Paper 4 English in the World + Language and the Self

David Crystal Quote

“A language becomes a global language because of the power of the people who speak it.”

global language

a language used across the world for all written, spoken, and digital communications

lingua franca

a common language or form of communication which is used over and above local languages or dialects in order to allow communication between groups of people who speak different languages

ENL

English as a Native Language (U.S.A., U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand)

ESL

English as a Second Language (India, Nigeria, Singapore)

EFL

English as a Foreign Language (South America, Scandinavia)

Kachru’s Circles

Represents varieties of English as three overlapping circles that are labelled the “Inner Circle”, “Outer Circle”, and “Expanding Circle.” The circles are categorized using ENL, ESL, and EFL.

inner circle: “norm-providing”, standard uses of English

outer circle: “norm-developing”, developing independently from Inner circle, making their own varities of English

expanding circle: “norm-dependent”, get norms from inner circle

McArthur’s Circle

states that the standards of English vary based on region. argues that ENL in countries where English is not the mother tongue is because of colonialism, and ESL speakers due to immigration. This model has a descriptivist ideology with no hierarchy. The center has “World Standard English” and the circle expands to standard variations of english and then pidgins and creoles/nonstandard forms.

Modiano’s Centripetal Model

based on proficiency of English. innermost circle consists of those who are proficient in English as an International Language, the next circle is ENL and EFL, the third circle is English learners, and the last circle is people who don’t know English.

Crystal’s Tri-English World

splits English into three types or “worlds".”

first world: family dialect, home accents, things specific to local areas, neighborhoods, or cities

second world: english at a national level, variations that appear when comparing different countries (USA vs. UK)

third world: aspects of english that did not come from a particular region, international traits

Gorlach’s Circle Model of English

excludes english varities in europe. outside the circle are mixed varities (pidgins/creoles) the center of the circle holds international english, not distinguished based on first language status or population of native speakers.

Schneider’s Dynamic Model

shows development of English in former British colonies. focuses on how overseas varities of english have evolved, and colonialism. has 5 phases.

foundation: colonial expansion, almost no one is bilingual

exonormative stablization: stable colonial status, almost everyone speaks both indigenous language and english, lexical borrowing occurs

nativization: cultural assimilation, permanent language that originates from indigenous language and english

endonormative stablilization: new language stabilizes, becomes local norm

diversification: dialect birth

linguistic imperialism

one language dominates over others and gains control of political, economic, and social institutions. leads to the deaths of other languages.

language death

a language dies when the people who speak it die out. a language is endangered when very few people speak the lamguage and the population of speakers gets older.

idiolect

individual speech pattern

sociolect

form of language spoken in your geographical area or social group

dialect

distinctions that occur between standard english and non-standard english

Giles’ Communication Accomodation Theory (CAT)

language is a way to express membership through convergence and divergence

convergence

creates proximity by using language similar to speakers around us

divergence

creates distance by using language different from speakers around us

over accommodation

exaggerating an accommodation

Grice’s Maxims

quality: be true

quantity: be brief

manner: be clear

relation: be relevant

Lakoff’s Politeness Principles

1. don’t impose: avoid intruding on other’s lives

2. giver reciever options: avoid making someone feel obligated to do something

3. make receiver feel good: make someone feel appreciated

Leech’s Politeness Maxims

1. tact: minimizes cost to listener, maximizes cost to speaker

2. generosity: minimizes benefit to speaker, maximizes benefit to listener

3. approbation: minimizes dispraise to listener

4. modesty: minimizes praise of the speaker

5. agreement: minimizes disagreement

6. sympathy: minimizes antipathy, maximizes sympathy

face

a person’s public self-image, the identity we present to others

positive face

the desire to be liked, approved, or appreciated

negative face

the desire not to be imposed upon, intruded, or otherwise put upon

face threatening acts (FTAs)

cause of a loss of face, whether it be positive or negative

gender

a behavioral, cultural, or psychological trait typically associated with sex

sex

a biological trait that is determined by sex chromosomes

race

any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits regarded as common among people of shared ancestry

ethnicity

of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background

social class

a group of people within a society who posses the same socioeconomic status (upper-elite, upper middle, lower middle, working, lower-poor)

Bernstein’s Codes

restricted code: highfrequency/lower order lexis, colloquialisms/informalities, associated with lower classes

elaborated code: low frequency/higher order lexis, formal register, associated with higher classes

jargon

the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group

why do people use jargon?

precision: required by occupation, makes for clear communication

identity: desire to belong, desire to stand out

power: superiority=power, may be used to confuse or dominate, includes and excludes others

slang

language specific to a particular group, informal nonstandard vocabular (usually coinages)

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

the structure of a language determins a native speaker’s perception and categorization of experience

linguistic relativity vs. linguistic determinism

relativity: language influences the way humans think

determinism: language determines the way humans think

Muted Group Theory

states that English devalues the words, thoughts, and experiences of marginalized groups. mostly focuses on gender.

1. language was made by dominant groups (men)

2. marginalized groups can find it harder to articulate themselves

3. marginalized groups have to translate their thoughts before speaking

Social Identity Theory

individuals derive a portion of their self-concept from their membership in social groups. social groups give a sense of belonging, purpose, self-worth, and identity.

stage 1: social categorization- tendency of people to calssify themselves and others into social groups based on different attributes

stage 2: social identification- after categorization, you adopt the identity of that group and adopt its norms, values, and behaviors

stage 3: social comparison- you compare your group to others, often biased in favor of their own group

stage 4: in-groups and out-groups- in-group is the group with which an individual identifies, out-group is the groups they don’t identify with

stage 5: positive distinctiveness- the desire for positive self-esteem motivates people to think of their in-group as positively different from the out-groups

Lakoff’s Defecit Theory

women tend to use unassertive speech forms because of their inferior and powerless position in society