Tema4 1

Unit 4
Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign

Languages
The History of the English

Language
Index
Scheme 3
Key ideas 4
4.1. How to study this unit 4
4.2. The evolution of the English Language 5
© Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)
4.3. English as Lingua Franca 15

4.4. English nowadays 19
4.5. Varieties of English 21
4.6. Bibliographical references 27
In depth 30
Test 31
Scheme
Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

3
Unit 4. Scheme
Key ideas
4.1. How to study this unit
In order to study this unit, you must read, as mandatory contents, the Key Ideas. In
addition to these contents, other recommended resources have been included to
deepen your knowledge, although they will not be requested in this unit’s test.
It is of utmost importance for EFL teachers to understand the History of the English
language, since it gives a wider perspective on why English is the way it is nowadays.
Hence, in this unit:
▸ First, an overview of the historical evolution will be provided.

▸ Then, we will focus on it as lingua franca and we will pay special attention to
Business English as Lingua Franca (BELF).
▸ Finally, we will talk about Present-Day English and we will compare some of its
varieties.

4
Unit 4. Key ideas
4.2. The evolution of the English Language
Time to think:
Do you know how many languages have deeply influenced English?
English, the language of Chaucer and Shakespeare, has greatly evolved and changed
throughout history due to many different factors. It is spoken in many different
countries around the world from the USA to Roatán, a Caribbean Bay island near the
coast of Honduras. It is a very rich language that reflects the influences of many
different international exchanges through the centuries.
In order to understand its current importance, we need to know about its history,
since all the historical and political changes have greatly affected it and have made it
evolve and change until the present, and will continue in the future.
Although the British Isles have been inhabited by different tribes for at least 50000
years, very little is known about the languages that were spoken there until the arrival
of Celts.
At that time Celtic languages were widely spoken in Europe and they can still be
heard nowadays in some regions of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, but they are not
considered English.
After the Celtic languages, Latin became a very strong influence due to the political
and economic power of the Roman Empire, which ruled much of Europe, including
Britain, until the 5th century. The influence of Latin continued through medieval and
renaissance times.
It was the arrival of the he Germanic tribes to the British Isles in 449 that marked the
official start of the English language. The isles were occupied by several Germanic
tribes, such as the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These tribes were culturally

5
Unit 4. Key ideas
different, but it is believed that they spoke the same language: North Sea Germanic.
This dialect, spoken in a small part of England, was the real origin of the English that
we speak nowadays.
Despite the fact that English is considered to be a Germanic language, it has adopted
many words from other languages. In fact, approximately half its vocabulary comes
from French and Latin.
Figure 1. Percentages of English Word origins. Source: Adapted from Roberts, 1965.
As it is reflected in the graph, the language currently known as English is partially the
result of borrowings from several languages. According to Roberts (1965), who
analysed the origin of the 10000 most frequent words in English, 32 % of them are of
Old English origin, 45 % derive from French, about 17 % come from Latin, 4 % comes
from other Germanic languages, and about 2 % form other languages.
As we know, words need to be combined into sentences in order to make sense.

This connexion between words in the sentence can be marked either through endings
or through word order and grammatical words (prepositions and pronouns). Those
languages that require inflections on the verb are known as synthetic languages,
whereas those that have almost no endings are known as analytic languages.

6
Unit 4. Key ideas
Throughout history, English has undergone such an important transformation
that it started being a synthetic language to later become an analytic one.
In other words, Old English was extremely synthetic, as it had endings or inflections
which expressed the relation between words, while Modern English is analytic, since
no marking on verb or noun is required to understand a sentence.
The factors that affect languages and made them change and evolve can be internal
and external. These changes are intricately connected; for instance, in some cases
external changes might lead to the change in the internal structure of the language.
The reasons for internal changes are usually motivated by the needs of language
learners. Some examples of this kind of change include vowels shifts or the change
from a synthetic to analytic language, as in the case of English.
External changes are usually related to language contacts, innovations by speakers,

or issues of political or social identity. External changes are difficult to predict
because they are related to social phenomena which are difficult to be foreseen, but
they are easily traced afterwards paying attention to loanwords.
Some of the major external changes in the History of English Language are the
following:
▸ The Anglo-Saxon tribes arrived in the British Isles in the 5th century and the
Germanic Dialects they spoke pushed out the Celtic languages. Later, the
introduction of Christianity in the 6th century brought a number of Latin words,
such as altar or hymn.
▸ The Scandinavian influence on the English language is of outmost importance.

When the Scandinavian tribes raided the British costs between the 8th and the
10th centuries several were borrowed from it e.g. egg, leg, odd. This period is

7
Unit 4. Key ideas
known as the Dane Law and it is believed that the loss of endings and inflections
in Old English was due to its influence.
▸ In 1066, the beginning of the Norman Conquest, French became the language of
court and nobility and, thus, many political and cultural terms were borrowed e.g.
government, authority.
▸ The Renaissance brought Greek and more Latin terms.
▸ Finally, the spread of English to the colonies resulted into the development of
new language varieties.
As we have seen so far, English is a language that derives from the language of
a group of Germanic tribes that arrived in Britain in the 5th century. The
structure of Modern English is hugely different from the Old English one, as it
went through the transformation from synthetic to analytic language. The
reasons for the different changes in the English language can be internal
(related to linguistic phenomena) or external (related to political, social,
geographical or historical facts).
Many of the features that can be observed in Present-Day English have an

explanation from a historical perspective. To fully understand this evolution, it is
important to pay attention to major differences at three levels: phonetics and
phonology (sounds), morphology (words) and syntax (sentences).

8
Unit 4. Key ideas
For example, if we consider the word island /‘aɪlənd/, we can see that its
orthographical representation does not coincide with the way in which it is
pronounced. It would be much more logical to pronounce the first vowel /ɪ/ and not
/aɪ/. The historical reason for this is the Great Vowel Shift (GVS). Between the 15th
and the 16th centuries, when orthographical conventions were being established in
English, this important change, took place and affected English in a very significant
way.
This example shows that, as we have previously pointed out, historical perspective is
essential to understand Present-Day English (PDE). Both the political and social
events that have profoundly affected the English people have generally had a great
impact on their language.
In subsequent sections, we will have a look at the most important changes English
has undergone from three different perspectives: phonological, morphological and
syntactic and lexical.
Phonological features
If we look at some of the main phonological features of Old English (OE) we can see:
▸ Vowels contrasted in length, but that was not represented orthographically.

▸ Consonants could be long and short. When they were long the duration of their
pronunciation was obviously longer, which resembles languages such as modern
Italian e.g. mamma.
▸ There was a palatalization of certain sounds e.g. <c> was originally /k/ and
became /tʃ/
Moving forward to the Middle English Period (ME), we can see that the qualities of
long vowels changed due to the Great Vowel Shift (GVS). All of them moved one
step higher.

9
Unit 4. Key ideas
Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Vowel_Shift2c.svg
French orthography also affected English pronunciation. Many monasteries

received the influence from monks coming from France. This is important as very few
people could write by then and the French monks were not very much interested in
the English spelling when copying English texts, so many French features were
transferred into the English spelling.
However, the biggest problem with phonology nowadays is that PDE has no stress
rules because it follows two stress models, Germanic and Romance, and that
phonological change is constantly taking place.
While the English Spelling system was practically fixed by 1700, phonological change
has continued to present day, e.g. Received Pronunciation (RP), the ‘prestigious’
pronunciation that corresponds to standard British English, is evolving and, according
to Cruttenden (1994), now there is a distinction between ‘refined RP’ and regional
RP. Other authors, such as Milroy, state that RP no longer has a social function.
Currently, there are many regional varieties of English and this is something
that is happening on a global scale. All of them are acceptable and equally
valid, but this makes things a bit more difficult for EFL teachers, since there is
no phonological standard comparable to the spelling standard.

10
Unit 4. Key ideas
With the emergence of the ‘New Englishes’ and all the varieties of English that already
exist, it is rather unlikely that an international pronunciation standard is fixed, at least
in the near future. Therefore, it is understandable that standard pronunciations
continue to be favoured in EFL teaching.
However, we should be careful when teaching standard English to our students. We

need to make it clear that there are many varieties of English and we should also
provide examples of those varieties so that they familiarise with them, as we will see
later in this unit.
Morphological and syntactic features
English is considered a Germanic language. (like German, Dutch, Flemish, Danish,

Swedish, and Norwegian) and consequently they all have similar grammatical
structure and many common words. However, more than half of its vocabulary
comes from Latin. As a result, English shares a wide range of lexicon with romance
languages such as French, Italian or Spanish as well.
A second feature that English possesses is inflectional simplicity. Within the Indo-
European family of languages, it happens that the oldest, classical languages, have
inflections of the noun, the adjective, and the verb which are no longer found in
modern languages. In this process of simplification of inflections, English has gone
further than any other language in Europe e.g. inflections in the noun have been
reduced to the plural and the possessive case, the inflection of the adjective has been
completely eliminated except for the comparative and the superlative degrees in
some cases, and the verb has been simplified by the loss of practically all personal
endings, except for the third person singular in the present simple.
OE was a synthetic language. It was inflected, although not as much as previous Indo-
European languages like Classical Latin. However, it was much more inflected than
Middle English or Modern English. (Calvo & Fuster,2011,).
In terms of syntactic style, OE was highly paratactic, which means that there were
lots of independent clauses and short sentences. Nouns had three grammatical

11
Unit 4. Key ideas
genders (masculine, feminine and neuter, and two numbers, singular and plural), and
they had cases (nominative, accusative, dative and genitive) that fell into certain
broad categories or declensions.
In the case of adjectives there were declensions as well. Pronouns presented

distinctive forms for practically all genders, persons, and cases, and, in addition to
the ordinary two numbers (singular and plural), a set of two forms for two people or
two things (the dual number).
Finally, in the case of verbs, OE distinguished between two simple tenses by inflection
(present and past), it also recognised the indicative, subjunctive and imperative
moods and had two numbers and three persons. Something peculiar about Germanic
languages was the division of the verb into two great classes: weak (regular) and
strong (irregular). The weak conjugation became the dominant one.
Whilst Old English is considered the period of inflections, Middle English is the
period of the decay of inflectional endings. English went from being a
synthetic language to an analytic one.
The changes in English grammar during the Middle English and Modern English
Period can be described as a general reduction of inflections.

12
Unit 4. Key ideas
The Periods in the History of the English Language
Full inflections. Most of the
Old English Old English (449-700) endings of the noun, the
(450-1150) Early Old English (700-900) adjective, and the verb are
Late Old English (900-1150) preserved more or less
unimpaired.
Inflections, which had begun to
Early Middle English (1150-1300) break down towards the end of
Middle English Late Middle English (1300-1500) the OE period, become
(1150-1500) significantly reduced, and it is thus
known as the period of levelled
inflections
Early Modern English (1500-1700)
Modern English
Late Modern English (1700-1900) Inflections gradually disappeared.
(1500 onwards)
Present-Day English (1900-today)
NB. This division is conventional and roughly done to understand the evolution of language. Most linguists
agree that there are no clear cut-off periods since language change is continuous.
Table 2: The Periods in the History of the English Language.
Lexical features
One of the most obvious characteristics of Present-Day English is the size and mixed
character of its vocabulary.
Looking back to OE we notice that its vocabulary was almost purely Germanic.
However, when French was brought into England as the language of the higher
classes as a result of the Norman Conquest, much of the OE vocabulary appropriate
to literature and learning was replaced by words borrowed from French and Latin.
Until the time of the Norman Conquest, the Scandinavian language in England was
constantly being renewed by trade and conquest. In some parts of Scotland, Norse
was still spoken as late as the 17th century.

13
Unit 4. Key ideas
In ME the two main influences were French and Latin. The French words introduced
then came from different subjects and fields of knowledge, such as the governmental
and administration, the church, fashion, learning, or medicine. The substitution of
the English word was not always immediate. Usually, both words continued in use for
a time, and where both words survived, they generally differed in meaning e.g.
postpone and put off.
It is interesting to mention that in those cases in which both terms have survived the
ones whose origin was French or Latin are considered more formal or educated than
those of Germanic origin. This is the reason why it is usually easier for Spaniards than
for English native speakers to understand texts written in formal registers.
The 14th and 15th centuries were especially prolific in Latin borrowings. In many cases
Latin words were being borrowed by French at the same time, and the adoption of a
word in English may often have been due to the impact of both languages.
During the ME period methods of word formation also changed; the process of
derivation declined, and prefixes and suffixes started to be less used than in OE.
The evolution of the English language throughout history is important for EFL
teachers because it gives a wider perspective of the language itself, it can help
you establish similarities and differences with other languages as well as be
able to explain the etymology of words and their spelling, and it broadens
cultural knowledge.
Time to think:
Do you think all this might be useful in the EFL classroom?
Would you teach this to your students? How? Why?

14
Unit 4. Key ideas
4.3. English as Lingua Franca
Another important aspect that is very much connected to the evolution of the English
language is that of English as Lingua Franca (ELF), since it is one of the ways in which
English has become a more powerful global language.
According to Knapp and Meierkord (2002), the concept of lingua franca originates
form a language that was used in the Mediterranean coast between the 15th and 19th
centuries in order to enable trade between people who did not share a common
language.
The definitions of ELF have changed significantly over the last years, but most
researchers agree that it is used for communication between speakers of different
languages, including native English speakers. This means that ELF is considered
different from English as a native language.
Due to this, ELF, especially in its use and nature, has been studied by academics in
recent years. Some of this research focuses on the dynamic nature of ELF discourse
and its rationale for using certain forms and structures.
Seidlhofer (2004) discusses the role and characteristics of ELF, alongside English as a
native language, and calls for reconceptualization of the English language. Jenkins et
al. (2011) provide a research on the identification of some particular linguistic
features of ELF on the levels of lexicogrammar, phonology and pragmatics. Other
researchers (Sedlhofer, 2001; Mauranen, 2003) focused their interest on the
compilation of ELF academic corpus. Also, the context of the ELF classroom and
teaching policy was studied by a number of scholars (Honna,2012;and Dewey, 2012).
ELF is used for communication between speakers of different languages,

including native English speakers so it is different from English as a native
language.

15
Unit 4. Key ideas
The way in which ELF is used depends very much on the situation or context in which
it is used, but in most cases, as it is commonly used by non-native speakers, the focus
is on effective communication and not on accuracy. The most widespread use of ELF
focuses on the field of business and commerce; therefore, as we will see in other
units, Business English as lingua franca has become object of study for many
researchers.
Apart from the lingua franca perspective, there have been other attempts to justify
the internalisation of English as a language of worldwide communication. Hence,
concepts such as ‘World English(es)’ (Kachru, Nelson, 1996) and ‘Basic Global
English’ (Grzega, 2006) were introduced as new pedagogical perspectives.
Time to think:
Would you present in class the necessity to learn English because It is a lingua
franca? How?
The Presence of English in Spanish (and the Media)
As we have seen, English is always around us, but not only when we read or watch
something in English, but also in our own first language. According to Vázquez-
Amador (2014), since the 19th English words have been present in the Spanish
language and have been having great impact and influence on it. Actually, the use of
anglicisms in Spanish has become very common in the recent years. Several studies
show that this phenomenon is becoming widespread in different fields of knowledge
and areas of life. Currently, the media is one of the areas in which the influence of
English may be very well observed. In fact, “in Spain, newspapers have always
played a fundamental role in the initial phases of lexical transfer from the source
language as well as in the consolidation of loanword use in the borrowing language

over time” (Esteban Asencio, 2008; Vázquez-Amador, 2012, as cited in Westall, 2015,
p 259).

16
Unit 4. Key ideas
The media contributes to the spread of English borrowings, especially due to the
news received from agencies like Reuters, originally written in English. Cabré (2005),
considers that the media is not only a vehicle but an essential link between
specialised language and general language, which makes it possible for anglicisms to
spread and become of common use among the general public.
According to García (2013), evidence of the tendency to use English words in the
Spanish media in order to attract audiences has increased in the recent years and it
can be observed in several studies (Gerritsen et al., 2007; Durán-Martínez, 2002;
Luján-García, 2011)
Some of these non-linguistic factors are:
▸ The contexts of use, since certain areas seem to be prone to the use of English
borrowings.
▸ The different social groups, as the increasing use of these words tend to be more
frequent among young people.
▸ Values such as prestige, which seem to be associated with the English language.
Common anglicisms in the Spanish Press
1800-1850 2005-2006
bushel blockbuster
coke bestseller
brandy stock
record topless
chairman zapping
speaker tory
meeting babysitter
lunch by-pass
Table 8: Common anglicisms in the Spanish press. Source: Adapted from A study of anglicisms used
in the Spanish press in the early nineteenth century and Discreción y uso. Anglicismos, DRAE y
lengua periodística.

17
Unit 4. Key ideas
According to Encinas et al. (1992) there is great number of expressions which are
used every day in the press that do not belong to the Spanish language. They state
that some of them have become part of the Spanish language and that others will
probably do so in the future.
English loanwords are more common in some specific fields of knowledge. For
example, specialised areas such as technology, telecommunications or leisure and
cinema tend towards the increasing use of English terms.
For example, the use of anglicisms in the field of visual arts has become very
common to refer to certain technical aspects and this is obviously reflected in the
media. García (2013) states that, if globalisation continues and the film industry
remains to be controlled by American enterprises, English will also continue to be
present in any media related to the film art.
Another good example is the world of sports. Vázquez-Amador and Lario-de-Oñate

(2015) carried out a study which concluded that the influence of the English language
in the sport’s technolect was already reflected in the media at the beginning of the
20th century and that this phenomenon has greatly increased in the last 100 years.
Spanish magazines for teenagers tend to contain many anglicism as well. This type
of magazines covers wide ranges of topics, since teenagers’ interests can be quite
varied.
Television and radio also use plenty of English loanwords. In fact, according to
Labrador and Warburton (2004), oral language is more prone to anglicisms than the
written one, which explains the countless number of English borrowings that we hear
on TV and the Radio every day.
Finally, the Internet, is the media in which we will find more anglicisms than any
other media. We use it to interact with other people, to work, to study, for leisure,

18
Unit 4. Key ideas
etc. Due to its idiosyncrasy it is very common that English and Spanish interact
directly.
Time to think:
Do you think English will continue to be used as lingua franca in the future? Why?
4.4. English nowadays
English is not just an international language as it is used not only for communication
with English speaking people but also for communication among people with other
languages besides English. According to Crystal (1997), a language acquires global
status when its special role is recognised in every country of the world. It means that
the language is spoken either as first, second or foreign throughout the world, being
the most widely used language of international communication.
English is used a as first language in many countries, such as the USA, Britain, Ireland,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand or South Africa. Likewise, many other countries give
it a special recognition by using it as a second or foreign language. Sometimes it is
even used as an official language and the language of administration.
According to Crystal (1997), there are more than seventy countries in the world that
recognise English as their second language. In fact, in some countries English may be
the only official language or share this status with other local languages, as it is the
case in India, Singapore or Malaysia. When this happens, it is common that English is
spoken differently due to the influence of the local language. These varieties of
English are known as ‘World Englishes’ or ‘New Englishes’. The concept of World
Englishes goes back to the early 1960s (Kachru, 1965), but it was not until 1978 that
the notion started to really develop.

19
Unit 4. Key ideas
Nowadays, there are many territories in which English is spoken either as a first
language or as a second language (L2) in fields such as government and education, so
it is rather complicated to establish the total number of World Englishes that exist.
Besides, new varieties of English are constantly developing.
English as a foreign language does not have any kind of official status, but it is the
most common foreign language taught all over the world. Actually, more than a
hundred countries in the world recognise English as the major foreign language.
As we will see in other units, the spread of English to other territories in the last few
centuries was mostly through colonisation. In the case of America, the first settlers
arrived in the American continent in the 16th and 17th centuries with both religious
and commercial purposes.
The colonisation of Australia and New Zealand started at the end of the 18th century
as a place for freed British convicts. In addition, English was spread in some regions
of Asia and Africa as a result of trade. In fact, several parts of Asia and Africa came
under direct English control fostering the use of English in these regions.
Another important reason which contributed to the development of English as a

global language was the fact that, after the Second World War, the USA became the
most powerful western country. English became one of the six official languages
spoken in the United Nations. In addition, the first computer programmes were
designed in English-like language; a fact that promoted the use of English as the
language of science and technology.
Nowadays, the spread of English as a global language is supported not only by major
countries, such as the USA and the UK, but also by a number of other counties such
as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, among others. They are actively participating
in teaching English world-wide.

20
Unit 4. Key ideas
The dominant position of English as a global language is mainly due to
external factors.
The feelings towards the English language are also experienced differently by native
and non-native speakers. On the one hand, native speakers may feel proud of seeing
their language as a powerful tool of international communication. On the other hand,
they might not feel satisfied to know that the way English is spoken is different from
their own. This might even make them feel acculturated and oppressed.
Non-native speakers also have contradictory feelings. Although they feel motivated
to learn English, because it opens new opportunities in the labour market, they may
also feel disappointed as they understand that English takes advantage over their
local languages.
Time to think:
How is English used in Spain nowadays? Do you think the situation is going to
change in the near future? If so, how?
4.5. Varieties of English
As we have seen, English is a complex language that has greatly evolved throughout
the centuries. We have also pointed out that it is a global language, so it is used by
both native and non-native speakers all over the world and for a myriad of purposes.
It is also the most likely way in which English learners will use the language in the
future.
What implications for language learning and teaching does this have? Are varieties of
English important for learners?

21
Unit 4. Key ideas
The figure 4 describes the notion of English as a global language. The three circles
represent the use of English as a native language (inner circle), a second language
(outer circle) and a foreign language (expanding circle).
Figure 4. The Circles of English. Source: Adapted from Kachru, 1985.
We live in a world where English crosses borders and boundaries and where people
of different cultures live together and communicate. Simultaneously, the influence
of Standard English is weakening, and the number of bilingual people is increasing.
If we look at English from this perspective, we cannot talk about only one English
Language anymore, since it is dynamic, fragmented and mobile, but about Englishes
and varieties of English.
According to Clark (2014) this has a direct and clear effect on education, since there
is no longer a variety that is considered ‘superior’ over others. We, as teachers, need
to understand and accept the roles that different varieties of English fulfil.
It is quite common to believe that native speakers are the best candidates to teach
English. However, it cannot be forgotten that communication is a question of
understanding and being able to communicate effectively in different contexts rather
than whether one is a native or non-native speaker. (Clark, 2014)

22
Unit 4. Key ideas
Language diversity should be encouraged in schools mainly because the
diversity of Englishes and varieties that students will be exposed to in their
future, both in their educational and professional environments, should
somehow be reflected in their learning process.
Hence, teachers should focus on successful communication. We should give our

students the tools to be able to engage successfully in the possible contexts of use.
Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind that, although we should expose our
students to as many varieties of English as possible, they should not mix varieties.
One of the advantages non-native speaker teachers have in this sense is the fact that
they have been learners themselves, so they can put themselves on their student’s
shoes much more easily.
To conclude the unit, we will now focus on some of the varieties of Present Day
English that belong to the inner circle in order to compare them and grasp some of
their differences and similarities.
British and American English
Quite often we refer to British English and American English as the two main varieties
of English. However, these two labels do not really comprise the immense linguistic
diversity that can be found both in Britain and in the United States of America.
In England, dialects spoken in the north are quite different from those spoken in the
south, and the sociolects spoken in London are rather complex and different too, e.g.
Cockney.
Some of the British dialects that might be more difficult for EFL students to
understand are Geordie (from the Tyneside area), Mancuninan (from the area of
Manchester), Scouse (from the Merseyside) or Brummie (form Birmingham).

23
Unit 4. Key ideas
In the USA, not only is there a great difference between the north and the south, but
we also find, for example, African American Vernacular English or Chicano English,
as well as General American.
Sociolinguists estimate that the number of dialects in the USA range from a basic
three, which would be New England, Southern and General American, to 24 or even
more.
In general, British and American English, regarded as standard varieties of

English, are different in terms of vocabulary, spelling, grammar and
pronunciation.
Table 5 provides some examples of these differences.
British and American English compared
British English American English
Vocabulary Lift, day care, car park, lorry… Elevator, nursery, parking lot, truck…
Spelling Centre, colour, Center, color,
Past tense forms: got, learnt, Past tense forms: gotten, learnt
Use of the present perfect in sentences Use of the past simple in sentences
Grammar that talk about an action in the past that that talk about an action in the past
has an effect in the present. that has an effect in the present.
Delexical verb have, e.g. have a shower Delexical verb take, e.g. take a shower
In words like bath, laugh or class the
In words like bath, laugh or class the
vowel is pronounced /æ/
vowel is pronounced /ɑ:/
The <r> after vowels is pronounced
Pronunciation The <r> after vowels is not pronounced

e.g. car /ˈkɑ:r/
e.g. car /ˈkɑ:/
<t> when it appears in the middle of a
<t> is normally pronounced /t/
word can be pronounced like a fast d.
Table 5. British and American English compared.

24
Unit 4. Key ideas
Irish and Scottish English
Irish English, which is also known as Hiberno-English, is one of the so-called Celtic
Englishes. These were the varieties of English that were spoken in regions that were
originally inhabited by the Celts e.g. Ireland, Scotland or Cornwall.
Irish English is the result of the contact between English and Irish Gaelic.
Apart from lexical and grammatical differences the most distinctive feature of Irish
English is that it is a rhotic variety, so letter <r> after a vowel sound is always
pronounced.
However, as it occurs with most varieties, there are different regional varieties of
Irish English: Northern Irish English, West and South-west Irish English and Dublin
English the main classification.
The most different variety is Northern Irish English, also known as Ulster Irish. This is
due to the Plantation of Ulster, the organised colonisation of Ulster that took place
during the reign of King James VI and which led to a contact of Irish with Scots.
Therefore, this variety shows certain similarities with Scottish English.
Scottish is another Celtic variety of English. In Scotland, the dominant language

before the arrival of the English-speaking population was Scottish Gaelic.
The variety of English spoken in the eastern and southern parts of Scotland,
commonly referred to as Scots, was a form of English related to varieties of Northern
OE, which gradually lost many of its original features when King James VI inherited
the throne in 1603. In fact, it started having such a great influence from the English
language spoken in England that the present day variety of English spoken in Scotland
is Scottish English, a variety of the British Standard, although it still has a few
grammatical and lexical features from Scots and it has kept a strong accent. Actually,
some people, especially in rural areas, still speak the Scots dialect, and in practice,

25
Unit 4. Key ideas
the boundaries between those who speak Scots and those who speak Scottish English
are rather blurred.
Scottish English is a Celtic variety of English that resulted from the contact
between Scots and English.
Apart from certain grammatical and lexical features, Scottish English can be mostly
recognised by its pronunciation. Some of its most distinctive phonological features
are the difference in vowel length made by speakers of other accents and the fact
that it is a rhotic variety.
In the In Depth section you will also find information about Australian English.
Australian English
Australian English, recognised as a variety different from British English since 1820, is
often considered a combination between American and British English. Although this
is not exactly true, there are common features with both varieties e.g.
Australian English is a non rhotic variety that has its own distinctive features.
In terms of pronunciation, a very distinctive feature of Australian English is what is

known as the ‘weak-vowel merger’ i.e. unstressed /ɪ/ is merged into a /ə/, except
when it is followed by a velar consonant (k, g…) e.g. Rabbit would rhyme with Abbot.
In general, it could be said that the intonation is flatter than in British English and that
the line between formal and informal use of language is not as rigid as in other
varieties i.e. colloquialisms are acceptable in many situations.
Some other remarkable differences are the use of suffixes e.g. roughie= a trick,
clipping e.g. barbie=barbeque, the use of shan’t as the negative of should, instead of
shouldn’t, or the use of don’t let’s instead of let’s not.

26
Unit 4. Key ideas
In terms of vocabulary, there are also differences. Some of them can be seen in
table 6:
Some differences in vocabulary between Australian, British and American English
Australian Thongs Footpath Capsicum Lollies Doona Bush

Green/red
British
Flip-flops Pavement pepper Sweets Duvet Forest
American
Flip-flops Sidewalk Bell pepper Candy Comforter Woods
Table 6. Some differences in vocabulary between Australian, British and American English.
Time to think:
Do you have a favourite variety of English? Which one? Why?
Is there a correct variety of English? Which one would you teach in the EFL
classroom? Why?
4.6. Bibliographical references
Calvo García de Leonardo, J. J., & Fuster Márquez, M. (2011). A Practical Introduction
to the History of English (1st ed.). Publicacions de la Universitat de València.
https://bv.unir.net:3209/opac/?id=00041492#fichaResultados
Clark, U. (2014, April 22). Which Variety of English Should we Speak? British Council.
Voices Magazine. https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/which-variety-
english-should-you-speak
Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global language. Cambridge University Press.

27
Unit 4. Key ideas
Encinas Berg, I., Hurtado Santón, M. T., & González López, M. (1992). Anglicismos en
la prensa española. Ensayos: Revista De La Facultad De Educación De Albacete, (7),
67-82.
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo;jsessionid=297A09BEEDE06D9EF20F79C9
5F28E78F.dialnet02?codigo=2281650
García, C. L. (2013). English language and Anglo-American culture: Its impact on

Spanish language and society.
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=6115300
Grzega, J. (2006). Globish and Basic Global English (BGE): Two alternatives for a rapid
acquisition of communicative competence in a globalized world? Journal for
EuroLinguistiX, 3, 1-13.
Jenkins, J., Cogo, A.& Dewey M. (2011). Review of developments in research into
English as a lingua franca, State-of-the Art Article. Language Teaching, 44, 281-315.
Kachru, B. (1985) Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism: the English

Language in the Outer Circle. In Quirk, R. and Widdowson, H.G. (Eds). English in the
World. Cambridge University Press.
Labrador Piquer, M.J. and Warburton, S. (2004) Anglicismos en los medios de

comunicación. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia y Centro San Pedro Pascual. XXXIX
Congreso El español, puente de comunicación. Segovia.
https://cvc.cervantes.es/ensenanza/biblioteca_ele/aepe/pdf/congreso_39/congres
o_39_06.pdf
Mauranen, A. (2003). The corpus of English as lingua franca in academic settings.

TESOL Quarterly, 37, 513-527.

28
Unit 4. Key ideas
Maxwell, K. & Clandfield, L. (s.f.) Differences in American and British English grammar.
One stop English.
http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-reference/american-english-
vs-british-english/differences-in-american-and-british-english-grammar-
article/152820.article
Meierkord, C. (2002). Language stripped bare’ or ‘linguistic masala’? In K. Knapp & C.

Meierkord (eds.), Culture in lingua franca conversation (pp. 109-133).
Roberts, A.H. (1965). A Statistical Linguistic Analysis of American English. Mouton.
Seidlhofer, B. (2001). Closing a conceptual gap: the case for a description of English
as a lingua franca. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11, 133-158.
Vázquez-Amador, M. (2014). Los anglicismos en la lengua española a través de la

prensa de la primera mitad del siglo XIX/A study of Anglicisms used in the Spanish
press in the early nineteenth century. Revista De Investigación Lingüística, (17), 221-
241.
http://www.espaciotv.es:2048/referer/secretcode/docview/1706553442?accountid
=142712
Vázquez-Amador, M., & Lario-de-Oñate, M. C. (2015). Anglicismos en la prensa

deportiva de principios del siglo XX y XXI: estudio contrastivo. Epos, (31), 359-374.
http://www.espaciotv.es:2048/referer/secretcode/docview/1857289691?accountid
=142712
Westall, D. (2015). Gaming, glamour and other American realities in Spanish

obesogenic news. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 173, 259-263.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.062

29
Unit 4. Key ideas
In depth
Video: The History of English in 10 minutes
The Open University (2011) The History of English in ten minutes [video file]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lvhpHHi6-4
In this ten-minute video you will get the gist of the connection that exists between
history and the evolution of language in a fun and entertaining way.
Global English: From Island Tongue to World Language
Romaine, S. (2009) Global English: From Island Tongue to World Language. In The
Handbook of the History of English. (pp. 589-608). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470757048.ch23
In this chapter Suzanne Romaine, Professor of English at the University of Oxford,

provides and introduction to Global English and to World Englishes.
Australian English
Maier, G., Siemund, P. & Davydova, J. (2012). The Amazing World of Englishes: A practical
introduction. Walter the Gruyter, Inc.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278406938_The_Amazing_World_of_Englis
hes_A_Practical_Introduction
In this chapter you will find a brief introduction on the history of Australian English as
well as interesting activities to carry out in the EFL classroom.

30
Unit 4. In depth
Test
1. Approximately half of the English vocabulary comes from:
A. French and Latin.
B. Celtic languages.
C. Scandinavian.
D. None of the answers are correct.
2. The Great Vowel Shift is a change:

A. In pronunciation that took place during the Middle English Period.
B. In spelling that took place during the Middle English Period.
C. In pronunciation that took place during the Old English Period.
D. In spelling that took place during the Old English Period.
3. What is the Dane Law?

A. The period of Celtic influence.
B. The period following the Norman Conquest.
C. The period of Germanic influence.
D. The period of Scandinavian influence.
4. Which of the following statements is true?

A. English is a Romance language.
B. English has evolved from analytic to synthetic.
C. English has Scandinavian influence.
D. All the answers are correct.

31
Unit 4. Test
5. ELF is used for:
A. Communication between native speakers.
B. Communication between speakers of different languages.
C. Communication between speakers of different languages, including native
English speakers.
D. Communication between speakers of English as a second language.
6. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. The dominant position of English as a global language is mainly due to
external factors.
B. ELF stands for English as a Foreign Language.
C. The media is one of the areas in which the influence of English may be very
well observed.
D. There are many different varieties of English.
7. According to Kachru, there are:

A. Four circles that represent the use of English as a native language (inner
circle), a mother tongue (growing circle), a second language (outer circle) a
foreign language (expanding circle)
B. Three circles that represent the use of English as a native language (inner
circle), a second language (outer circle) and a foreign language (expanding
circle).
C. Two circles that represent the use of English as a native language (inner
circle), a second language and a foreign language (outer circle).
D. None of the answers is correct.
8. What does rhotic mean?

A. Letter <r> is always pronounced after a vowel.

B. Letter <r> is never pronounced after a vowel.
C. Letter <r> is pronounced /t/ or /d/.
D. None of the answers correct.

32
Unit 4. Test
9. Which of the following varieties is rhotic?
A. British English.
B. American English.
C. Scottish English.
D. None of the answers correct.
10. Which of the following is a Celtic variety of English?

A. British English.
B. American English.
C. Irish English.
D. Australian English.

33
Unit 4. Test

Tema4 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tema4 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 4

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign

The History of the English

4.3. English as Lingua Franca 15

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

4.1. How to study this unit

▸ First, an overview of the historical evolution will be provided.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

As we know, words need to be combined into sentences in order to make sense.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

External changes are usually related to language contacts, innovations by speakers,

▸ The Scandinavian influence on the English language is of outmost importance.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

▸ The Renaissance brought Greek and more Latin terms.

Many of the features that can be observed in Present-Day English have an

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

▸ Vowels contrasted in length, but that was not represented orthographically.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

French orthography also affected English pronunciation. Many monasteries

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

However, we should be careful when teaching standard English to our students. We

Morphological and syntactic features

English is considered a Germanic language. (like German, Dutch, Flemish, Danish,

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

In the case of adjectives there were declensions as well. Pronouns presented

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Table 2: The Periods in the History of the English Language.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Would you teach this to your students? How? Why?

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

teaching policy was studied by a number of scholars (Honna,2012;and Dewey, 2012).

ELF is used for communication between speakers of different languages,

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

The Presence of English in Spanish (and the Media)

language as well as in the consolidation of loanword use in the borrowing language

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Some of these non-linguistic factors are:

Common anglicisms in the Spanish Press

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Another good example is the world of sports. Vázquez-Amador and Lario-de-Oñate

on TV and the Radio every day.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

4.4. English nowadays

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Another important reason which contributed to the development of English as a

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

4.5. Varieties of English

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Figure 4. The Circles of English. Source: Adapted from Kachru, 1985.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Hence, teachers should focus on successful communication. We should give our

British and American English

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

In general, British and American English, regarded as standard varieties of

Table 5 provides some examples of these differences.

British and American English compared

British English American English

Spelling Centre, colour, Center, color,

Pronunciation The <r> after vowels is not pronounced

Table 5. British and American English compared.

Further Training on Disciplinary Knowledge of Foreign languages

Scottish is another Celtic variety of English. In Scotland, the dominant language