Modern Society and Globa

l Language
(Chapter 2)
Instructor: Professor Yong-Won Lee
Department of English Language and Literature
Seoul National University
Office: Building 3, Room 316
Email: ylee01@snu.ac.kr
Phone: 02-880-2536

Fall 2015
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WHY English?
The Historical Contexts
Why is English the Global Language?
- Two Answers: (a) Geographical-Historical one (Chapter 2);
(b) Socio-Cultural one (Chapters 3 & 4);
- Combination of (a) & (b) resulted in Many Varieties of English
(Chapter 5).

Historical Account: Traces the movement of English around t

he world; - The 19th-century colonial developments; - Adoption as an (or
a semi)-official language of newly independent states in mid 20th centur
y; - Spread of representation in every continent and islands in three maj
or Oceans.

Socio-Cultural Account: - Looks at the way people have co

me to depend on English for their economic and social well-being; P
enetration into the international domains of political life, business, s
afety, communications, entertainment, and the media & education;
Several domains total dependence on English computer software i
ndustry.

Overview: Historical Context

Origin (UK)
America
Canada
The Caribbean
Australia & New Zealand
South Asia
Former Colonial Africa
South Africa

South East Asia & The South Pacific

A world view

Origin (UK)

Origin
Movement of Anglo-Saxons in 5th Century:
- Northern Europe to England (Strongholds of the Celtic languages);
- Entered Part of Wales, Cornwall, Cumbria, and southern Scotland.

Norman Invasion in 1066: Many nobles fled to Scotland and

were welc

omed (along with the English language).

Expansion into Ireland, beginning in 12th Century:

- Anglo-Norman nights were sent across the Irish Sea;
- Ireland fell under English rule.

The First Significant Step in the End of 16th Century:

- Colonial Expansions into North America and further developments
- Between the Elisabeth I and II period (1603-1952);
- 5-7 million => 250 million speakers of English.
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America

America
Early English-Speaking Settlements in America
- The First Expedition (1584): Commissioned by Walter Raleigh (1584);
A group of explorers established a small settlement near Roanoke Island (North
Carolina); Conflicts with the native people; Disappearance of settlement.
- The Second Expedition (1607): The first permanent settlement built in the
Chesapeake Bay area; Called the settlement Jamestown and the area Virginia.
- The Third Expedition (1620): The first group of puritans on Mayflower landed
at Cape Cod Bay and established a settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts; The
near area called New England.

Different Linguistic Backgrounds of Settlers:

- Virginia: Most of settlers from West County (Somerset, Gloucestershire);
Zummerzet voicing of s sounds & r pronounced strongly after vowels;
Tidewater accents in Tangier Island.
- New England: Settlers from Eastern counties of England (Lincolnshire,
Nottinghamshire, Essex, Kent, and London) and Midlands:
Not pronouncing r after vowels.
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America

America
Dialectal Distinctions in American English
- Originated from early patterns of settlements and migration routes.
- Northern (New England): Moved west into the Great Lakes area.
- Southern (Virginia): Moved along the Gulf coasts into Texas
- Midland: Spread throughout the mid-western area, across the
Mississippi into California.

Additional Waves of Immigration:

- The 17th Century: New shiploads of immigrants; Pennsylvania
settled mainly by Quakers from the Midlands and the North of England;
- The 18th Century: A vast wave of immigration from northern
Ireland; 50,00 Irish and Scots-Irish in 1720; Scots-Irish - One sevenths of
colonial population by 1776 ; Seen as frontier people with the broad accent;
Some stayed in Philadelphia and others moved inland to the west and the
South in search for land.
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America
Population Increase between 1770-1870: 4 millions (the first censu
s) to 50 millions; Settlers spread throughout the continent; The broad acc
ent was heard all over the Sunbelt (from Virginia to southern California); It is
closely associated with present-day American speech.

Non-English influence on the English language

- The Spanish: occupied large parts of the west and south-west;
- The French: the northern territories, around St. Lawrence River
and throughout the middle region (French Louisiana) as far as the
Gulf of Mexico;
- The Dutch: in New York (originally New Amsterdam) and the
surrounding area;
- The German: Settling in Pennsylvania and hinterland.
- Africans: Slave trade; from 2, 500 in 1700 to 100, 000 by 1775.
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America
The 19th Century: A massive increase in American migration;
- Irish following potato famine in 1840s;
- Germans and Italians escaping from the failed 1848 revolutions;
- Central European Jews fleeing from the pogroms of the 1880s;

The 20th Century: 75 millions (1900) to about 150 millions (1950); about 50 m
illions; Settlers spread throughout the continent; The broad accent was heard a
ll over the Sunbelt (from Virginia to southern California); It is closely associated w
ith present-day American speech.

Functions of the English Language in America

- English language as a Glue: Within one or two generations of arrival, most im
migrants came to speak English through assimilation; A massive increase of mot
her-tongue speakers of English (198 m. in 1990 to 215 m. in 2000) ; Maintainin
g American unity;
- Minority groups concerns: preservation of their cultural & linguistic heritage; T
he seeds of conflicts between the need for intelligibility and the need for identit
y.
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Canada

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Canada
The First English Language Contact with Canada (1497): John Cabot reached Ne
wfoundland; Later, the farming, fishing, fur trade industries attracted English speaki
ng settlers.

The Ongoing Conflicts with the French: Exploration of Jacque Cartier in 1520s; Fr
ench claims surrendered following the defeats in Queen Annes War (1702-13) and
the French and Indian War (1754-63); Thousands of French settlers deported from
Arcadia (Nova Scotia) and replaced by settlers from New England; More came direc
tly from England, Ireland, and Scotland; Nova Scotia meaning New Scotland.
The US declaration of Independence (1776): Royal supporters of Great Britain left
US for Canada; Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and further inland; Soon followed by
thousands of late Royalists; Over 31 millions people in 2001, with two thirds claim
ing English as a native language.

Canadian English: Some common characteristics both with American and British
English; The presence of French as co-official language, chiefly spoken in Quebec.

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The Caribbean

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The Caribbean
Importation of African slaves (started as early as 1517): Resulted in a highly distin
ctive kind of speech spoken in West Indies and the southern part of the mainland.

Atlantic Triangle of Journeys (early 17c to 1865): Europe West African Coast
Caribbean islands & American coast Europe; The 20 slaves on a Dutch ship arrived
in Virginia in 1619; Half a million by 1776; 4 millions by 1865.

Emergence of English Pidgins and Creoles: Linguistic policy of slave traders was to
mix people of different language backgrounds in a ship; Growth of pidgin forms of co
mmunication among slaves and between the slaves and English-speak sailors; The pidgi
n was learned by the children of the slaves as a mother tongue (appearance of black Cr
eole speech).

A Diverse Range of Varieties of English Developed in the Region: Standard Britis

h English promoted as a prestige variety of English; Creole forms of French, Spanish, an
d Portuguese developing; Interaction among the creole and standard variety of English.

Migration of West Indian Speech Communities into Canada, the USA, and Brit
ain.
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Australia & New Zealand

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Australia & New Zealand

Australia
James Cooks First Visit to Australia in 1770
First Penal Colony at Sydney (1788)
- About 130,000 prisoners transported in a half century ( 1788-1838);
- Most of the convicts from London and Ireland (the 1798 Irish Rebellion).

Free settlers
- Entered the country from the very beginning
- Rapid increase from mid-19th century: 400,000 (1850) => 4 millions (1900) =>
19 millions (2002)

Mixed linguistic character Displayed in Australian English

- Cockney accents of London;
- The brogue of Irish English;
- Aboriginal languages;
- Influence from American English;
- Various Immigrant groups.
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Australia & New Zealand

New Zealand (Called Aotearoa in Maori)
The Chartering of Islands by Captain Cook in 1769-1770.
First Settlements by European Whalers and Traders in 1790s.
Christian Missionary Work Started in 1814
The Official Colony Established in 1840 (The Treaty of Waitangi)
Rapid increase in European Migration: 2,000 (1840) => 25,000 (1850) => 750,000 (19
00) => 3.8 millions in 2002.

Linguistic Consequences of Three Strands of Social History:

- A greater sympathy for British values and institutions => Clearer British accents;
- A growing sense of national identity, separate from Australia => Use of distinctive
New Zealand vocabulary.
- A fresh concern for the rights and needs of the Maori people => Increased used of
Maori words in New Zealand English.

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