Module 4

Vernacular Languages, Standard Languages, World Englishes, Lingua Francas, and

Hi! You are about to explore the different statutes attached to a language. It is very essential for you to know
how languages are labeled. I hope that you will pay close attention to this module. Enjoy and have fun! 😊

After the completion of this module, you will be able to:

Vernacular Languages

The term vernacular generally refers to a language which has not been standardized and which does not have official
status. In a multilingual speech community, the many different ethnic or tribal languages used by different groups
are referred to as vernacular languages. Vernaculars are usually the first languages learned by people in multilingual
communities, and they are often used for a relatively narrow range of informal functions. There are three
components of the meaning of the term vernacular, then. The most basic refers to the fact that a vernacular is an
uncodified or unstandardized variety. The second refers to the way it is acquired – in the home, as a first variety.
The third is the fact that it is used for relatively circumscribed functions. Finally, the term vernacular is sometimes
used to indicate that a language is used for everyday interaction, without implying that it is appropriate only in
informal domains.

Standard Languages

A standard variety is generally one which is written, and which has undergone some degree of regularization or
codification (for example, in a grammar and a dictionary); it is recognized as a prestigious variety or code by a
community, and it is used for H functions alongside a diversity of L varieties. Standard varieties are codified
varieties. Codification is usually achieved through grammars and dictionaries which record, and sometimes
prescribe, the standard forms of the language.

World Englishes

Local varieties of English, with distinctive linguistic features, have developed in many multilingual countries such
as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and many African countries, where English has served as a valuable
language of wider communication in a multilingual context. The terms ‘World Englishes’ and ‘New Englishes’ have
been used to emphasize the range of different varieties of English that have developed since the nineteenth century.
In contexts where multilingualism is the norm, relatively standard varieties, such as formal Singapore English,
expressing global concepts shared across nations, co-exist alongside more ‘nativized’ varieties of English,
influenced by local languages. Singlish, a very informal, colloquial variety of Singapore English, is a well-described
example. These varieties, typically used by those for whom English is a second language, have been labelled by Braj
Kachru as outer-circle varieties of English. The local varieties of English which have developed in New Zealand,
Australia, Canada and the USA, where most of the populations are monolingual English speakers, are examples of
inner-circle English varieties. Kachru also identified an expanding circle of those who were learning English as an
additional, adjunct or foreign language for a wide range of reasons such as trade or access to higher education, as in
China or Japan. English is a foreign language in the expanding circle, serving no crucial communication functions
within a country.

Lingua Francas

Example

In the 1960s, a Catholic nun, Sister Dominic, was sent to Rome for a meeting of nuns from different countries. She spoke no Italian, but she had
been managing pretty well with her French and English until she lost her purse one evening. She simply could not explain what had happened to
the local police officer. A priest overheard her struggles and came to her rescue. They proceeded to explore their linguistic repertoires trying to
find a language they shared. He came from Brazil and spoke Portuguese and Spanish, but he had been living in Rome for some time, and so he
was by then familiar with the local variety of Italian. Finally, they found a language in which they could communicate – Latin! At that time, Latin
was still the language of church services and both had learned Latin to university level. As Sister Dominic described it, the result was a very
funny encounter, with her explaining her predicament in formal Latin and the priest then translating into the local Italian dialect.

In this particular encounter, Latin functioned as a lingua franca – a language of communication between two people.
In the meeting Sister Dominic was attending with nuns from South America, Africa, Ireland and France, the
language of wider communication or lingua franca was English. When academics and experts meet at international
conferences, or when politicians arrange summit meetings, a world language such as English, French or Spanish is
often used as the lingua franca. In these examples, a particular language serves as a lingua franca in a particular
situation. More generally, however, the term lingua franca describes a language serving as a regular means of
communication between different linguistic groups in a multilingual speech community.

Pidgins

A pidgin is a language which has no native speakers. Pidgins develop as a means of communication between people
who do not have a common language. So a pidgin is no one’s native language. Pidgins seem particularly likely to
arise when two groups with different languages are communicating in a situation where there is also a third
dominant language. On Caribbean slave plantations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, West African
people were deliberately separated from others who used the same language so as to reduce the risk of their plotting
to escape or rebel. In order to communicate with each other, as well as with their overseers, they developed pidgins
based on the language of the plantation bosses as well as their own languages. Pidgin languages are created from the
combined efforts of people who speak different languages. All languages involved may contribute to the sounds, the
vocabulary and the grammatical features, but to different extents, and some additional features may emerge which
are unique to the new variety. Nevertheless, it has been found that when one group speaks a prestigious world
language and the other groups use local vernaculars, the prestige language tends to supply more of the vocabulary,
while vernacular languages have more influence on the grammar of the developing pidgin.

Creoles

Most creoles derive from pidgin languages. A creole is a pidgin which has acquired native speakers. Many of the
languages which are called pidgins are in fact now creole languages. They are learned by children as their fi rst
language and used in a wide range of domains. Tok Pisin (which was used to illustrate some of the features of
pidgins in the previous section) is one obvious example of a pidgin which has developed into a creole language. This
makes it clear that the label of a language is not an accurate guide to its status as pidgin or creole. Despite its name,
Tok Pisin is a creole because it has been learned as a first language by a large number of speakers, and has
developed accordingly to meet their linguistic needs. As a result of their status as some group’s first language,
creoles also differ from pidgins in their range of functions, in their structure and, in some cases, in the attitudes
expressed towards them. A creole is a pidgin which has expanded in structure and vocabulary to express the range of
meanings and serve the range of functions required of a first language.

Do the exercise below. Please write your answer directly on the message box of your email then send to
mldg0824@gmail.com. Due is on Thursday, April 22, 2021. Indicate this in the subject line: BSEE 22 MODULE
4 OUTPUT.

Exercise:

Using the social dimensions – solidarity, status, formality and function – consider the social characteristics of the
following linguistic varieties.

a. Vernacular
b. Standard
c. Lingua franca
d. Pidgin
e. Creole

Reference:
Holmes, J. & Wilson, N. (2017). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 5th ed.
Routledge.