbean, South
Asian, US)
3. Non-standard Englishes
dialect)
• The adjective “centripetal” suggests the movement of high proficiency users of English towards
the core of the global English-speaking population
Lesson-11
Kachru’s Three Circle Model of World English
Lesson-12
‘new’ Englishes
• Resulting from the first diaspora
• Comprising North America (USA and Canada), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
• Developing independently of the British English
‘New’ Englishes
• Resulting from the second diaspora
• Being used as second languages by bilingual or multilingual people
• Comprising Pakistani English, Indian English, Nigerian English, Singapore English
Independent status of ‘new’ and‘New’ Englishes
• Should be considered in their own right
• Should not be compared with other varieties of Englishes
Independent status of ‘new’ and‘New’ Englishes
• Acceptance of American English
• Reluctance to accept other varieties
‘New’ Englishes
• Includes a large number of varieties
• Dissimilar in characteristics and use
Characteristics of ‘New’ Englishes
Learning
• Learned in schools
• Used as a medium of instruction
• Additional to some other first language
Characteristics of ‘New’ Englishes
Contact with native variety
• Developed in regions where a native variety was not the main language of the population
Characteristics of ‘New’ Englishes
Functions and speakers
• Used for a range of functions
• Used among the speakers of the region where it developed
Characteristics of ‘New’ Englishes
Nativization/Localization
• Have adopted some language features (sounds, intonation patterns, sentence structures, words and
expressions)
‘New’ Englishes’ norms and innovations
Factors determining the status of an innovation
i. Demographic factor
ii. Geographical factor
iii. Authoritative factor
iv. Codification
v. Acceptability factor
Bamgbose, cited in Jenkins, 2000
Topic-075: Nativization-I
Nativization
• A process in which a language gains native speakers
• This happens when a second language used by adult parents becomes the native language of their
children
Nativization
• Acculturization
• Indigenization
• Hybridization
Nativization of English
Changes English has undergone as a result of contact with other languages in diverse cultural and
geographical settings in the outer circle
Nativization
Is triggered when users in a second language environment inevitably mould the language to express facts,
ideas and concepts relevant to their own particular context
Nativization
The process of nativization is due to the:
• Transfer from local languages to English
• Transfer of English to the new cultural environment and communicative needs
Factors prompting nativization
• English’s assuming of functions in the outer circle that relate to the expression of typically local
ideas
• English needs to adapt itself to its new environment to be able to express local concepts
Factors prompting nativization
• Absence of native speakers
• Inadequate teaching
• Acquisitional limitations
Topic-076: Nativization-II
Functional nativization
• Functional nativeness is determined by the range and depth of a language in a society
• Range: domains of function
• Depth: the degree of social penetration of the language
Functional nativization
• Deep social penetration
• Extended range of functions of English in diverse sociolinguistic contexts
• Emergence of several varieties, localized registers and genres for expressing local social, cultural
and religious identities
Functional nativization
• English is nativized in South Asia as Indian English and Pakistani English
• Range of functional domains:
• Corporate trade
• Media
• Development
• Government
• Higher education
• Science and technology
• Creative writing
Functional nativization
• Social depth of English use:
• an estimated 333 milion users of English in India
• the highest number of (non-creole) English speakers in the world after the US and UK
Topic-077: Nativization-III
Contact Literature
Contact with non-Western cultures and languages enables English to express new linguistic and cultural
functions
Contact Literature
• Nativized varieties of English are produced through contact of English with new cultures and
surrounding languages
• The literature written in distinctive varieties of English is often called contact literature
Contact Literature
• As English becomes institutionalized in nations that do not share its Western cultural traditions,
the language is broadening
Beliefs of contact literature writers
• Some aspects of non-English culture is inexpressible in English
• Cultural material in contact literature stretches or reshapes the expressive qualities of English
Beliefs of contact literature writers
• Provides an exposure to the the literary effort of international writers
• Provides an opportunity to observe the process of language change
Implicitly or explicitly, native English has been the criteria for description of language varieties and for
literatures written in them
Choice of variety
• The spread and the institutionalization of English has resulted in the pluricentricity of English
• The users of English more or less consciously choose which model of English to follow and
develop
Choice of variety
Many successful writers do not follow Inner-Circle models
Choice of variety
Depending on the cultural and social context, varieties differ in:
• Formal characteristics
• Thought patterns
• Discoursal features
Choice of variety
• Most creative writers from Africa and Asia show a preference for a local variety of English to be
able to present the true spirit, traditions and values of their own cultures
• English should be decolonized to be made in other images
• Rushdie cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2006
Multilingual’s repertoire
• Multilinguals possess a range of languages with distinct grammars and functions in their
linguistic repertoire
• They can choose resources from this repertoire of languages to present the complexity of the local
situational contexts
Mixing of discoursal and stylistic strategies
• Texts are nativised by using multiple styles and strategies
Limiting nature of nativization of texts
• The readers from a different cultural context must actively participate to understand the text
• If they cannot do this, the text becomes limiting
Extending nature of nativization of texts
• Attention to the reading is rewarded with improved understanding of:
• context
• characterizations
• innovations
• The acceptance of such a use of English strengthens the concept of world Englishes
“….Coomar took Raman in and seated him on the carpet and offered him five hundred rupees tucked
amidst green betel leaves, two coconuts and a bunch of bananas on a tray.”
“…. Goddess Lakshmi has been kind,’ was all that Coomar was to say.”
Discourse markers
• Items that have no independent meaning but that signal solidarity with interlocutors and are
considered polite
Examples
• eh particle in Australian and New Zealand English
• la(h) particle Malaysian-Singapore English
• ji particle in Pakistani English
Rhetorical strategies
• Ways used by writers to effectively, efficiently and coherently present their points of view on a
topic.
• Methods that allow writers to convey their thoughts most convincingly
Rhetorical strategies
Figures of speech
• A rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in a distinctive way.
• A word or phrase that has a meaning other than the literal meaning.
Rhetorical strategies
Figures of speech
• Evoke the local concepts traditions
Examples:
‘Pythons as big as coconut trunks’
Authentication by cultural history and tradition
Supporting the text by cultural history and tradition through such phrases:
‘our people have a saying’
‘the elders have said’
Transcreating proverbs and idioms
Transcreation: The process of adapting a message from one language to another, while maintaining its
intent, style, tone and context
Transcreating proverbs and idioms
Indigenization of English proverbs:
English: to spread like wild fire
African: Okonkwo’s fame “had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.”
‘the palm oil with which words are eaten.’
Culturally dependent speech style
These include:
• Sentence initial conjunctions
• Asking direct questions
• Asking rhetorical questions
Lesson-15
Topic-085: Phonology-I
Topic-086: Phonology-II
Topic-087: Phonology-III
Sound
Simplification of final consonant clusters
It may lead to the lossof past tense endings of plural markers on nouns
Examples
lef for left
Pick for picked
Climb for climbed
bag for bags
Sound
Consequences
• Some of these differences may not be noticeable e.g. lef
• Loss of inflections may affect comprehension
Voiced and unvoiced sounds in English
• All vowels are voiced
• Consonants can be voiced or unvoiced
• Voiced consonants are caused by vocal chords moving
Voiced and unvoiced sounds in English
• Unvoiced consonants are made just with air
p t s k f th
• Voiced conants are caused by vocal chords moving
b d g z v th
Clear and dark l sound
• The light l comes at the beginning, near the beginning or before a consonant sound in a word.
like love please English
Clear and dark l sound
• The dark l comes at the end of the word or before a vowel sound
feel peel pull full sail
No distinction between r and l sound
rate = late
feeling = fearing
Cutter = cuddle
Topic-088: Lexis-I
Topic-089: Lexis-II
Topic-090: Lexis-III
Lexical repetition and redundancy
• An extra element in a sentence or phrase
• Regarded as a universal feature of spoken varieities
Repetition
• A repeated occurrence of a linguistic item that may or may not be justified.
‘There were – some very
good houses – rather old
fashioned but good
houses.’
Repetition
• He sells different different things
• She cut it into small small pieces
• She drove slowly slowly
• I don’t like this type of dress – all frill frill, gather gather
Reduplication
The use of double words for one:
• Flower bouquet
• Young kid
• Cost price
• Proceed to go on
Reduplication
The use of two words for expressing one idea:
‘….for repairing or laying some sort of underground cables or lines’
‘….ever-growing and ever-increasing speeding traffic’
‘….without any obstruction and difficulty’
Reduplication
Phatic reduplication
• No semantic value
• Only adds rhyme
- music viewsic
- rhythm whythm
- mod squad (lady)
South Asian lexis in native English
Examples:
Chit: A note
Tiffin: Snack or small box
Buggy: A carriage
Chutney: A cold thick sauce made from fruit, sugar, spices and
vinegar
Lesson-16
Topic-091: Grammar-I
Nouns
• Specific or non-specific
• Countable or uncountable
• Singular or plural
Nouns
Specific and non-specific
• Use of articles (a, an, the) and determiners (this, that, any, some) to show whether a noun is
specific or non-specific.
Nouns
Functions and rules for the use of articles
• A singular countable noun must be preceded by an article
• a/an: with a singular countable noun indicates the generic nature of the noun
• A horse runs very fast.
Nouns
Functions and rules for the use of articles
• The: with both singular and plural countable nouns indicate the specific nature of the noun
• The boys are naughty.
• They boys is tall.
• With mass nouns to indicate the specific nature of the noun
Nouns
Specific and non-specific
• Many languages do not have a grammatical element comparable with the English article
• A singular countable noun never occurs without an article or determiner preceding it
Nouns
Specific and non-specific
• The choice of articles may vary depending on the context
• He owns a car.
• He owns the car.
• The: with a singular word indicates generic nature of an item when the word refers to a whole
group
• We must be kind to the poor.
Nouns
Specific and non-specific
variation examples
• Everyone owns car.
• Girls look very pretty today.
• I’m staying in one house with black gate.
Topic-092: Grammar-II
Nouns
Quantifiers
• We use quantifiers (much, little, few, a lot, little etc.) to talk about quanitities, amounts and
degrees.
• It generally comes before a noun or noun phrase
Nouns
Countability and quantifiers
• The conventions of marking countability differ across languages.
• In English, countability has to do with a noun’s potential for combining with various types of
determiners
Nouns
Countability and quantifiers
• Knowledge (uncountable)
A knowledge of
• People (collective noun) also has a plural form
The native peoples of Siberia
Nouns
Countability and quantifiers
• In English, the combining of different types of nouns with various determiners causes confusion
to language learners
Nouns
Countability and quantifiers
• In English, uncountable nouns (equipment, sugar) are singular
• In the native languages of the outer circle countries, they are treated as plural.
Nouns
Countable or uncountable
• Use of uncountable nouns as countables
• Perceptually countable items such as furniture, equipment, luggage are regularly used with a
plural marker to denote more than one piece
Nouns
Countable or uncountable
• Advices
• Informations
• Moneys
Nouns
Quantifiers and countability in outer circle varieties
• Uncountable quantifiers are used with countable nouns
Do not eat so much burgers.
• Use of some as a determiner
After some few days.
Nouns
Conflation of pronoun gender
- When I first met my
husband, she was a
student.
- My mother, he lives in
Kampog
Topic-093: Grammar-III
Verbs
Stative verbs
• Verbs that express a state rather than an action
• Relate to thoughts, opinions, feelings and emotions
• These verbs are usually not used in the progressive tenses
Verbs
Stative verbs
Examples
• Understand
• Doubt
• Like
• Want
• Hate
Verbs
Stative verbs
The Outer and Expanding Circle varieties of English most often do not make a distinction between stative
and dynamic verbs
Verbs
Stative verbs
- He is having two cars.
- I was not knowing him
then.
- She is not recognizing
you.
- What are you wanting
now?
Verbs
Inflections
• In many Asian languages, verbs are not inflected for tense.
• The distinction in time reference is expressed by adverbs or some other linguistic element
• The multilingual users of English base their systems on their fsirst language
Verbs
Limited past tense marking
- Mandarin, I learn it
privately.
- My wife, she pass her
Cambridge.
- I talk to her yesterday.
Verbs
Inflections
There is a great deal of variation in the use of the tense-aspect markers of English across its varieties.
Verbs
Use of aspect instead of tense
I eat = I’m eating
I’ve worked there in 1960.
Limited marking for the third person singular
She drink milk.
He read a book at bed time.
Verbs
Formation of prepositional verb construction
- I can’t cope up with this
situation
- His name cropped in the
conversation
- I’m going to voice out my
opinion
Topic-094: Grammar-IV
Question-answering system
Types of questioning-answering systems:
• Positive-negative system
• Agreement-disagreement
system
Question-answering system
Examples:
• Positive-negative system
Q: Isn’t he coming?
A: No, he isn’t.
• Agreement-disagreement
system
Q: Isn’t he coming?
A: Yes, he is.
Question-answering system
• Outer and expanding circle Englishes follows the agreement-disagreement system.
• Causes difficulty in interpreting the answer
Q: Didn’t you complete your
work?
A: Yes, that’s right.
Use of general question tags
Question tag:
Tags are used
with question intonation following statements
He is coming to the party,
isn’t he?
Sara has arrived, hasn’t she?
Use of general question tags
In the Outer- and Expanding-Circle varieties, a general tag, isn’t, is it, no is used universally:
Hira will come next month, isn’t it?
He didn’t pass the test, isn’t it?
He likes music, isn’t it?
You are not going home,is it?
Topic 95:
Variations in aspects of discourse
• More formal character than the Inner Circle English
• More complex vocabulary and grammar
• Lengthy constructions
Variations in aspects of discourse
Redundancy of expression
• Expressions of thanks
• Lengthy constructions
• Deferential vocabulary
• Use of blessings
Redundancy of expressions
Examples
• I’m bubbling with zeal and enthusiasm to serve as a research assistant
• I offer myself as a candidate for the post of Research Assistant
• With due respect I beg to state
• Your obedient servant
Greetings and leave taking
Direct translations from indigenous languages:
- So how? (Sri Lankan
English)
- You’re enjoying? (Nigerian
English)
- Have you eaten already?
(Malaysian/Singaporean
English)
Greetings and leave taking
Direct translations from indigenous languages:
- How? How now? (West
African English)
- Are you alright? (East
African English)
grammatical structure
Thematic information
• Difference in the organization of information
• Different devices used for expressing focus and theme
Focus and theme in Inner Circle English
• The initial element in the sentence usually signals the theme
• The element that follows the main verb is in focus
Example
Where did Sara go?
She went to the beach
Focus and theme in Outer Circle English
i. Certain medicine we don’(t)
stock in our dispensary
ii. One subject they pay for
seven dollars
iii. And weekend you can
spend with your brother.
iv. My daughter she is
attending the University of
Nairobi.
Lesson-17
Topic-097: Intelligibility
A frequently discussed topic today is whether various english varieties will be intelligible outside their
locality or not.
What is intelligibility?
• Understanding
• Making sense
Intelligibility
• Lack of intelligibility is a natural phenomenon when a language becomes widespread
• Intelligibility is considered in both productive and receptive skills-you show concern abt intell in
spg lg rg wg etc.
• Mostly causes concerns in listening speaking
Intelligibility
• Variations may cause issues of intelligibility and frustration to speakers of different varieties
• Two reactions:
• Change the situation
• Accept the situation and learn to deal with it-world englishes supporters say that variations in
English will be there . It should not be changed rather we should devise ways to deal with this situation.
Components of intelligibility
The holistic notion of intelligibility is divided into three components:
• Intelligibility
• Comprehensibility
• Interpretability
Topic-099: Comprehensibility
Comprehensibility
• The next level in Smith’s complexity continuum of intelligibility
• Involves:
• assigning meaning to utterances
• Recognizing an utterance’s referents
Comprehensibility
Example:
Table
- Please put the package
on the table.
- Invite guests of the
committee to the table.
- Table a motion.
- Insert data into cells in a
table.
Difficulty in comprehensibility
• Unfamiliar vocabulary
• Unfamiliar expressions
• Borrowed lexical items
• Nativized vocabulary
Difficulty in comprehensibility
Example:
‘Correspondence invited, preferably for mutual alliance … . ’
• Kachru cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2006
• ‘Mutual alliance’ is a culturally significant collocation with respect to marriage arrangements
Topic-100: Interpretability
• To understand the purpose and intent of an utterance
• Most complex and most important
Interpretability
Example:
Masterji must have heard…. He biked all the way … his white beard rolled spiffily tight and his long hair
tucked under a crisp chartreuse turban.… He was even carrying a kirpan…. Masterji was a Sikh… but
very few went around with their ceremonial daggers strapped to their chests all day long.
Interpretability
Example:
‘Matrimonial correspondence invited from
respected Punjabi families for my son … clean shaven.’
Interpretability
Research findings on intelligibility
• Need to remove the native accent as the target
• Need for students of English to have greater exposure to nonnative varieties of English
Research findings on intelligibility
• Exposure ensures less inhibition and bias and more tolerance toward different varieties of English
• Wider exposure to more varieties increases users’ ability to comprehend international educated
English
• Focusing on only one culture leads students (or some teachers) to see only a unified and
monolithic culture
Differences caused by cultural contexts
People use different strategies for interaction depending on their:
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Intercultural competence
Research on different varieties of English show that there are differences in the following aspects:
• Use of standard and non-standard English with respect to age and gender
• Performance of different speech acts
Use of ‘yes’ in different cultures
• In Burundi: the addressee may say: ‘Yes, I definitely agree’, and then proceed to state their
opinion which is contradictory to what the first speaker had said.
Use of ‘yes’ in different cultures
Example:
In American English (women): ‘yeah’ to mean they are following what the speaker is saying
In American English (men): ‘yeah’ to mean they agree with the speaker
In Japanese: ‘I am paying attention to what you are saying’.
Findings of research
Language teaching needs to take into account:
• Properties of extended discourse in context
• Teacher education to consider the conventions of culture that determine context-dependent
language use
Findings of research
Language teaching needs to take into account:
• awareness raising about shared and non-shared features of world Englishes
• Teacher awareness about their own attitudes
• Recognition of the status and depth of world Englishes
Findings of research
Language teaching needs to take into account:
• Projection of ethnic, gender, national and other identities through world Englishes
Lesson-18
Language standards
• Prescriptive language rules which together constitute the standard
• Formally taught and conformed to
• These rules may change over time
Criticism of language standards
• Create discrimination
• Work against the poor, women and minorities
• Need to be broadened
Process of standardization
Comprises four stages
• Selection
• Codification
• Elaboration of functions
• Acceptance
Selection
• The most critical stage
• Involves selection of one variety as the standard
• Led by the politically and socially powerful
• Protects and promotes the interests of the same
Selection
Involves the selection of:
• An existing variety with a high degree of political and social acceptance
• Different features from several varieties
Codification
• Involves the writing and development of:
• grammar textbooks
• style and use guides
• Dictionaries
• Allows people access to the standard forms
Elaboration of functions
• Capability of performing a wide range of functions in government and education domains
• New vocabulary and conventions are added
Acceptance
• The selected variety has to be accepted by the relevant population
Paradox of standardization
• A symbol of a state’s independence
• A strong unifying force
• A symbol of inferior status of the poor who use a regional, social or ethnic dialect
Paradox of standardization
• Standardization of a language may be challenged or questioned e.g. the standard English
Lesson-19
Acculturation