Corso di Laurea Magistrale
In Lingue e Letterature Moderne Europee e
Americane
Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere Università Degli Studi di Cagliari
Anno Accademico 2010- 2011
English Course
World Englishes: An Overview
Lecture Notes
Main contents of the course are:
- An overview on the Varieties and Variation of World English - The description of English as a Global Language
COURSE OUTLINE
SESSION 1
- Features of English as an international Language - The English spoken Countries
- Development of the English - English Language Timeline - Main Languages influence SESSION 2
- World English vs World Englishes - Definitions and Explanations - World (New) Englishes
- The Three Way Classification: ENL, ESL and EFL – their definition: - ENL - English as Native Language
- ESL - English as Second Language - EFL - English as Foreign Language SESSION 3
- The Spread of English: An outline
- Main factors for the initial spread of English - Why English Has become a World Language - The Dominance Of English
- World (New) Englishes – Key Points
- Kachru‘s Three Circle Model of World Englishes - The Inner Circle
- The Outer Circle - The Expanding Circle
- McArthur‘s Circle of World English - The English - Today Debate
SESSION 4
- Some Features of New Englishes: a Framework - Defining a “New English”
- Language Standards
- The Standardising Process
- Key terms: Language, Dialect, Accent - Some Changes in Variation of Englishes - The social variation
- Lexical change
- Phonological variation SESSION 5
- Varieties of Englishes - some features: - Main influences
- Variation in vocabulary
- Variation in
Morphology and syntax
- Diachronic change in syntactic simplification - Synchronic changes
- Differences in tenses - Cultural conventions
- Some misunderstandings
- Variation in contemporary England - Scottish English and Variation in Scotland SESSION 6
- American English: the powerful variety - The Development of American English - Some features of
- -The African American Vernacular English (AAVE) - The Southern American English (SAE)
- Standard American English or General American: Main features - Variation in American English
-
The main ethnic variety:
African American Vernacular English - AAVEs- Southern American English – SAE – main features SESSION 7
- Canadian English - CanE - Its origins
- Linguistic situation
- Some Features of Canadian English SESSION 8
- English in Australia and New Zealand
- Australian English (AusE) – descriptive account
- Features of varieties of Standard Australian English - Some features of Australian Aboriginal English - Aboriginal English
- How varieties of English are influenced by indigenous languages
- The historical Perspective
- Cultural/conventional and pragmatic norms
- New Zealand English - NZE - Some remarkable features
SESSION 9
- English in Asia and Europe: an overview
- Asia and Europe - Similarities and Differences -
Asian Varieties
- Some
shared features - The Language Pyramid -New Englishes in Europe
- Some shared and common features
- The Changing Role of English in Europe
- New Emerging features
- Identity markers
- European English: a definition
- The Future of English – Main theories
-SESSION 1
ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE
Definition of a global Language
English and its origins
British English vs American English Definition of an International Language Some Characteristics:
large number of native speakers
the most widely spoken: Mandarin, English, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic - A large number of speakers of other languages
A language of wider communication:
a) among individuals from different countries b) between individuals from one country D. Crystal (1997):
“ …a language achieves global status when it develops “a special role” that is recognised in every country”
Achieving a global or special status means: - Making it an official language of the Country - Giving it a special priority
- Studying it as a required foreign language or second language - English has achieved a special status in over 70 countries
LIST OF ENGLISH SPOKEN COUNTRIES
Ra nk Countries Amount # 1 United States: 280,000,000 # 2 India: 100,000,000 # 3 United Kingdom: 55,000,000 # 4 Canada: 17,100,000 # 5 Australia: 15,682,000 # 6 South Africa: 3,500,000 # 7 New Zealand: 3,213,000 # 8 Ireland: 2,600,000 # 9 Zimbabwe: 375,490 # 1 0 Singapore: 227,000 # 1 1 Israel: 100,000 # 1 2 Sri Lanka: 97,000 # 1 3 Puerto Rico: 82,000Ra nk Countries Amount # 1 4 Liberia: 69,000 # 1 5 Bermuda: 58,800 # 1
6 Papua New Guinea: 50,000
# 1 7 Zambia: 41,434 # 1 8 Philippines: 32,802 # 1 9 Guam: 28,800 # 2 0 Malawi: 16,000 # 2 1 Barbados: 13,000 # 2 2 Namibia: 10,941 # 2 3 Cayman Islands: 9,200 # 2 4 Honduras: 9,000
Ra nk Countries Amount # 2 5 Virgin Islands: 8,414 # 2 6 Brunei: 8,000 # 2 7 Fiji: 4,929 # 2
8 Micronesia, Federated States of: 3,540
# 2 9 Gibraltar: 3,300 # 3 0 Mauritius: 3,000 # 3 1 Malta: 2,400 # 3 2 Midway Islands: 2,256 # 3
3 British Virgin Islands: 2,000
# 3
4 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): 1,991
# 3 5
Ra nk Countries Amount # 3 6 Vanuatu: 1,900 # 3 7 Wake Island: 1,730 # 3 8 Norfolk Island: 1,678 # 3 9 Seychelles: 1,601 # 4 0 American Samoa: 1,248 # 4 1 Cook Islands: 683 # 4 2 Nauru: 564 # 4 3 Kiribati: 338 # 4
4 Saint Pierre and Miquelon: 188
= 4 5 Kenya: 0 = 4 5 Tanzania: 0
Ra nk Countries Amount = 4 5 Nigeria: 0 = 4 5 Niue: 0 = 4 5 Belize: 0 = 4 5 Rwanda: 0 = 4 5 Ghana: 0 = 4 5 Uganda: 0 Total: 478,367,213 Weighted average: 9,199,369.5
-Major Language Families
-Indo-European Background - Major language families
-ENGLISH IS A GERMANIC LANGUAGE
Many Centuries of Development
Modern English is the result of various influences and transformations by great movement of peoples to the British Isles
Main Influences are: - CELTS - ROMAN INVASION - ANGLO-SAXON TRIBES - DANES - NORMANS THE CELTS
Celtic language formed one of the most extensive group in the Indo-European family:
- a great number of geographic features and place names come from Celtic - Cumberland is of Celtic derivation, it means “Valley Land”
- place-names like “KENT” which comes from the Celtic “Cant”i Common words from Celtic origin are:
curse dolmen down druid flannel gaol slogan
town > tun (fortified hill) truant whiskey car cart clock crag crock crockery cross
ROMAN INVASIONS
Latin had a considerable impact on the language Especially with Christianisation of the Island
- in both 55 and 54 BC, Julius Caesar invaded Britain with the aim of conquest. - in 43 AD Romans invaded and settled Britain
Latin Influence can be found in: Mile – milia
Wall – Vallum Table – Tabula
Latin Castra / Camp formed place-names: Chester – Manchester – Lancaster Words connected with Christianity: Angel – Angelus, Mass – Missa
Words connected with education and learning: Master – Magister , School - Schola
THE ANGLO- SAXONS INFUENCE From 449 AD onward
The Anglo-Saxons were North German Tribes Their language was called “Englisc”
Main Language influence:
-Introduced pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs,
-concrete words connected with farming:
-Sheep, ox, plough, swinw, wood
-Every day words:
-Mann (man), wī (wife), cild (child) hūs (house) NORMAN INFLUENCE
From 1066 the Normans settle in England. They brought French Language
French was the language of the ruling class There were three languages in play:
1- French: language Social and cultural prestige 2- Latin: language of learning and Religion
3- Anglo-Saxon/English: for common speech
Speaking French or Anglo-Saxon was a matter of class distinction
Main Norman influence can be found in words concerning: - government ad administration:
Empire, reign, parliament, state Law:
Crime, accuse, adultery, property Fashion/ social life:
Coat, button, satin, supper, dinner Literature and architecture:
Art, painting, poet, cathedral, romance
French and Anglo-Saxon existed side by side for a long period there were two words in usage with the same meaning:
Ox – beef Sheep – mutton Swine- pork Calf – veil
Anglo-Saxon words for the beast and French words for meats Middle English (1150 – 1500)
- It was not one language
- It was made of several regional dialects
- The East Midlands became the most important - Commercial importance of London
- Dialect of Centres of learning of Oxford and Cambridge There was a sort of triangle: Oxford/Cambridge/London They shared the same kind of English:
The basis for the Standard English of our time East Midlands
Turning point of the rebirth of English as a national language:
Henry V was the first English King to use English in official documents In 1415 when he defeated the French army at Agincourt
In his first letter dictated in French soil he chose symbolically: “not to write in the language of his enemies”
English Language Timeline
The English language is a vast flea market of words, handed down, borrowed or created over more than 2000 years. And it is still expanding, changing and trading. Our language is not purely
English at all - it is a ragbag of diverse words that have come to our island from all around the world. Words enter the language in all sorts of ways: with invaders, migrants, tradesmen; in stories, artworks, technologies and scientific concepts; with those who hold power, and those who try to overthrow the powerful.
View the chart below to get an overview of some of the many chapters in the history of the English language. Celts 500BC-43BC Early inhabitants of these islands
The Celts are the earliest inhabitants of the British Isles to leave a mark on our language.
Celtic words In fact, very few Celtic words have lived on in the English language. But many of our place names have Celtic origins, such as London, Dover and
Kent, & the rivers Thames & Wye.
Romans 43BC-c.450AD
Romans invade and rule British Isles for over 400 years
Only around 200 Latin loanwords are inherited from the Romans - although by the 6th century the Church will have brought many more.
Roman
words Many of the words passed on from this era are those coined by Roman merchants and soldiers. These
include win (wine), candel (candle), belt(belt) and weall (wall).
Anglo Saxons 449AD
Germanic tribes - Angles, Saxons and Jutes - begin
Anglo Saxon dialects form the basis of the language we now call Old English. About 400 Anglo Saxon texts survive from this era, including many beautiful poems - these tell tales of wild battles and heroic journeys.
to arrive Anglo Saxon words
Approximately one third of Anglo-Saxon vocabulary survives into modern English, including many of our most basic,
everyday words: earth, house, food, sing, night and sleep. By the 7th century Latin speakers refer to this country as Anglia - the land of the Angles - a name that will later develop into England.
St Augustine 597 AD Christian missionaries arrive from the Continent
Christian missionaries, led by St. Augustine, move through the land, converting the Anglo-Saxons from their Pagan beliefs to a Catholic Christian faith. Throughout Europe, the language of the Church is Latin, and the missionaries inject hundreds of new Latin words into the English language. English is spoken differently in different counties, but
four main dialects exist and resemble the English we know today. These dialects are Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon and Kentish.
Latin words Many of the new words derived from Latin refer to religion, such
as altar, mass, school, and monk, but others are more domestic and mundane such as fork, spade, spider, tower, and rose.
Vikings 789AD The year 789 sees the first Danish invasion of Britain
For a hundred years the Vikings control most of Eastern England, before being pushed back into the North East of the country by King Alfred the Great. They remain in power in the North East until the late 900s, in an area then known as Danelaw. During this time King Alfred uses the English language to develop a sense of national identity amongst the English.
Norse words These raiders and settlers bring almost 2000 new words into the English
vocabulary. Words derived from Norse include anger, awkward, cake,
die, egg, freckle, muggy, reindeer, silver, skirt and smile. Many Northern
English dialect words still bear traces of Scandinavian languages, as do many place names such as Whitby and Grimsby.
Normans 1066
The Normans invade
The Normans transform England, both culturally and linguistically. For over 300 years French is the language spoken by the most powerful
people - royalty, aristocrats and high-powered officials - some of whom can't speak English at all. French is used in political documents, in administration, and in literature. Latin is still the language of the church and of scholars, but most of the general population speak English in their every day lives.
French words Thousands of French words become embedded in the English
vocabulary, most of which are words of power, such as crown, castle,
court, parliament, army, mansion, gown, beauty, banquet, art, poet, romance, chess, colour, duke, servant, peasant, traitor and governor.
100 Years War 1337-1450s 100 Years War fought between England and France
Following the 100 Years War, many people regard French as the language of the enemy. The status of English rises. The universities of Oxford & Cambridge are established. Literacy increases but books are still copied by hand and are therefore extremely expensive.
New Latin words
Many thousands of Latin words come into the language, most of which are connected to religion, medicine, law or literature. These
words include scripture, collect, immortal, history, library, solar,
recipe and genius.
Renaissance 1476-1650 A time of great cultural and intellectual development
In 1476, Caxton introduces the printing press to England. He prints all kinds of texts: mythic tales, popular stories, poems, phrasebooks,
devotional pieces & grammars. In the following 150 years around 20,000 books are printed. Books become cheaper and are therefore increasingly popular. Literacy rates rise. Printers have to make a choice about which words, grammar and spellings to use. The choices they make help to set and spread a standard language. They base their decisions on the dialects of the South East - the most socially and economically influential region. But these rules are not set in stone, and people continue to speak in different accents and dialects, and to write with different spellings. Over the next 200 years wonderful discoveries and innovations are made in the fields of art, theatre and science. There is a fresh interest amongst scholars in classical languages, while intrepid explorers and opportunistic traders travel to the New World.
New words With these fresh findings come new words from across the globe,
Latin);bizarre, chocolate, explore, moustache and vogue (from French); carnival, macaroni and violin (from Italian) harem, jar,
magazine and sherbet from Arabic); and coffee, yoghurt and kiosk (from
Turkish); tomato, potato and tobacco(from Spanish)
1700s An age of dictionaries, grammars and rules and regulations
Human knowledge continues to stretch into new areas, with discoveries in the fields of medicine, astrology, botany & engineering. Many scholars believe that the English language is chaotic, and in desperate need of some firm rules. Books teaching 'correct' grammar,
pronunciation & spelling are increasingly popular. Samuel Johnson publishes his famous dictionary in 1755.
Derided words Words hated by Johnson, and omitted from his dictionary, include bang,
budge, fuss, gambler, shabby, and touchy.
Industrial Revolution 1760-1800s
Transformation of the western world
In an age of inventions and contraptions, of science & industry, of expanding cities & smog-gurgling factories the language must swell to accommodate new ideas.
New words Newly coined words include biology, taxonomy, caffeine, cityscape,
centigrade, watt, bacterium, chromosome and claustrophobia. In the
world of burgeoning capitalism, money can suddenly slump, inflate,
boom and cause depressions. Victorian writers pen over 60,000 novels.
1900s - Present Day
English of today
A century of world wars, technological transformation, and
globalisation. The language continues to grow, expanding to incorporate new jargons, slangs, technologies, toys, foods and gadgets.
Familiar
words It is in this century that we get doodlebugs, gasmasks, gobstoppers, mini skirts and mods and rockers; we enjoy dim sum, cappuccino, chicken
tikka masala and pizzerias; we talk of chavs, mingers and weirdos; and
we are addicted totellies, websites, cybercafes and compact discs.
SESSION 2
World English vs World Englishes Definitions & Explanations
World 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 or General English.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.
World Englishes a definition:
„Any language variety of English including those developed by communities in which English was not indigenous in modern history.“
( The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics, 2007, p. 234) World (New) Englishes
Why English Has Become a World Language?
- Forms of New Englishes, even if not uniform in characteristics share criteria:
•
developed through education system
•
developed in an area where English was not spoken by majority of people
•
has become „nativised“ by own language features
( after J.Jenkins, World Englishes,2003,p 22/23)
The Three Way Classification: ENL, ESL & EFL
- Three distinct forms of users
- but important starting point to understand distinctions and spread of New & World Englishes
1 ENL - English as Native Language
- language of people born &raised in countries, where English is (historically) the first language
- countries like: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand - as „traditional, cultural & linguistic bases“
- around 350 million ENL speakers around the world
- not one single variety, differences in territories (e.g. UK and US) - Norm providing and spoken in the Inner Circle
2 . ESL - English as Second Language
- people living in territories like India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Singapore - Countries former colonised by British
- English gained importance in administration
- English serves official purpose within the country in law, education and government
- also worldwide around 350 million speakers
- Norm developing and labelled as non-standard, illegitimate, interlanguage, bad, deviant, half baked
3. EFL - English as Foreign Language
- For speakers of EFL English serves no purpose in own country - Historically learned for communication with ENL speakers
- Nowadays used for communication with other non-native speakers - Norm dependent and used in Expanding Circle
SESSION 3
The Spread of English: An outline
Key Facts:
Main factors for the initial spread of English:
-Several geographical, historical, socio-cultural factors
-Colonialism -Speakers migration -technology development17th and 18th centuries English is the language of the leading colonial nation (Britain)
18th and 19th centuries is the language of leader of the industrial revolution (Britain)
-The late 19th and early 20th centuries is the language of the leading economic power (the USA)
-Beginning of 19th century Britain is the world’s leading industrial and trading nation English emerges as a first-rank language in areas that affect all aspects of society:
-The press, advertising, broadcasting, sound recording, movies, transport and communications
Why English Has Become a World Language
Why English?
English dominates three key components of the global popular culture (especially among young people)
-Motion picture industry
-The Internet
The Dominance Of English
English is the main language of:
-Tourist related industries (10% of world’s labour force)
-International airports
-Major international hotels (English staff)
-Dissemination of information.
-Scientific publishing
-85% of Biology, Physic Papers,
-73% of Medical Papers
-65% Mathematics and Chemistry Papers INTERNET:
84% of Internet servers are in English (Widdowson 1997):
“…One of the primary reason for the spread of English today is because it has such a variety of specific purposes…”
English plays a key role in the economic development of countries for: RELEVANT INFORMATION
-in political and -intellectual areas
-International organizations, private funding sources information
-Gives the access to the global community for economic development to obtain:
-Agricultural development -Transportation infrastructures EDUCATION - Medium of instruction
It gives access to higher education
World (New) Englishes
•
Forms of New Englishes not uniform in characteristics, but share criteria: •
developed through education system •
developed in an area where English was not spoken by majority of people •
“…has become „nativised“ by own language features…”
( J.Jenkins, World Englishes,2003,p 22/23)
Three-way model: ENL, ESL & EFL
-Three distinct forms of users
- increasingly difficult to classify speakers belonging to only one group
- important starting point to understand distinctions and spread of New & World Englishes
English Today the Three Way Classification
Three main groups of users:
-a n-ative l-angu-age = ENL
-a second l-angu-age = ESL
-a foreign l-angu-age = EFL
Neat classifications become increasingly difficult
Problems with the three-way Classification Models of the spread of English Three circle model of World Englishes
Kachru‘s three circle model of world Englishes
•
It is the most influential model describing spread of World English
•
Connected to the ENL, ESL, EFL concepts
•
Kachru‘s three circle model of World Englishes
The Three circle model of World Englishes:
a)
The Inner Circle
The inner circle refers to the traditional bases of English, where it is the primary language.
Included in this circle are the USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The varieties of English used here are, in Kachru's scheme, 'norm providing'.
b) The Outer Circle
The outer or extended circle involves the earlier phases of the spread of English in non-native settings
- where the language has become part of a country's chief institutions, and plays an important 'second language' role in a multilingual setting:
- Singapore, India, Malawi and over fifty other territories are included in the outer circle.
The varieties used here are what Kachru calls 'norm-developing':
- in regions using these varieties there has been a conflict between linguistic norm and linguistic behaviour.
c) The Expanding Circle
It includes those nations which acknowledge the importance of English as an International Language.
- Historically, they do not belong to that group of countries which were colonised by members of the inner circle, and English doesn't have any special intranational status or function.
- constitute the context in which English is taught as a 'foreign' language as the most useful vehicle of international communication.
- These are 'norm-dependent' varieties, and are essentially exonormative in Kachru's terms.
The inner circle (UK, USA) is 'norm-providing', meaning: that English language norms are developed in these countries and English is the first language there.
The outer circle (mainly New Commonwealth countries) is 'norm-developing'.
The expanding circle (much of the rest of the world) is 'norm-dependent', because it relies on the standards set by native speakers in the inner circle.
D. Crystal while warning that such data should be carefully interpreted, lists some seventy-five territories in which English “…'has held or continues to hold, a special place as a member of either the inner or the outer circles'…”
What is more significant, though, is the growth in the expanding circle, which has resulted in English being used by non-native speakers among themselves at least as much as between native and non-native English speakers
The Inner Circle includes:
ENL Countries: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand •
Spoken English as „norm providing“ •
English-language standards determined by ENL speakers (Inner Circle)
The Outer Circle includes
ESL Countries : Bangladesh, Singapore, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Malaysia
- Spoken English regarded as „norm developing“ (developing own standards)
The Expanding Circle includes:
EFL Countries: China, Egypt, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, Israel,… - Spoken English regarded as “norm performing“
- standards from Inner & Outer Circles are performed / taken over
McArthur‘s circle of World English
The Inner Circle:
•
•
but not existing in identifiable form The Outer Circle:
Band of regional varieties of English
standard forms standardising forms McArthur‘s circle of World English Model
•
Divides the world into 8 seperate regions
•
Describes sub-varieties of the standard and standardising forms
•
Examples: Welsh English, Quebec English, ect
Summary example: American Standard English - Midland
The English - Today Debate
Key points:
The Outer and Expanding Circles: - English has become Englishes
- Local conditions + influence of other languages The Inner Circle
Differences: accents, vocabulary, in less extent grammar Standard varieties: legitimate (world norms)
Some Country Standard “Superior to those of other ENL countries The Outer and Expanding Circles point of view:
Their Varieties are institutionalised form of English
Should be seen comparable with the Inner Circles Englishes Valid as a local Teaching Models
Inner Circle point of view: The English of outer Circle:
- It is an Interlanguage (has not yet reached the target English)
- It is a fossilised language: (when learning as ceased short native competence)
SESSION 4
Some Features of New Englishes: a Framework
- Variation in English - Kachru’s Circle Model
Outer and Inner Circles
First Group of Englishes are: North America (US and Canada) Australia
New Zealand South Africa
Englishes developed independently from English in Britain - Spoken as a mother tongue
- has elements of continuity Latter group of Englishes are: Indian English
Philippine English Nigerian English
Singapore English (increasingly spoken as a mother tongue) Were/are learnt as second languages
One language with wider multilingual repertoire of acquisition
The New Englishes should be considered in their own right, not in terms of their differences American English and British English are the world’s two prestige varieties of Englishes
Defining a “New English”:
An umbrella Term, covering a large varieties of English Far from uniform in their characteristics and current use They share some features (Platt et all 1984)
-Developed through the education system
-Developed in areas where a native variety of English was not the spoken language
-Used for a range of functions – speak/write
-Became “localised”/”nativised” - language features of its own:
-sounds, intonation, patterns, sentence structures, words, expression
New Englishes has to be considered:
on the basis of the status of its norms = innovative uses
The extents of acceptance despite the difference from the native model norms Status of Innovation
Acceptance of innovations
Bangbose (1998) defines some internal factors of the status of an innovation in English
- Demographic Factor (how many speakers of acrolet/standard - Geographical factor (how widely diffused)
- Authoritative factor (where its use is sanctioned)
- Codification (appears in reference books (dictionaries/grammar) - Acceptability factor (the attitude of users /non users towards it) The most crucial factors:
Codification and acceptability:
any innovation is regarded as an error than a legitimate form Standard Language in the Inner Circle
Term used for:
Variety of Language considered to be the NORM
-Optimum for education purposes
-Yardstick against which other varieties of language are measured
speakers have high prestige Language Standards
The Standardising Process
Selection: one variety rather than another is chosen
-Social/Political process Codification:
The chosen variety has to be fixed in grammar books/dictionaries -access to the standard form
Elaboration of Function: - fulfilment its role
- Perform a wide range of institutional and literary functions (government, law, education, science and literature, media…) Acceptance:
- Relevant population accept the selected language as a standard Standard English
In the Inner Circle context Some definitions
-Language of educated people throughout the British Isles
-Used in writing, in school and University
-Radio and television
-spoken by educated speakers
-Studied as a foreign/second language
-Formal instruction
-Refers to grammar, vocabulary (dialect) not pronunciation (accent) Standard English definitions
-The grammar and the core vocabulary of educated usage in English
-Pronunciation cannot be labelled standard
-Traditionally the medium of the upper and professional middle class
-since the 1920s the accent has been called the Received Pronunciation (RP)
the Queen’s English
-Oxford English, BBC English Standard English
Trudgill: “…Primarily a matter of grammar and vocabulary promoted through the education system…”
Standard English is a dialect of great prestige
Not associated accent
Not part of geographical continuum
It is a SOCIAL DIALECT
Key Terms to consider:
- Language, Dialect, Accent - Not easily defined
LANGUAGE AND DIALECT (Not clear-cut difference)
LANGUAGE: autonomous
DIALECT: heteronymous
Language: related to names of independent political entities
(the definition doesn’t apply to English which is the official language of more than 20 nations)
Some Features of the Dialect
- often intelligible
- mainly spoken – no codified written form – used in certain DOMAINS
- DOMAINS: recurring limited situation type/contexts (situational use of language - a definable context of life in a society)
- Typical Domain: the school, the family, work, the Church, the local media, a living dialect is characterised by the use of several domain
LOSS OF DOMAIN means: endangered DIALECT AND ACCENT
ACCENT: refers to the pronunciation of a variety DIALECT: refers grammar and vocabulary
speaking a particular Dialect implies using a particular variant of pronunciation
What is a dialect?
- a specific variety of English that differs from other varieties in three specific ways: - lexis (vocabulary),
- grammar (structure)
- phonology(pronunciation or accent). - may be different from each other
- all speakers within the English-speaking world can still generally understand them. What is an accent?
Accent, refers only to differences in the sound patterns of a specific dialect we all speak with an accent.
DIFFICULT DISTINCTION BETWEEN DIALECT/LANGUAGE WE USE A NEUTRAL TERM: VARIETY: covers both concepts: the general term to refer to World Englishes
TYPES OF VARIATION
VARIATION in World Englishes is to be found at all level of language: - Spelling - Phonetics/phonology - Morphology - Syntax - Lexis (vocabulary) - Discourse
Some Changes in Variation of Englishes
Change in Pronunciation
changes in pronunciation can come in a variety of forms.
the pronunciation of a particular vowel sound or consonant sound changes gradually across successive generations and thus has an impact on a large group of words. A change in pronunciation might initially take place only in one particular geographic location and remain local. Or it may over time spread nationally and thus affect all varieties of English.
RP - Received Pronunciation is a Social Accent of English
Received Pronunciation, or RP for short, is the instantly recognisable accent - described as ‘typically British’.
- Popular terms for this accent, such as ‘The Queen’s English’, ‘Oxford English’ or ‘BBC English’ are all a little misleading.
- The Queen, for instance, speaks an almost unique form of English, while the English we hear at Oxford University or on the BBC is no longer restricted to one type of accent.
RP is an accent, not a dialect, since all RP speakers speak Standard English.
It avoids non-standard grammatical constructions and localised vocabulary characteristic of regional dialects.
- RP is also regionally non-specific, that is it does not contain any clues about a speaker’s geographic background.
- it does reveal a great deal about their social and/or educational background There is more than one RP:
Conservative RP refers to a very traditional variety particularly associated with older speakers and the aristocracy.
Mainstream RP describes an accent that we might consider extremely neutral in terms of signals regarding age, occupation or lifestyle of the speaker.
Contemporary RP refers to speakers using features typical of younger RP speakers.
All RPs are united by the fact they do not use any pronunciation patterns that allow us to make assumptions about where they are from in the UK
Making speech fit the situation
All native speakers adjust their speech patterns depending on context:
from relaxed conversation in familiar surroundings to a more formal setting.
Most of us have been accused of having a ‘telephone voice’.
We all have a range of different voices — for talking to children, talking to friends in the pub, making a presentation or talking to a foreigner and we modify our speech accordingly.
Lexical change
refers to a change in the meaning or use of a word, or a generational shift in preference for one word or phrase over another.
Lexical change is probably the most frequent type of language change and certainly the easiest to observe.
we can make confident assertions about the age of a speaker who uses the word courting to mean “going out with”, or one who uses the adjective fit to describe someone they find attractive.
In most cases, the changes we make are extremely subtle but nonetheless noticeable,
perfectly natural way of making the people we are talking to feel at ease.
Often this process is subconscious simply expressing a shared identity or group solidarity or attempting to present a certain image.
the range of any given speaker’s repertoire is defined by who he or she is.
People from different geographical places speak differently,
but even within the same small community, people might speak differently according to their age, gender, ethnicity and social or educational background
PHONOLOGICAL VARIATION Different forms:
-The way a single word is pronounced
-The pronunciation of a singular vowel or consonant changes gradually across successive generations
-Has an impact on a large group of words
-Can take place in a particular area and remain local
-May spread nationally and affect many varieties of English GRAMMAR VARIATION
distinction between standard and non-standard grammar,
Standard English refers to what many people consider a prestigious form,
Use by people in positions of authority and because of its universal acceptance as the written norm.
Just as speakers with a broad accent do not reflect their pronunciation in writing, most people whose speech is characterised by non-standard grammar, switch to more standard forms in writing.
However, there is a great deal of difference between written and spoken language, both in terms of purpose and audience, and this is reflected in their different
grammars -RP samples -Dialect samples -Lexical Changes -Phonological Changes Grammar change
Students’ Listening activity Audio recordings from: The British library: http://www.bl.uk/
-SESSION 5
Varieties of Englishes
Some features:
Inner Circle ) split in an extra vowel - USUALLY “schwa” /ə/
e.g. Irish and Australian Englishes:
Film and known = /filəm/ and /nouwən/ respectively 1st INFLUENCE:
Consonant Cluster languages vs Consonant-Vocal-Consonant
Consonant cluster at the ends of words, as in English past tenses and plurals
Speakers of C-V-C- simplify to a single consonant sound:
walked /wɔ:kt/ = /wɔ:k/ - or even /wɒʔ/
Books /bʊks/ = /bʊk/
(with a glottal stop / ʔ / as final sound) 2nd INLUENCE
The main reason for Syntactic Simplification can be Phonological Another major influence occurs whether they are:
STRESS-TIMED or - SYLLABLE TIMED Languages
- STRESS-TIMED: the number of stress points determines how long it will take to say something (swallowing effect) (Australian) – syllables between stress point get shortened and vowels are often sounded as schwas
- SYLLABLE TIMED: equal time -each syllable takes more or less the same amount of time to produce (easier to understand)
Some languages are more stressed-timed than syllable-timed
People with Syllable-Timed L1 develop Englishes characterised by syllable-timing, for example Malaysian and Singaporean
Example:
- Stress-Timed RP /fə’tɒgrəfə/ ( 1st, 3rd and 4th vowels are shortened to a schwa)
- Singaporean: /foʊtoʊgræfə/ Similarity = the final schwa
the attitude variation are needed are natural not worries about them VARIATION IN VOCABULARY
Different kinds of Varieties:
1.Variation in meaning: same word different meanings in different varieties or Englishes
Different usage of vocabulary can cause misunderstanding among different varieties of English Speakers (reflect local culture and context)
2 Variation in Vocabulary
Different Varieties of Englishes have words that are unique to them
vocabulary reflects ways of talking about common things and concept related to particular cultures
different varieties of English can adapt words to suit the culture in which they are used
For Example Australian Informality is a cultural value: - gives rise to the shortening and clipping of common words - gives them a special Australian informal flavour
A Politician = a Pollie - a Journalist = a journo
a refugee = a reffo
Vocabularies of varieties of Englishes enriched by words from local languages (referred to local cultures, practices and traditions)
- Adoption of words from native language – ( not from a particular variety of English, from other languages)
- many Japanese words are now of common usage (judo, suschi….)
- Word are adopted to describe peculiar geographical features, local flora and fauna, local phenomena
- remarkable the contribute of Australian Aboriginal Language: kangaroo, koala, boomerang;
now understood by speakers of many different varieties of Englishes
- Voiceless nouns such as bath: θ and mau:th - Voiced verbs: beth (bathe) and mouth
- RP has th sound at the beginning of words such as /θ/ thirty-three
- Irish and certain variety of American English have sounds closer to a /t/ in the above words (bath – mouth)
- RP ð words, such a mother in other varieties the sound is more like /d/ It is difficult when these sounds do not exist in the learner’s language
It would be useful consider which sounds of English are important for no-native speakers to master sand which can be ignored even if being intelligible
Functional Load
“Functional Load”: defines the relative meaning
load a sound may refer to the importance of certain features in making distinctions in a language.
how hard would it be to guess the identity of a phoneme in context when it has not been heard?
A vowel sound that carry high functional load in Standard American English may carry a lower functional load in other varieties of English.
speaking/learning English does not necessarily mean speaking/learning RP or Standard American
MORPHOLOGY and SYNTAX
Variation in the way people use grammar
Once English had a more complex inflected language structure (words change form according to grammatical function)
English maintains some elements of the Inflectional System as follows: - Signs time by changing the form of the verb
- S for plurals –
- S -3rd singular person present simple
- past tenses (ed), - Saxon genitive
- Inflection are also way to sign the time – tense system - -In English inflection can change the part of speech:
For example: noun beauty = adjective beautiful by adding a suffix FUL Beautifully + suffix FULLY (adverb)
Other languages (Chinese) the word do not change is not and inflective language. Some languages use different ways of signalling time (use adverbs: yesterday, next – year)
SOME CHANGES
Dictionary Writers keep track of the changes in languages by recording (and, ideally, dating) the appearance in a language of new words, or of new usages for existing words.
By the same token they may tag some words as "archaic" or "obsolete Diachronic change
(takes place over a long period of time) A process of syntactic simplification
-use of inflections has reduced slowly over the centuries
-The old inflectional system had: nominative – accusative – genitive – dative Today English
- retains inflections on nouns the suffix S for plurals
the Old English: suffix EN still exist in irregular plurals such as: Children and oxen For Example:
- The second singular person was Thou;
- the second person singular inflection was est - the 3rd person singular inflection was – eth - you make = thou makest
- He makes = he maketh
Genders and Causes markers have all disappeared
The accusative and genitive are restricted to WHOM and the S’ are dropping out of use except in formal writing
- The old inflectional system had two ways of marking the past tense: The strong form: by changing the internal vowel:
Rīdan –rād – (ride-rode) Findan – fand (find – found) Beran – baer (bear-bore)
Sprecan – spraec (speak-spoke) The weak form- by adding a suffix:
Endian – endode – endod (end-ended-ended) Cysson-cyssede (kiss-kissed)
Over time the strong forms have lost out to the weak forms Today nearly all new verbs take ED as past tense marker Therefore:
- the trend for New Varieties of English - NVE is in favour regular ED endings - Mirroring a historical process
The Word Order
A change associated with the simplification of the inflectional system has been: the move from a relatively free to a relatively fixed word order
In Modern English:
“the king betrayed the queen” and
“ the queen betrayed the king” (very different meaning) In Old English:
- “sēo cwēn besāc pone cynig” and - “pone cynig besāc sēo cwēn” mean the same: “the queen betrayed the king”
despite the different word order, the subject and object are marked through inflections
Inflections have disappeared from most modern varieties of Englishes
NOT in THE VARIETY of ENGLISH spoken In the Yorkshire (North West Of England)
- It still retains the more complex system of inflection - Thou = you - st verb suffix
- Yorkshire = “Hast thou seen him?” = “have you seen him?”
- Yorkshire = “Where’st thou bin ?” / “Where hast thou been?” = “where have you been?
DIACHRONIC CHANGE IN SYNTACTIC SIMPLIFICATION Some irregular are slowly getting dropped:
Centuries ago the past tens of WORK was WROUGHT
still occurs in the phrase “wrought iron” worked iron (metal shaped by hammering)
- Many irregular past tense forms still exist
- There is evidence they have slowly been disappearing over time
SYNCHRONIC CHANGES
Change taking place at the moment:
- Among speakers of English whose first language do not have tense or inflections are developing their-own simpler system of tense and inflections
Predictable future changes:
- loose the S of the singular 3rd person in the present simple
- simplification can be phonological (find it hard to pronounce inflections as it occurs as consonant clusters)
Occurs more in the spoken language than in written form
DIFFERENCES IN TENSES
DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY TENSES ARE USED AMONG VARITIES Standard British Englishes- SBE vs Standard American Englishes - SAE- in certain contexts:
SAE may use the SIMPLE PAST While
SBE use the PRESENT PERFECT For example:
SBE: “Have you bought that car yet?” SAE: “Did you buy that car yet?”
COMMON FEATURE IN INDIAN ENGLISH (IE) - the Use of the present continuous
- Where the SBE would use the Present Simple IE: “I am knowing very well”
BE: “I know very well”
- Influence of first language Punjabi:
- the present continuous in English is the present simple in Punjabi
Cultural Conventions and Schemas - The language in real contexts
- Cultural Conventions are cultural routines - the way people greet / address each other
- Fairly predictable sequences = follow a predictable schema
- For example Schema = is a word adopted from a language to another with the consequent variations in meaning
-The way people greet in British, American, Australian English - BE; How are you – Fine, thanks
- AE: How are you doing? _ Great (thanks) - AusE: How are you going? - Good, thanks
- It may cause misunderstanding when people move from one culture to another Misunderstanding
- British people who move to live in Australia can be confused by being asked “how are you going?”
A British English sensible answer might well be : “by bus” CULTURAL CONVENTIONS
- In certain Asian Cultures is common to greet “have you eaten?” Some example of Cultural Conventions
- American Academic Culture: Students address to academic staff by title and family name
- In Australian Academic Culture: Students address to their lecturers by first names This norm is like violating their own conventions
SOME MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- when a Speaker although using excellent English may use His/her own cultural schema and cultural norms
For Example:
A Chinese variety of English
prefers a request schema that places reason for a request for before the request itself.
Varieties of English reflect the cultural conventions and norms of the different speakers
VARIATION IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLAND
- debate over the number of major varieties of English spoken - Non debate on the many varieties still existing
Ellis (1890) identifies 6 major dialects, he subdivided into 42 districts Viereck (1986) identifies 7 major dialect areas in England namely: 1 The North
2. The North West
3. The County of Lincolnshire 4. East Anglia
5. The Midlands
6. The Extreme Southeast 7. The Extreme Southwest
Trudgill (1990) distinguishes between: - Traditional/rural dialects - 13 listed - Modern/urban dialects – 12 listed
From Ihalainen (1994),: some examples of distinctive grammar features: The Northern Subject Rule:
- The plural present tense takes “S” if not preceded by a personal pronoun subject: - “ they peel and boils them” instead: “birds sings”
- southern usage, in contrast the “S” is affixed after a personal pronoun subject: “they peels and boils them”
Scottish English and Variation in Scotland Scots is described as a variety of English
Is Scots a variety of English or is it a separate language? For the Political status should be a Language
Many varieties of English include many varieties of Scottish English Kay (1988) identifies 7 dialects of Scots:
Southern South
West and East Central Northern
Highland Insular
Northern dialect is called Doric or Buchan Doric
It is Spoken in the North of Aberdeen, Northeast of Scotland Widely used, also in written form
Leopard magazine is edited and published in northeast Scotland and carries articles about Doric written in Doric including a popular comic “Concillor Swick”
Common grammatical features of Scottish English It suffix as a past tense ending
“I aye likit” (liked) /f/ for /w/ in wh -words
The use of the past simple where in Standard British English (SBE) the present perfect would be used
Summing up
There is a wide variation between varieties and also variation within varieties - The most obvious variation between varieties occur in :
- pronunciation and vocabulary
- significant differences in syntax and grammar
- differences are immediately noticeable and might cause temporary misunderstandings
- more importantly varieties reflect the culture of the speakers this is a cause of difference between varieties as the ways cultural norm are expressed as a result differ across varieties
All language is characterised by variation and change - No language is pure
- Varieties develop to supply the needs of their speakers
- No matter how many rules – prescriptive grammarians or linguistic bureaucrats will prescribe .
- Variation and change are powerful markers of cultural and linguistic convention diversity
Burchhfield (1985): (scholar, writer, and lexicographer) maintains that:
“…stability of meaning is rare in any language…” and that “…no construction is everlasting stable, no cherished remains unbroken …”
- Without variation varieties English could not be a global language; variety is the world cultural foundation
SESSION 6
AMERICAN ENGLISH: THE POWERFUL VARIETY The Development of American English
American English – AE- is the most influential and powerful variety of English in the world today
REASONS:
1. The USA is the most powerful nation on earth (power brings influence)
2 . The USA political influence extended through USA popular Culture: Films and music mainly
Kahane (1992) points put: “The international dominant position of a culture results in a forceful expansion of its language…. The expansion of language contributes… to the prestige of the culture behind it”
3. the international prominence of American English is directly associated with the extraordinary quick development of communication technology (Microsoft is owned by the American Bill Gate) = a computer’s default setting for language is A E
Development of AE:
there are too many varieties so we’ll focus on just two key issues - African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
- Southern American English (SAE) Background
FIRST OFFICIAL ENGL-SPEAKING GROUP arrived in 1497 with the leader John Cabot
- In 1621 - English-speaking / English Puritans arrived on the Mayflower
- Followed several waves of migration to America from Britain and many other countries in Europe
- Many where imported as slaves from African colonised countries (slave trade) - America provided contact point for English and many other languages (European – African)
More complex issue:
1) migrants form Britain brought many different varieties of BE (also of poorly educated people)
3)The presence of so many languages gave rise to American Indian Pidgin English (AIPE) and it was an important Lingua Franca (in the days of early settlers and during the move west across the US)
- in 1776 America achieved independence from Britain and also Linguistic Independence
Kahane (1992) points out: “…Four main influences that caused American English to break from Brit English are”:
1) A decline of Anglophilia
2) The standardization of informal speech (consequence of adopting democratic principles and a general levelling of society
3) The levelling of social dialects (no single dialect was associated with prestige) 4) Integration of foreign elements (influence from languages of African European emigrants)
Kahane points out that:
the 2nd and 3rd points are mainly consequence of democratisation
and Democratisation often pushes the Vernacular or a low form of variety into becoming the standard accepted form
The most noticeable difference between dialects was as still is pronunciation America English – AE vs British English - BE
For examples:
J/ does not Glide (move smoothly) after certain consonants in AE - Duke = /dju:k) is /du:k/ in AE
- Stress pattern on words differs: British: “laboratory” has 4 syllables , main stress on the second
- AE “laboratory” has 5 syllables – equal stress on each - BE = Extraordinary = 4 syll. – main stress in the 2nd - AE = has 6 syll – main stress on the 1st and 3rd syll. - BE “/privəsi/
- AE: /praivəsi/
There are many differences in vocabulary - in different areas: - Examples in CARS and DRIVING issues:
BE: bonnets, boots, gear levers, number plates, tyres, windscreens AE: hoods, trunks, stick shifts, licence plate, tires, windshields
BE: drive on motorways, ring roads, pull off at junctions and pull up on the hard shoulder
REMARKABLE GRAMMATICAL DIFFERENCE: - In the same contexts: AE can use the past simple While
- BE uses the present perfect.
STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH or GENERAL AMERICAN
Codification began in 1828, Noah Webster published An American Dictionary of The English Language” the American counterpart of Johnson’s
- Yet the concept of standard in USA is not easy to define both in pronunciation and vocabulary
- Classification of Standardness is somewhat flexible respect to the regional varieties
- The Term General America refers to American accents without a great deal of regional colouring “Network English Standard”
Phonology Features
Comparison between the accents representing: New England – New York City and the South
SEE THE US LEXICAL SETS (handout)
New York: the variable rhoticity (letter /r/ after a vowel) GRAMMAR:
- Share the features of Regional non-standard AE: - Unmarked plurality
- Multiple negation
- Simplified verb agreement system - Double modals
- Preference of construction: my hair needs combed – instead of need combing - Positive anymore: They watch a lot of videos anymore -meaning nowadays VARIATION IN AMERICAN ENGLISH
There are a number of varieties of AE that differ markedly from one another A Controversy:
- differences between African American Vernacular English (AAVEs) - and White American English Vernaculars (WAEVs)
There are two competitive theories
1) Colonial lag Theory = WAEVs developed by preventing or introducing features from varieties of B E (white Americans: perhaps a need to legitimize AE by proving that they use little nothing that has not been previously by use by Brit E
2) Language Contact Teheory: AAVEs differs from WAEVs because they developed from the contact of English with other languages, primarily African Languages; this is the most accepted Theory
AAVE and\SOUTH AMRERICAN ENGLISH influenced each other similarities among them; this can be explained by some 200 years of common history and regular interaction between speakers
Other factors influencing the American Varieties: There are 3 specific forces:
1.accelerating metropolitanisation
2.increasing migration (both domestic and foreign) 3.Expanding of ethnic diversity
- 1860 = 80% of American Population lived in rural communities - Today = 80% live in 280 metropolitan areas
The population growth in major cities: - Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Diego,
- Miami and New York City is mostly by foreign immigration - The majority of the population are not native of the community
- The varieties of English spoken are likely to undergo further significant changes - Urban varieties show observable language change in progress
- Rural varieties (especially in isolated areas) are likely to be more stable There are different acronyms:
Different acronyms and terms are used to describe different varieties of American Englishes:
BEV - Black English Vernacular (black people)
AEV = African English Vernacular
AAE African American Vernacular
AAE = African American English
AAVE = African American Vernacular English
EBONICS = Black American English “a variety of African Languages rather than English variety”
WAEV= White American English Vernacular(s)
GA = General American
The main ethnic variety:
African American Vernacular English - AAVEs
Once: no one American Accent used / variety was considered to be more prestigious than another
This democratic principle, unfortunately has changed in recent times: Nowadays AAVE is the variety that currently attracts negative prejudices
Lippi- Green (1997) points out that: “… AAVE Speakers is likely to be not capable of certain types of works…”
It can be successfully in sports and entertainment but not in other (intellectual) fields (teaching subjects)
- Centuries of Controversy if legitimate/not the AAVE
- AAVE can be seen as symbolic of black resistance to the cultural mainstream FEATURES OF THE AAVEs
AAVE is used by black population, not by all and to a\varying degree it depends on:
Social class Style Religion
Differences: young speakers use more AAVE features than older speakers as a marking identity
The debate on its origins
- No definitive agreement
1) The most common theory: it is a Creole Language, a native speaker variety descended from pidgin (it is believed to arise when a pidgin , which was developed by adults for use as a second language, becomes the native and primary language of their children — a process known as nativization;
2)It is a dialect of English based on the varieties the slaves learnt from their masters (many southern feature);
3) it is derived from West African languages AAVEs Grammar Features
Complex and systemic grammar:
- The use of BE as a linking verb Infinitive form ”they be walking up too early”, occurs with the first person sing pronoun (I’m), and neutral third person sing (it’s)
- It is obligatory in the past tense
- Occasionally “BE” can be used with an “-s” inflection - “That’s the way it bes”
Trudgil (1995) points out that: “… AAVE is a separate ethnic group variety /black speakers:
(SEE THE HANDHOUT: ALICE WALKER’S The Colour Purple extract ) There are distinct lexical items and phonetic features
- Posses distinct lexical items and phonetical features (from other languages particularly African ones)