THE HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

Introduction to Global Englishes

In the period between the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603 and the later years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II in the early part of the twenty-first century, the number of speakers of English increased from a mere five to seven million to possibly as many as two billion. 

Currently, there are approximately seventy-five territories where English is spoken either as a first language (L1), or as an official (i.e. institutionalised) second language (L2) in fields such as government, law, and education.

The two dispersals of English

We can speak of the two dispersals, or diasporas, of English. The first diaspora, initially involving the migration of around 25,000 people from the south and east of England primarily to North America and Australia, resulted in new mother tongue varieties of English. The second diaspora, involving the colonisation of Asia and Africa, led, on the other hand, to the development of a number of second language varieties, often referred to as ‘New Englishes’. This is to some extent a simplification for it is not always an easy matter to categorise the world’s Englishes so neatly.

The first dispersal: English is transported to the ‘New World’

The first diaspora involved relatively large-scale migrations of mother tongue English speakers from England, Scotland, and Ireland predominantly to North America, Australia, and New Zealand. The English dialects that travelled with them gradually developed into the American and Antipodean Englishes we know today.

The first diaspora

Migrations to N.America, Australia, New Zealand → L1 varieties of English.

❑ USA/Canada: From early 17th century (English), 18th century (North Irish) to USA.

From 17th century, African slaves to South American

states and Caribbean Islands.

From 1776 (American Independence) some British

settlers to Canada.

❑ Australia: From 1770

❑ New Zealand: From 1790s (official colony in 1840)

The second dispersal: English is transported to Asia and Africa

The second diaspora took place at various points during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in very different ways and with very different results from those of the first diaspora.

The history of English in Colonial Africa has two distinct patterns depending on whether we are talking about West or East Africa.

The second diaspora

Migrations to Africa and Asia → L2 varieties of English.

❑ South Africa: From 1795. 3 groups of L2 English speakers (Afrikaans/ Blacks/from 1860s Indians).

❑ South Asia: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, from 1600 (British East India Company). 

❑ SE Asia and S Pacific: Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong,

Philippines from late 18th century (Raffles founded Singapore 1819).

WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH TODAY?

ENL, ESL, EFL and ELF

The spread of English around the world is often discussed in terms of three distinct

groups of users, those who speak English respectively as:

❑ a native language (ENL)

❑ a second language (ESL)

❑ a foreign language (EFL)

❑ a lingua franca (ELF)

The difference between ENL, ESL, EFL and ELF

1. ENL is not a single variety of English, but differs markedly from one territory to another (e.g. the US and UK)

2.There have always been large groups of ENL speakers living in certain ESL territories, e.g. India and Hong Kong as a result of colonialism.

3. Pidgins and creoles do not fit neatly into any one of the three categories. They are spoken in ENL settings, e.g. in parts of the Caribbean, in ESL settings, e.g. in many territories in West Africa, and in EFL settings, e.g. in Nicaragua, Panama, and Surinam in the Americas.

4. There are also large numbers of ESL speakers living in ENL settings, particularly the US and, to a lesser extent, the UK as a result of immigration.

5. The three categories do not take account of the fact that much of the world is bi- or multilingual, and that English is often spoken within a framework of code-

mixing and code-switching.

Models and descriptions of the spread of English

The oldest model of the spread of English is that of Strevens. His world map of Eng- lish, first published in 1980, shows a map of the world on which is superimposed an upside-down tree diagram demonstrating the way in which, since American English became a separate variety from British English, all subsequent Englishes have had affinities with either one or the other.

❑ The model is based on geography and history rather than on the way speakers currently identify with and use English. Yet some English users in the Outer Circle speak it as their first language.

❑ There is often a grey area between the Inner and Outer Circles: in some Outer Circle countries, English may be the first language learnt for many people, and may be spoken in the home rather than used purely for institutional purposes such as education, law, and government.

❑ There is also an increasingly grey area between the Outer and Expanding Circles.

Approximately twenty countries are said to be in transition from EFL to ESL status, including Argentina, Belgium, Costa Rica, Denmark, Sudan, Switzerland.

❑ Many World English speakers grow up bilingual or multilingual, using different languages to fulfil different functions in their daily lives. This makes it difficult to describe any language in their repertoire as L1, L2, L3, and so on.

Why English is a global Language?

-Many consider English as a global language because it is the one language that the majority of the population in almost every region of the world can speak and understand. Furthermore, the language enjoys worldwide acceptance and usage by every nation of the world.

What makes a global language?

-The prominent characteristic of a global language is that it is the most widely used language in communication in most places in the world. People feel the need to master it for their life. As a global language, of course, English has certain countries where in people speak it as a first language.