ENGLISH IN THE WORLD

• Pidgins


  A type of communication adopted by people who share no common languages, acting as a lingua franca made up of different languages
• Reasons for Language Development Change


  • Colonialism
  • Media (film, music)
  • Travel and tourism
  • Scientific and technological advancements
• Linguistic imperialism


  Imposing a dominant language on people who speak (often minority) different languages, leading to control of a country's political, economic, and social institutions
• Language death


  Threats, pressure, invasive species
• Ways to prevent language death


  • Revitalisation; creating cultural appreciation events
  • Education; using it in teaching younger generations, make learning the language more accessible to the public
  • Documentation; writing the language down in official documents
  • Normalisation; using it in everyday speech, in road/public signs
• Kachru's model


  • Norm-providing (NATIVE LANGUAGE) - UK, US, Australia
  • Norm-developing (SECOND LANGUAGE) - Nigeria, Singapore, Philippines
  • Norm-dependent (No historical or government role) - China, Japan, Korea
• David Crystal - multilingualism better than monolingualism
• Cultural Transmission Theory


  Language change passed down from generation to generation by being immersed in culture
• Random Fluctuation Theory


  Unstable, constantly changing results in random errors or events. Occur in accents where people adopt a new pronunciation as it sounds 'better' or 'aesthetically pleasing' to seem more desirable. I.e. standard english or received pronunciation.
• Substratum theory


  Language change due to contact/interaction with other language varieties. Due to globalisation.
• Functional Theory


  Language change due to users needs to express themselves and their social identity
• Functional Theory


  • Usually for simplification now in texting and spread of the Internet
• Types of English


  • Norm-providing
  • Norm-developing
  • Norm-dependent
• Norm-providing English


  • Dominates communication, administration, social purposes in UK, US, Australia
  • 380 million speakers
• Norm-developing English


  • History of colonialism in Nigeria, Singapore, Philippines
  • Lingua franca, administration, higher education
  • 500 million speakers
• Norm-dependent English


  • No historical or government role in China, Japan, Korea
  • English is a foreign language
  • 1000 million speakers