Showing papers in "World Englishes in 2014"

New reflections on the evolutionary dynamics of world Englishes

Abstract: The ongoing expansion and diversification of English, especially in the Expanding Circle, calls for a comparative analysis of these processes and a deepened theoretical understanding of this dynamism. A key question asked in this paper is whether or to what extent the ‘Dynamic Model’ of the evolution of Postcolonial Englishes is able to explain these processes and can be applied to Extending Circle countries as well. A decade after its first influential publication, reactions to the model are surveyed systematically, including some new applications, modifications, approaches at testing it, and some criticism. Applying the comparative-descriptive framework of this model and some of its constituent components, the progress of English is outlined in China, Korea, and (less broadly) Japan, the ASEAN, Thailand, Namibia, and Rwanda. Furthermore, it is argued that a similar dynamism is driving the widespread emergence of hybrid mixes between local languages and English and phenomena of ‘poststructuralist diffusion,’ English being adopted by whatever means, in fragments and unconstrained of norm concerns, driven by strongly utilitarian considerations. A tabular summary assessment compares these processes with constituents of the Dynamic Model and finds that despite some similarities it is not well suited to grasp the vibrant developments of the Expanding Circle. Instead, the notion of ‘transnational attraction’ is defined and proposed as an appropriate conceptual framework.

English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract: This paper examines the history, politics and discourses around the (teaching of) English language in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In addition to discussing the issues and debates around English language, this paper also looks at whether and how English has been localised to suit the local needs and practices. Based on an analysis of English language textbooks used in KSA, the paper shows that Saudi English mostly follows and ascribes to the grammatical norms of standard Englishes. The paper does identify some deviations in the grammar of English in these textbooks; however, these are within the range of features of varieties of Englishes found in other Inner, Outer and Expanding circle varieties of Englishes. The paper then identifies a number of discursive and multimodal features of Saudi English that are much more locally oriented and reflect local cultural norms and practices. The findings of this paper suggest that English in Saudi Arabia is in the process of being nativised and that this Saudi English reflects recognisably local cultural, religious and social values and beliefs.

Teachers' attitudes towards Korean English in South Korea

Abstract: This study explores the attitudes of English teachers, both Korean and non-Korean, towards ‘Korean English’ (KoE) in South Korea Data about these attitudes were collected via 204 questionnaires and 25 post-survey individual interviews, from two major regions, Busan Gyeongnam and Seoul Gyeonggi, and were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively The results indicate that the majority of participants displayed a positive attitude towards KoE, especially regarding to the ‘cognitive’ component of attitude, while they showed ‘confused’ and ‘conflicting’ attitudes in the behavioural element The unique features of KoE, its intelligibility, demographic and widespread use of KoE were perceived by participants as the most influential factors shaping their cognitive attitudes towards the language Language variation and an acceptance of a pluralistic model of English language norms played a critical role in developing positive attitudes towards KoE in both the cognitive and behavioural components of participants’ attitudes

English as a 'mother tongue' in Singapore

Abstract: This paper investigates the role of English and what it represents to speakers of the three major ethnic groups across three different age groups in Singapore. This paper reports a study conducted on 436 Singaporeans of different age and ethnic groups, looking at their language use and perceptions of English as a marker of their identity. The Singapore government has always been cautious about according the 'mother tongue' status to English. The latest 2010 census however reveals that over 30 per cent of Singaporeans report English to be the primary language used in the home, an increase from about 20 per cent in 2000. What remains unclear is the extent to which English has penetrated the psyche of the everyday Singaporean. The results in this study suggest that English in Singapore has to be reconceptualized as a new mother tongue, and to do so requires a reconfiguration of what it takes for a language to be a 'mother tongue.' This paper will take this on by adapting Skutnabb-Kangas and Phillipson's (1989) and Rampton's (1995) objections and definitions of the term, and propose a set of conditions that can be used to define the term mother tongue.

Studying the linguistic ecology of Singapore: A comparison of college and university students

Abstract: The focus of research on Singapore English has traditionally been on its structural features, while the relationship between English and other official languages of the Republic within the individual speaker has attracted much less interest, and comparatively little empirical data exist on the actual linguistic ecology of individual Singaporeans. The present study explores the results of detailed language background questionnaires eliciting the linguistic and sociological background of 300 Singaporean university and polytechnic students. The questionnaires assess not only how many languages a speaker is proficient in, but also when and how they acquired each language, how often and in which contexts speakers make use of which language, as well as their attitudes to different languages. The data depict a fine-grained picture of language use among Singaporean students that challenges the notion of the typical multilingual Singaporean. On the whole, students exhibit bilingual or trilingual identities and report positive attitudes towards both English and their respective mother tongue. Attitudes towards Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) are also generally positive, especially among university students, as Singlish evidently continues to serve as an important marker of Singaporean identity.

The dynamics of multilingualism in contemporary Singapore

Abstract: Historically, Singapore was home to a heterogeneous and highly multilingual population from across the Asian region and elsewhere in the world In contrast with its historical past, or even the early days of the post-colonial period, Singapore's earlier diverse and linguistically heterogeneous society has evolved into a multi-ethnic nation state, with four official languages, of which three are recognised ‘mother tongues’ This paper reviews the historical and contemporary dynamics of multilingualism in the Singapore community, and also serves as an introduction to the five other papers in this symposium on ‘English in multilingual Singapore’

Philippine English revisited

Abstract: In this paper, I argue that the Three Circles Model of Kachru, a profoundly influential and instructive model for approaching the varieties of Englishes across the world, might be re-examined in the context of the Philippines, in order to better capture the sociolinguistic realities of Outer Circle speakers of English. Using the Philippines as an example, I hope to demonstrate that within the Outer Circle that is the Philippines, there are circles of English as well. While some educated Filipino scholars have rejected the dominance of American English in the Philippines, others remain ambivalent about the place of Philippine English in such domains such as English language teaching. And for a majority of the Filipinos, to whom English of whatever variety remains elusive and inaccessible, English is irrelevant. Thus, the situation for the Philippines is that there is an Inner Circle, an Outer Circle, and an Expanding circle of English. By presenting the Philippine experience of English through this framework of ‘circles within circles,’ I hope to offer a more nuanced position on the acceptability of Philippine English among Filipino users of the language.

World Englishes in international proficiency tests

Abstract: The demographic dominance of non-native' speakers of English and the growing recognition of world Englishes (WE) call for critical examinations of varieties of English underpinning international proficiency tests. Expectedly, there has been an ongoing debate between those who argue for British and American norms and those who argue for all English norms including WE in international tests. While this welcome debate may develop awareness of WE issues among stakeholders, there has been little research on test-takers and their perspectives on the relevance of WE to high-stakes tests. This paper reports on data from an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) study to explore two questions: (1) How do IELTS test-takers perceive the relevance of WE to the test and why? (2) What are the implications of their perceptions for WE research? Analyses of quantitative and qualitative data show test-takers' mixed views and attitudes: While the majority of them supported WE in an abstract, ideological sense, they were against the inclusion of WE in the test for reasons related to maintaining standards, fairness, equality and test-taker interests. A critical discussion of the findings is undertaken to draw out implications for WE and WE researchers in the context of the dominance of English tests and their hegemonic discourses.

English on Korean television

Abstract: This study discusses verbal humor in entertainment media and examines polarizing representations of English on Korean television. English is a source of stress as well as a medium of humor. Language anxiety about English speaking skills is frequently focalized and viewed as a personal challenge by Korean celebrities, but they often transform their linguistic ‘complex’ into humorous talk. This study argues that using English, possibly the most revered and yet the most feared language in Korea, in humor is sociolinguistically significant, embodying attitudinal, emotional, and experiential ambivalence about English in globalization-minded contemporary Korea. The findings of the study suggest that generation-conscious ageism regarding English proficiency typically characterizes senior citizens as sociolinguistically underperforming, which sometimes forces them to be in a vulnerable position both in familial and social contexts. Increasing use of English on Korean television divides bilingual viewers and monolingual viewers and whether one can be entertained and humored by television programs may become another English-related stratification variable in Korea.

Singapore Colloquial English: Issues of prestige and identity

Abstract: Singapore Colloquial English (SCE) or ‘Singlish’ is a variety very distinct from Singapore Standardised English (SSE), and its use is a polarising issue in Singaporean society. In stark contrast to the results of most language attitude studies in which non-standardised varieties are rated positively along solidarity dimensions, participants of matched-guise studies investigating Singaporean attitudes toward SCE have assigned lower solidarity ratings for SCE than for SSE. This is in stark contrast to anecdotal and public opinion that SCE is a language of solidarity and identity for most Singaporeans. By including participants from non-tertiary sectors and a wider range of stimulus guises as well as supplementing matched-guise results with interview data, this study seeks to reveal the covert prestige that SCE does, in fact, appear to enjoy in Singaporean society. While the matched-guise results of this study largely conform to previous findings, the interview data suggest that many participants were basing their ratings on perceptions of SCE use in the public domain rather than the private domain. The study has implications for the extent to which we can extrapolate results from matched-guise studies, a widely used instrument for the study of language attitudes in the last 50 years.

The progressive aspect in the Netherlands and the ESL/EFL continuum

Abstract: This paper responds to calls to (i) approach varieties of English as a native (ENL), second (ESL) and foreign (EFL) language in an integrated fashion, and (ii) widen the scope of world Englishes analyses to the Expanding Circle. It describes the development of the Corpus of ‘Dutch English’, the first Expanding Circle corpus incorporating all text types in the written components of the ICE corpora. This corpus has implications for the description of English in the Netherlands in particular and for the investigation of ESL and EFL varieties in general. The paper then reports on a case study of the progressive aspect in this corpus compared to several ENL and ESL varieties. The results show no strict divide between the ESL varieties and the Corpus of Dutch English, which in fact displayed characteristics of both EFL and ESL. These findings provide further evidence in favour of an ESL–EFL continuum rather than a strict divide between varietal types.

Progressive aspect and stative verbs in Outer Circle varieties

Abstract: The extension of the progressive form to stative verbs is a widely discussed feature of Outer Circle varieties of English. This paper examines the semantics of the stative progressive in three corpora, representing spoken and written Indian (IndE), Kenyan (KenE) and Black South African English (BSAfE). The results reveal that the progressive form is used more frequently in spoken than written data, and most frequently in BSAfE, followed by KenE, and then IndE. All three Outer Circle varieties use the progressive form proportionally more often with stative verbs than British English. The main use of the progressive form is to convey a sense of extended duration. This Outer Circle prototype is termed an on-going state, and clearly differs from the sense of a temporary state, which is prototypical for Inner Circle varieties. There are nevertheless a substantial minority of limited duration (temporary state) uses, especially in the written data, but at the same time, a number of examples where the progressive conveys the sense of states with unlimited duration, especially in BSAfE and the spoken data. The main conclusion is that the progressive is not simply extended to stative verbs, as is argued by many previous researchers, but rather that of a different prototype, of extended duration, sanctions a wider range of uses of the progressive form with dynamic verbs and stative verbs alike.

English in Southeast Asia: Pedagogical and policy implications

Abstract: The roles of English within and between the many of the countries which make up Southeast Asia are increasing, and English is constantly being used and negotiated as a mutual means of communication by Asian multilinguals for whom English is an additional language. It is timely, therefore, to consider ways in which these Englishes have been developing, along with the roles English is currently playing. Areas worthy of investigation include the influence of language contact and the motivations for the presence of non-standard forms in these new varieties of English. Given the recent research reviewed in this paper, the criteria by which the use of non-standard forms are classified as characteristic of the particular variety need to be revised. The paper will conclude by considering whether the role of English as a lingua franca in the region has reached its zenith and whether regional language education policy is likely allow the languages of Asia to thrive.

Linguistic chutzpah and the Speak Good Singlish movement

Abstract: This paper discusses the Speak Good Singlish Movement, which was started as a response to the Speak Good English Movement, the latter having been initiated by the Singapore government. The Speak Good Singlish Movement represents a good example of linguistic chutzpah, where speakers demonstrate confidence in their language choices while also having the metalinguistic awareness and sophistication needed to articulate rationales for these choices. The paper argues that linguistic chutzpah is especially important in relation to the global spread of English, where speakers are often confronted with the need to make decisions about language while not being able to rely on traditional sources of authority (such as the speech community or prescriptive grammars). Under such circumstances, speakers need to be able to adopt confident stances about their language choices, even while knowing that these choices may be met with criticism. To make this point, the paper also describes two cases involving anxieties about appropriate language use.

English in higher education in Cambodia

Abstract: This paper discusses a number of key issues in English education and research in Cambodia. Multiple studies on Cambodia often suggest that English is a key component required to transform the standard of life of common Cambodians (Clayton 2006). To understand the phenomenon of the ever-increasing demand for English in the country, we conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with teachers and students followed by a needs analysis of English language learners in a tertiary institution. Our findings suggest that these future employees have a great enthusiasm for learning English mostly mediated by economic imperatives, in a changing world that prioritizes proficiency in the English language. Moreover, it was also found that research in higher education in Cambodia has gained increasing interest among English lecturers and students in the Cambodian academic community.

English language teaching in the Philippines

Abstract: Research in world Englishes (WE) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) have long been promoting what Pakir describes as ‘common working axioms’ (2009: 228) which uphold the pluricentricity of English: the existence of varieties, the acceptance of language change and adaptation, and the highlighting of discourse strategies. These principles have had profound effects on our understanding of the English language and, consequently, on the teaching of the language. In this paper, I argue that, for all the benefits offered by varieties of English, it might not be appropriate to teach varieties explicitly as a model to non-native learners of the language. I make this argument with the Philippine education context in mind, and propose a framework for Philippine ELT that recognizes both the identity and communication functions of the language.

English in contemporary Poland

Abstract: Because of its association with the West, English became a symbol of modernization and freedom during Poland's communist chapter. Since 1989, English has achieved an even higher status, as the language of international business, research, and media. Today, Polish advertisements are filled with English loan words, English-language movies reign in theaters, and most young people study English in school. As relatively little research has examined the impact of English on contemporary Poland, this paper is an effort to begin filling this gap. I start by offering a concise history of Poland and Polish, as well as a history of English in Poland. I then provide examples of changes in Polish that are likely motivated by Poles’ use of English. In the following sections, I outline the rise to fame of English in Polish classrooms, advertisements, and media. From this review emerges a somewhat incongruous image of English, as both an economic asset and a corrupting agent on the Polish language and culture. To illustrate these dichotomous attitudes, the subsequent section reports on the findings of my preliminary, Internet-based study of contemporary Polish discourses about English. I end the paper by identifying some unanswered questions and suggesting directions for further research.

Uses and functions of English in Namibia's multiethnic settings

Abstract: In a context where new English varieties from the Outer Circle have been receiving increasing attention, I propose to outline a descriptive approach to their uses and functions on the basis of their patterns of co-occurrence with local languages across intra and inter-ethnic boundaries. The case study I offer is Namibia, a multiethnic and multilingual African country where English has been the sole official language since 1990 without having had much local history prior to that date. The general question that I pose is to what extent and how English is used in informal interactions in Namibia. Considering Namibia's ethnolinguistic diversity as well as the locally widespread practice of code-switching, the questions I more specifically ask are: What are the patterns of code-switching with which English finds itself associated both within and across Namibia's inter-ethnic boundaries, and how can they be characterized in terms of social function? On the basis of a corpus of intra- and inter-ethnic interactions involving a range of Namibian ethnicities, I show evidence of a continuum of linguistic usage ranging from different patterns of code-switching involving English and local languages to more or less monolingual English varieties. I finally place that evidence within the perspective of new Englishes theory, emphasizing the possible relevance of code-switching patterns to the emergence of indigenized English varieties in general, and of an indigenized Namibian variety in particular.

English naming and code-mixing in Thai mass media

Abstract: This paper examines the increasing role of English in the modern day mass media of Thailand, and the rapid increase in the use of English names and code-mixing since the turn of the century. It provides a description of the present day phenomena of English naming and code-mixing in both the broadcast and print media of Thailand. The paper also provides an assessment of the impact of English, which explains the adoption of English names or English-Thai hybrids, and the assimilation of Western cultural dimensions by the indigenous population of Thailand, who use English as a foreign language. The intended audience of the mass media in this study are Thais. The data supports knowledge about the widespread use of English among users in the Expanding Circle, and about world Englishes as mixed codes that are used among people who share a common language, other than English, for their intranational communication.

English in Brunei

Abstract: This article uses a kuih lapis (layer cake) analogy to describe English as one layer contributing to the diversity of indigenous and immigrant languages used in Negara Brunei Darussalam (Brunei). We then review some previous studies of bilingualism among Bruneians before outlining three major challenges facing researchers studying English in Brunei. These challenges comprise: the balance, or imbalance, between English-medium and Malay-medium in the national education system since 1985, the question of whether Brunei English is a distinct variety and the issue of whether English has become part of Brunei's identity. These challenges are framed within the dualities of Malay as national and official language, and the nation's need for English for increasing international and global connectedness. The discussion of future directions draws on recent research by Bruneians; these directions include the growing number of first-language users of English, the position of Brunei English within Schneider's (2007) Dynamic Model, the identification of subvarieties of Brunei English, and the notion of Brunei English as a code-mixed variety.

Young people, Malay and English in multilingual Singapore

Abstract: With English use extremely prevalent in Singapore, young Singaporeans are increasingly abandoning the use of their ethnic languages. The Singapore Malay community, however, is frequently depicted as an exception to this trend, proudly keeping Malay as their dominant language and an integral part of their cultural identities despite the overwhelming dominance of English in present day Singaporean society. This study seeks to obtain a sense of whether this is indeed the case by investigating the relationships Singaporean Malay university students (ages 18–26) have with Malay along the dimensions of language expertise, language inheritance, and language affiliation. Fifty survey participants reported on their proficiency in, use of, and perceptions of Malay and English. The results indicate that participants’ relationships with Malay are indeed strongly characterized by all three dimensions – expertise, inheritance, and affiliation – despite their prevalent use of English in all but a few domains and, by the majority, identification of English as the language that best defines them as Singaporeans.

English and the linguistic ecology of Malaysia

Abstract: The Southeast Asian region is undergoing rapid social, economic and cultural change brought about by movements of capital, people and ideas within and beyond the region. The dynamics of independence, nation-building and globalization have had an impact on most of the nation-states in the region, many of which attained independence only in the second half of the 20th century. This paper focuses on the development of Malaysia's language ecology within the context of nation-building, its embedding in the Southeast Asian region, and the global challenges it seeks to meet. Malaysia's languages are an essential component of the nation's ability to communicate internally in a multilingual country and externally to the region and the world. The interplay of English with Malay and other languages, and the tensions that arise and call for responses in education and other domains like the law in the wider multilingual situation are also discussed.

Language revolution behind the cultural curtain

Abstract: This paper focuses on the innovative, revolutionary features of the World Englishes paradigm that shook the education world in the late 20th century. I speak about key concepts that are salient to the paradigm, such as pluricentricity, diversity, functionality, and equality as articulated by Kachru, such as inclusivity and variability, as well as the controversies emerging in and related to education, for example, the struggle between prescriptive and descriptive approaches, and norms and usage. With reference to Expanding Circle contexts such as China and Russia, I emphasize the cultural underpinnings that create the greatest challenge for intervarietal communicators, as measured in terms of Smith's (1982; 1992) notion of interpretability. Such challenges help explain the significant role assigned to intercultural communication studies in tertiary education curricula in these countries. Revealing cultural identity when speaking in English as a communicative mediating tool is not an easy task for individuals and requires a special training. No easier is the listening and negotiating of other cultural meanings, all of which sets new perspectives for researchers and educators, while also encouraging cooperation between them.

Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis

Abstract: In the late 1930s two British commentators, A.F. Kindersley and R.C. Goffin, published articles on various linguistic features (semantic, grammatical, orthographical, and phonological) of the English language as used in India. These two glossaries offer a valuable insight into late-Raj Indian English. In order to assess the extent of change over the intervening 70-plus years, a comparison of the content of those glossaries to present-day Indian English has been made. The overall picture is one of surprising stability, especially given the strong resistance by educationalists and others who have long stigmatised local variations as ‘errors’. This stability over time suggests a long-standing endonormativity that has hitherto not been recognised. Many of the features discussed have even longer stable histories, suggesting an even lengthier endonormativity. This type of diachronic investigation may have similar implications for many other varieties of English.

Transforming Southeast Asian language habitats

Abstract: Southeast Asia is marked by high levels of diversity that carry over into its linguistic habitats. Located at sea routes that connect East Asia, East Africa, the Middle East and Europe, it was a part of major trade network between the 7th and 17th centuries and a geo-political hub that enabled the exchange of political systems and power, goods and services, cultures and religions, languages and people. Its language habitats were marked by high levels of contact and change. Today Southeast Asia is more than a transit region. It is a geo-political entity that is pursuing its own priorities. This paper focuses on the growth and current status of English within different national environments and the developing regional or ASEAN context. It pursues three objectives: (i) to outline the history of English in the context of existing habitats so as to develop research questions; (ii) to highlight linguistic developments which unite or, alternatively, distinguish different varieties of English in the region; and (iii) to raise some implications for educational policies, which are referred to briefly in the conclusion.

Singapore English and styling the Ah Beng

Abstract: This paper explores stylized renderings of Singapore English as such ‘verbal art’ is used by Singaporean youth in popular online forums In order to analyze these stylizations, this study uses corpora collected from two forums frequented by Singaporean students The data suggests that posters often use stylized representations to perform or to ventriloquize the identity of an Ah Beng (a kind of hustler or gangster) Implicated in such performances are sometimes complex negotiations of class, gender, and ethnicity The relationship among the linguistic features central to our study and the social meanings signaled by those features suggest the value of approaches that emphasize the range of pragmatic and metapragmatic meanings or indexicalities that accrue to features in modeling variation in Singapore English

Singlish can and speech accommodation in Singapore English

Abstract: For Singaporeans it is very natural to switch between ‘Singapore Standard English’ (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (SCE), namely, Singlish,. The employment of different varieties of a language between speaker turns can be accounted for using the communication accommodation theory. Are Singaporeans responsive to the varieties of English used by people around them? Does language convergence or divergence in a SSE-SCE conversation affect a speaker's perceived social image? Participants were asked to listen to different variations of a SSE-SCE service encounter dialogue before rating the traits of the featured salesman and customer. Generally, Singaporeans awarded higher ratings to the customer when he/she complied with the language standards set by the salesman rather than when he/she deviated from that set by the salesman. These results were contrary to the common belief that ‘the customer is always right’.

Word juncture characteristics in world Englishes: A research report

Abstract: The subtle juncture cues in older varieties of English such as Received Pronunciation can be difficult for speakers of new English varieties to perceive. This study looks at the perception of word juncture characteristics in three varieties of English (British, Hong Kong and Singapore) among British, Hong Kong and Singaporean listeners in order to widen our understanding of English juncture characteristics in general. We find that, even though reaction time data indicates that listeners perform quickest in the variety they are most familiar with, not only are juncture differences in British English difficult for Hong Kong and Singaporean listeners to perceive, they are also the most difficult for British listeners. Juncture characteristics in Hong Kong English are the easiest to distinguish among the three varieties.