World Englishes

World Englishes

Global spread of English and development of distinct varieties.

Kachru - Three Circles overview

Categorises varieties of English based on their historical development and the roles English plays in different countries

Three Circles in Kachru model

Inner, outer, expanding

Inner circle

English native, norm providing

Outer circle

Second language, colonialisation, norm developing, India/Nigeria/Singapore

Expanding circle

Foreign language, norm dependent, China/Japan/Russia

Weaknesses of Three Circles

Doesn’t show change, Blurred boundaries, Reinforces inner circle dominance

Jenkins - Lingua Franca overview

English is a shared contact language meaning norms aren’t necessary as it belongs to the users not the native speakers

Lingua Franca Core (LFC)

Consonant sounds, Vowel length distinctions, Nuclear stress

Features of English lingua franca (ELF)

Dropping 3rd person tense, confusion between ‘who’ and ‘which’, use of ‘isn’t it?’ or ‘no?’

Weaknesses of Lingua Franca

Over simplifies pronunciation, difficult to implement in classrooms, Undervalues sociocultural identity

Crystal - Why English became global overview

English becoming a global language was inevitable due to power. However, multilinguism is possible and does not mean culture erase

Reasons for spread - Crystal

Historical, Political (US dominance/international institutions), Economic, Culture (media, music, film)

Weaknesses of Crystals model

Overly optimistic about linguistic equality

Schneider - Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s overview

English develops and changes through stages to gain legitimacy

Five stages of Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

Foundation, Exonormative stabilisation, Nativisation, Endonormative stabilisation, Differentiation

Foundation in Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

English introduced and bilingusim emerges

Exonormative stabilisation in Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

‘Elite’ bilingusim spreads as British norms dominate

Nativisation in Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

Inter ethnic contact increases and local features emerge

Endonormative stabilisation in Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

Linguistic norms accepted and codified

Differentiation in Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

Group specific internal variations develop

Weaknesses of Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Post Colonial English’s

Too linear, Doesn’t allow for Inter-PCE influence (Nigerian English on Ghana english)

Trudgill - New dialect formation overview

New dialects emerge when speakers come into sustained contact. New Zealand emerged through koineization and dialect levelling to form a stable variety

Stages in Trudhill’s New dialect formation

Mixing, Levelling, Focusing

Pidgin

Simplified contact language with no native speakers

Creole

Fully developed language when pidgin becomes a first language

Phonetic features of World Englishes

‘V-W’ merging, Retroflex ‘R’, No vowel reduction, Different stress patterns

Grammar features of World Englishes

Omission of articles, Pluralisation differences, Different tense usage

Lexis features of World Englishes

Loan words ‘lah’, local idioms, cultural refferences

Discourse features of World Englishes

Different politeness norms, indirectness/directness differences

Prescriptivist views

English is ‘decaying’, non standard forms are ‘errors’

Descriptivist view

Language change is natural and variation is richness

Key ideas for Attitudes to World Englishes

Native speaker privilege, Accent discrimination, Gatekeeping in education/employment, Ligustic imperialism

Names of all theories for World Englishes

Kachru - Three Circles, Jenkins - Lingua Franca, Crystal - Why English became global, Schneider - Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes, Trudgill - New dialect formation