world Englishes

• English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) serves as a bridging language in interactions where it is not everyone's first language
• Global English is the concept of English as a worldwide language
• International English is the idea of English used in international contexts of all kinds
• Diaspora refers to the dispersal of people and their language to different parts of the world
• First Language (L1) is the initial language learned by an individual, usually in childhood
• Second Language (L2) is the subsequent language learned by an individual
• EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language
• Pidgin is a trade language that is usually not the native language of either speaker
• Acrolect is a term for a standard or official language variety where a creole is spoken
• Basilect is the most informal variety of a creole
• Mesolect is the middle style of language, between standard and colloquial varieties
• Post-colonial refers to the time since former colonies gained independence
• Endonormative involves looking within the immediate community for language use norms
• Exonormative involves looking beyond the immediate community for language use norms
• Retroflex is a specific way of pronouncing the sounds /t/ and /d/ with the tongue curled back and touching the roof of the mouth
• Schwa is the sound /e/ and is sometimes called the middle or central vowel in English
• Stress-timed intonation is based on applying stress at regular intervals
• Syllable-based intonation is spread across syllables evenly
• Kachru's 'Circles of English' model consists of three circles:

  • Inner circle: traditional bases of English, primary language in countries like the USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
  • Outer circle: earlier phases of English spread in non-native settings, plays a second language role in multilingual settings
  • Expanding circle: nations where English is taught as a foreign language for international communication
• Modiano's centripetal circles of international English:

  • Inner circle: features comprehensible to most native and non-native speakers
  • Outer circle: features that may become internationally common or obscure
  • Outside the circles: people who do not speak English
• Phonological differences in English variations include accent, retroflex pronunciation, vowel sound variations, schwa usage, stress-timed vs. syllable-based intonation
• English vocabulary includes borrowed words from other languages, code mixing, and code switching
• Varieties of English may use different meanings for the same word, leading to potential misunderstandings
• Grammar differences in English varieties include syntax and morphology variations, such as plural endings, verb agreement, past tense marking, and present progressive forms
• The Lingua Franca Core focuses on features that impact speaker intelligibility, with some viewing accommodations for foreign speakers as degrading of standards