Global English: ENG 106/106L Fall 2014 Instructor: Karol Janicki Class 1-4

Global English
ENG 106/106L
Fall 2014
Global English 1
Instructor: Karol Janicki
Class 1-4
1
Required reading:
1. Crystal, David. 2003. Second edition. English as a global language.

Cambridge: CUP.
2. Janicki, Karol. 2005. Standard British and American English. Copenhagen:
Djøf Forlag
3. Lippi-Green, Rosina . English with an accent. Language, ideology and
discrimination in the United States. Second edition. London:
Routledge. (Chapter 5. Pp. 66-77).
4. Milroy, James and Lesley Milroy. 1999. Authority in Language. Investigating
Standard English. London: Routledge. (Chapter 2. Pp. 24-46).
5. Trudgill, Peter. 2000. Sociolinguistics. Fourth edition. London: Penguin.
2
Recommended reading:
Fox, Kate. 2004. Watching the English. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Lippi-Green, Rosina. 2012. English with an accent. Language, ideology and
discrimination in the United States. Second edition. London:
Routledge.
Milroy, James and Lesley Milroy. 1999. Authority in Language. Investigating
Standard English. London: Routledge.
Philipson, Robert. 2003. English-only Europe? Challenging language policy.
New York: Routledge.
Tannen, Deborah. 1992. That’s not what I meant. London: Virago Press.
Tottie, Gunnel. 2002. An introduction to American English. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2000. Proper English. Myths and misunderstandings
about language. Oxford: Blackwell.

3
COURSE OUTLINE (Global English 1 only)
12 meetings, 2 hours of lectures per meeting = 24 hours
Outline
Class

1. Language and Society (Trudgill – Chapter 1), Global English (Crystal)
2. Global English (Crystal) - continued
3. Global English (Crystal) – continued
4. Global English (Crystal) - continued

5. Standard English, Non-Standard English and the complaint tradition (Trudgill -

Chapters 2, 3, 8, and 9, Milroy and Milroy – Chapter 2, PowerPoint materials)
Chapters 2, 3, 8, and 9 Milroy and Milroy – Chapter 2, PowerPoint materials) -
continued
4
Chapters 2 and 3, 8, and 9, Milroy and Milroy – Chapter 2, PowerPoint materials) -
continued
ASSIGNMENT
8. Language and discrimination - Standard English ideology (Lippi-Green, Chapter 5)
9. Communicative competence (Trudgill - Chapters 5 and 6, PowerPoint materials,

Tottie – Chapter 8, Tannen; Fox - recommended)
ASSIGNMENT DUE
10. Communicative competence (Trudgill - Chapters 5 and 6, PowerPoint materials,
Tottie - Chapter 8, Tannen, Fox - recommended) - continued
11. British and American English (Janicki 2005) ) (not for ENG106L)
12. British and American English (Janicki 2005) – continued (not for ENG106L), exam
questions
5
FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENT
Sociolinguistics: language and society
6
Sociolinguistics and other types of linguistics
7
Levels of linguistic analysis
8
Methods in sociolinguistics
9
Sociolinguistics and problem solving
10
Sociolinguistics and other domains: law, medicine,
education, politics
11
Discreteness, continuity, fuzziness, and non-typical cases
12
Folk linguistics
13
Languages, dialects, varieties
14
Global English: Introduction.
Global English as a political question
15
Global English
English as the language of power
16
English-Only Europe?
The Great English Divide – people who

speak English and those who don’t.
17
Global English
In some countries it is not only useful to be

able to speak (or be identified with)
English but also fashionable, e.g., in
Japan, Korea.
18
Global English
Language policy and the influence of

English is not a topic of any serious
debate in most EU countries.
Transnational corporations are taking this

opportunity and promote an English-only
EU.
19
Global English
The use of a language is often regarded

as a practical and technical matter without
any significant consequences.
20
Global English
English and the European Union
There have been attempts to introduce English

as the only working language in EU institutions.
21
Global English
The EU developed as a mixture of

American and European motives. The
‘United States of Europe’ was originally an
American idea. President de Gaulle
blocked the British entry in the 1960s
because he feared the strong Anglo-
American influence.
22
EU – the official situation:
Languages have equal status (this principle

is affected by practical time and funding
restrictions). In practice, English tends to
replace all other languages including
French, which until recently was almost as
strong as English.
Speakers of some languages have, in fact,

more language rights than others. 23
Global English
LINGUA and SOCRATES:
programs aim at developing learning and

teaching materials that are to promote
languages other than English (or the big
four: English, German, French, Spanish)
24
A 1995 EU document recommends that all

EU citizens learn 3 of the official EU
languages.
Is it possible? Is it realistic?
25
Of the ca. 504 million (in January 2012)

inhabitants of EU, only 13% were native
speakers of English.
26
Language planning as opposed to laissez

fair policy.
27
Global English
2000 – Condolezza Rice: “The rest of the

world is best served by the USA pursuing
its own interests because American values
are universal”
Many US business companies endorse this

governmental position. Many powerful people in
Britain also endorse this statement.
28
Global English
Who owns English?
29
Global English
What does it mean that a language is a

global language?
30
Global English
Latin was a lingua franca throughout the whole of the Roman Empire,
at least at the level of government.
Latin:
• Agricola laborat - 'farmer works'
• Puella agricolam monet - 'the girl warns the farmer‘
• Dea illam monet - 'goddess that-one warns'

• Illa agricolam monet 'that-one/she the farmer warns'
• Dea puellam monet

• Puellam dea monet
• Puellam monet dea all mean 'the goddess warns the girl'
31
Multilingualism and the dominance of

English:
• In some countries, for instance, the US,

promoting multilingualism is often seen as
un-American.
A New York Times article encouraging

bilingualism led to a lot of denunciation and
hate mail addressed to the author.
32
Global English
• The fundamental value of multilingualism

• The fundamental value of a common
language
33
• In both the US and Britain, foreign languages are

learned by a small minority of school and
university students; in most European countries
other than Britain, foreign languages are learned
by most students.
• Both Britain and the US have been investing

heavily in promoting English since the mid-50s
e.g., the function of the British Council, promotion

of educational institutions in the USA, Britain and
Australia
34
Global English
How do we react when other people use

(or, it is more often said, abuse) ‘our’
language?
35
Global English
Some people feel envious of the success

of English.
36
Global English
What is the status of English in foreign

language teaching?
37
Global English
Why a language becomes a global

language has little to do with the number
of people who speak it. It has much more
to do with who those speakers are and
their power.
38
Global English
There is nothing inherently good, logical,

or beautiful about English which makes
the language powerful.
39
Global English
Do we need a global language, a lingua

franca?
40
Global English
41
The dominance of English promotes a major

inequality in almost all walks of life. Native
speakers of English and fluent non-native
speakers have a clear advantage.
42
Toward equitable communication
The Danish minister ‘period story’
• The ‘diplomatic corps’ story
People with a non-native accent are often ignored

and referred to as unintelligible.
You have to speak good English (native or close

to native) to be taken seriously.
43
Global English
The foundation of some world institutions:

The United Nations (1945)
44
Global English
The foundation of some world institutions:

The World Bank (1945)
UNESCO and UNICEF (1946)
WHO (1948)
The International Atomic Energy
Agency (1957)
45
The function of translation; the possibility of

rendering a text in one language as
expressing the same meaning as in another
language is a myth.
In the case of disagreement over

translation, in the EU, the English version is
perceived as the ‘authentic’ version that
counts!
46
Global English
The costs and quality of translation for

international organizations
47
Global English
The UN:
in 1945 - 51 members
in 2002 – 190 members
in 2012 – 193 members
48
Global English
What are the dangers of a global language?
• - A monolingual linguistic class complacent and

dismissive in their attitudes toward other
languages
• - linguistic triumphalism
• - linguistic power (cf. scientific articles written by
non-native speakers)
49
Global English
Linguistic complacency: a report from 1996 -

90% of businesses in Belgium, The Netherlands,
Luxembourg and Greece had an executive able
to negotiate in another language, whereas only
38% of the British companies had someone who
could do so. The figure for Britain has been
falling (in 2002 – 29%).
50
Global English
The teaching of foreign languages varies

in different EU countries. In Britain only
about 10% continue to learn a foreign
language after the age of 16. How many
British subjects do actually SPEAK other
languages? Compare Britain to Sweden,
Holland, Poland, Belgium.
51
Global English
The use of a single language is no guarantee of social harmony or mutual

understanding (cf. e.g., former Yugoslavia)
52
Global English
Nor does the presence of more than one language within a community necessitate
civil strife (cf. e.g., Switzerland)
53
Global English
• Children and bilingualism; the role of

bilingualism in the intellectual development
of a child
• Two thirds of children around the world
grow up in a bilingual environment
54
Global English
Linguistic death:
The use of English as a global language

does not necessarily lead to the death of
local languages.
55
The emergence of any one language as global has little to do with other languages’
death. Most often, the death of a language is caused by an ethnic group coming to be
assimilated within a more dominant society and adopting its language.
(cf. Galician in Spain)
56
Global English
A global language gives access to the

global community; a local language gives
access to the local community!
A global language enables mutual

intelligibility; a local language enables
maintaining one’s identity.
57
Global English
English is now so widely established that it

can no longer be thought of as ‘owned’ by
a single nation.
58
Global English
Could anything stop a global language?
Is English, or will English be the global

language?
59
Global English
Why English?
• The historical context
60
Global English
How far back do we need to go to the

beginning of global English?
61
Global English
• The fifth century? English then began to spread around the British
Isles.
• The eleventh century? After the Norman invasion in 1066, many

nobles from England fled north to Scotland.
• The twelfth century? Anglo-Norman knights were sent across the

Irish Sea, and Ireland gradually fell under English rule.
• The seventeenth century? After the spread of English in America?
62
Global English
America
• 1607 - the first permanent English settlement in America

(Jamestown, Virginia)
• 1620 - the first group of Puritans (on Mayflower - thirty five puritans
and sixty seven other settlers, in what is now Plymouth, Mass.)
• The seventeenth century - Pennsylvania settled mainly by Quakers
• The eighteenth century - immigration from northern Ireland
• The first two decades of the 20th century - three quarters of a million
a year
63
Global English
64
Global English
65
Global English
66
Global English
America
• 1607 - the first permanent English settlement in America (Jamestown, Virginia)
• 1620 - the first group of Puritans (on Mayflower - thirty five puritans and sixty seven
other settlers, in what is now Plymouth, Mass.)
• The seventeenth century - Pennsylvania settled mainly by Quakers
• The eighteenth century - immigration from northern Ireland
• The first two decades of the 20th century - three quarters of a million a year
• In 1900 - the population of the USA was 75 million
• In 1950 - 150 million
• In 2006 - 300 million
67
Global English
America
• In 1900 - the population of the USA was 75

million
• In 1950 - 150 million

• In 2006 - 300 million
• In 2011 - ca. 312 million
68
Global English
In 2000, 215 million people (82%) in the

USA spoke English at home; this number
has recently been falling.
69
Global English
Canada
• 1497 - John Cabot reaches Newfoundland
• 1750s - French settlers deported from Acadia

(modern Nova Scotia) and replaced by settlers
from New England
• After 1776 - loyalist supporters of Britain leave

for Canada settling first in Nova Scotia
70
Global English
71
Global English
72
Global English
The Caribbean
• The slave trade: begins in early 16th century
• 1619 - the first African slaves arrive in Virginia
• 1865 - slavery abolished

• Slaves get moved to the Caribbean
• The development of pidgin and creole English
73
Global English
Da baby cute; Cute, da baby
Da bok stay on top da table
He neva like dat
I tryin to tink
74
Global English
75
Global English
Australia and New Zealand

• 1770 - Australia visited by James Cook
• Toward the end of the eighteenth century - the first penal

colony established in Sydney
• The population of Australia: in 1850 - 400 000; in 2002 -

19 million.
• July 2008 – 21 million
• 2012 – ca. 22,4 million
76
Global English
77
Global English
New Zealand - settlers begin to arrive in the

1790s
• 1840 - the official colony established
• The population of New Zealand: in 2002 - 3.8

million.
• July 2008 – 4.2 million
• 2012 – ca. 4.4 million
78
Global English
79
Global English
• South Asia
• India
• 1600 - the first formation of British East India Company
• 1996 - 40 million regular users of English
• 1765 - 1947 - the British rule in India; English became
the medium of administration and education throughout
the subcontinent
• Now - English has the status of an 'associate' official
language
• Many speakers of English also in: Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan
80
Global English
81
Global English
End of the 18th/early 19th century - the

British start controlling Malaysia and
Singapore; Hong Kong ceded to Britain in
1842 and leased from China in 1898 for 99
years.
82
Global English
South-east Asia and the South Pacific
• End of the 19th century /early 20th century

• - Americans get sovereignty over Hawaii
and the Philippines (the latter becomes
independent in 1946)
83
Global English
84
Global English
85
Global English
South Africa
• 1795 - the first British involvement in the region

• 1806 - British control established
• 1822 - English made the official language of the region
• English also used as a second language by the Afrikaans speakers
• In 2002 - English spoken as a first language - 3. 7 million people

(out of 43.5 million)
• English is perceived in South Africa as a language of international

communication; the number of its speakers is growing.
• 45 % of the population – have a speaking knowledge of English
86
Global English
• West Africa - the English arrive at the end

of the 15th century
• Now English has official status in:

• Sierra Leone, Ghana, Gambia, Nigeria,
Cameroon, Liberia
87
Global English
• East Africa - The English arrive at the end

of the 16th century (systematic interest not
until 1850s)
• Now English has official status in:

• Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,
Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia,
Zimbabwe
88
Global English
Ideologies of linguistic supremacy
• Between 17-19th centuries in Europe – French

was the language of the intellectual elite
• In 1971 – the French president Pompidou:

“French is the natural language of the peoples of
Europe, English that of America”. (in a BBC
interview). French has often been seen as the
language of reason and civilization.
89
Global English
1778 – Antoine de Rivarol expressed the

ideology of the INTRINSIC value and
superiority of French. French was referred
to as more logical, purer, clearer, closer to
the reality of thought than any other
language – an instrument of pure
intelligence. This ideology is still endorsed
by many French contemporaries.
90
• The colonizing powers (especially the

English) have expressed similar opinions
about English.
• “…a single shelf of a good European library

was worth the whole of native literature of
India and Arabia” (Lord Macaulay, 1835)
91
“Probably everyone would agree that an

Englishman would be right in considering
his way of looking at the world and at life
better than that of the Maori or Hottentot
and no-one would object to England doing
her best to impose her better and higher
view on these savages…Can there be any
doubt that the white man must, and will,
impose his superior civilization on the
colored races?” (Lord Grey, Minister at the
British Foreign Office, 1899)
92
Global English
Factors leading to the current status of

English
• the British colonial power (peaking toward

the end of the 19th century)
• the US economic power of the 20th and
21st centuries
93
Global English
• The inner circle

• The outer or extended circle
• The expanding circle
94
Global English
Where does Norway belong?
95
Global English
The total number of the users of

English:
• 400 million - English as a first language
• 350 million - 430 million - English as a
second language
• 750 million - English as a foreign
language
96
Global English
What does it mean to be a user/speaker of

English?
• Total number of users of English:

• 670 million - 1,800 million
• 'Middle-of-the-road estimate:
• 1,200-1,500 million (750 million –
first/second + 750 million – foreign)
97
Global English
Why English?
The cultural foundation
98
Global English
Political developments and 19th century social history:
• The significance of the Industrial Revolution (19th century); Britain

becomes the world’s leading industrial and trading nation.
Most of the innovations of the Revolution were of British origin.
99
Global English
By the end of the 19th century the USA

has overtaken Britain as the world's
fastest growing economy.
100
Global English
Inventors: e.g. Benjamin Franklin (lightening rod)
101
Global English
Thomas Edison (electric bulb, phonograph)
102
Global English
Samuel Morse (the Morse alphabet)
103
Global English
1750-1900 - half of the scientific and

technological output was written in
English.
104
Global English
Edwin L. Drake - bored the first oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859, and by
1880 the Standard Oil Company, under John D. Rockefeller and his
associates, was controlling the refining of over 90 per cent of all oil
produced in America.
105
Global English
William Randolf Hearst (1863-1951) - a newspaper empire
106
Global English
John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) - a manufacturing, banking, and transportation

empire
107
Global English
At the beginning of the 20th century the

American economic power began turning
into a linguistic power.
108
Global English
Linguistic consequences: new terminology

(adding thousands of words to the English
lexicon)
cf. the current terminology related to
the computer
109
Global English
In 1898 Bismarck considered the fact that 'North

Americans speak English' the decisive factor in
modern history.
110
Global English
Why English?
The cultural legacy
111
Global English
The political consolidation of English - after

World War One
• The League of Nations (founded in 1920) - gave

English a special place in its proceedings;
English (in addition to French) was one of the
two official languages. In 1945 the League was
replaced by the United Nations.
112
Global English
Further organizations where the role of

English is primary: e.g.
the Commonwealth, the Council of
Europe, the European Union, NATO, the
European Free Trade Organization
113
Global English
1995/6 - 12 500 international organizations

in the world; 85% of these organizations
make official use of English
One third of these organizations use

English only.
114
Global English
At political rallies - even anti-English

demonstrators carry placards written in
English , e.g. in India a march supporting
Hindi included a sign saying
"Death to English"!!!
115
Global English
The media
• The press
• Early newspapers in English:

• Weekeley Newes (1622)
Lloyd's News (1696)
Boston News-Letter (1704)
The Spectator (1711)
The Times (1788)
The Observer (1791)
• In the USA - 400 daily newspapers in 1850
116
Global English
The Reuter Press Agency (1870)

New York Associated Press (later
Associated Press) (1856)
• In 2002, 57% percent of the world’s

newspapers were published in countries
where English has special status.
117
Global English
The top most influential (arguably, of

course!) papers of the world are English
language newspapers.
e.g The New York Times
118
Global English
The top most influential (arguably, of course!) papers of the world are English language
newspapers.
e.g The Washington Post
119
Global English
newspapers.
e.g The Times
120
Global English
newspapers.
e.g The Sunday Times
121
Global English
newspapers.
e.g The Guardian
122
Global English
newspapers.
e.g The Independent
123
Global English
newspapers.
e.g The Wall Street Journal
124
Global English
newspapers.
e.g The International Herald Tribune
125
Global English
Magazines: The Economist
126
Global English
Magazines: Newsweek
127
Global English
Magazines: Time
128
Global English
• Advertising
• Two-thirds of the modern newspaper,
especially in the USA, is devoted to
adverting.
129
Global English
Broadcasting
• English was the first language to be transmitted by radio
(1906; in the USA)
• BBC - first on air in 1919
130
Global English
BBC World Service - began in 1932

1920s - broadcasting began in Canada,
Australia and New Zealand
131
Global English
In the USA, NBC - first in 1939, then ABC

and CBS, PBS
In the 1940s the USA overtakes Britain - The Voice of America
132
Global English
Motion pictures
• The significance of Hollywood making
movies for huge audiences.
• It is unusual to find a movie hit produced in

a language other than English.
133
Global English
Popular music
Safety instructions on means of international transportation

International safety
• Over 180 nations have adopted the recommendations of the International
Civil Aviation Organization about English terminology.
• 'Emergencyspeak' - the language of standardized communication between

the UK and the Continent of Europe (e.g. concerning the Channel Tunnel
between Britain and France)
• Seaspeak
• Airspeak
134
Global English
Education
• The British Council – in 2002 had offices in 109 countries
• English is the language of science and technology.
• The English language teaching (ELT) business and the role of the
British Council.
• The role of leading British and American Universities
135
Global English
Communications
• In 2002 63% of the world's mail was being handled by English-

status countries
• 80 % of the world's electronically stored information is in English.
• Most Internet hosts (64% in 1996) are to be found in the USA.
136
Global English
Summary
• English as the language of the leading colonial

power - Britain (17 and 18 centuries)
• English as the language of the Industrial

Revolution - Britain (18 and 19 centuries)
• English as the language of the leading economic

power - the USA (late 19 and the 20 centuries)
137
Global English
The future of global English
• Will English be the global language

forever? What could stop the current
development?
• Will English fragment into unintelligible

varieties?
138
Global English
The US situation
• There is the closest of links between

language and power.
• The USA has by far the most powerful

conventional armed forces in the world
and is the largest arms producer.
139
Global English
The issue of intelligibility and identity.

The conflict between intelligibility and
identity.
140
Global English
Some native speakers of English in some

English speaking countries are beginning
to find themselves on the defensive (e.g.,
in New Zealand, Australia)
• Welsh Language Act 1967 – Welsh is

being revived. Speakers of English may
soon feel threatened.
141
Global English
The ‘Official English' movement (Bill

Emerson English Language
Empowerment Act, passed by the House
of Representatives in 1996).
142
Global English
• The political argument for the movement
• More official languages in the USA will be

the seeds for separatism and the eventual
dissolution of the unity; English is seen as
linguistic glue guaranteeing political unity.
143
Global English
The political argument against the movement
• The 'official English' bill is an unwarranted

federal intrusion into self-expression, violating
cultural pluralism, and - insofar as it is perceived
as a policy intended to limit and control
minorities - increasing the chances that
communities would divide along ethnic lines.
144
Global English
The socio-economic argument for the movement
• Out of the hundreds of languages other than

English, which language should be selected and
given an official status? Any answer to that
question would be a big economic burden. Out
of half a million of the Internal Revenue Service
forms and instruction booklets distributed in
Spanish (in 1994), only 718 were returned.
145
Global English
The socio-economic argument against:
• The government time and money would not be

saved, given the cost and complexity of
introducing the new law. The legislation could
hardly be enforced.; how do we define 'official
language'? How would we distinguish between
'private' and 'public' discourse? The latter needs
to be handled in English.
146
Global English
Educational issues:
• Anti-English Only people stress the value

of bilingualism. They also think that the
English Only movement encourages
elitism and leads to discrimination.
• Pro-English Only people think that

bilingual programs prevent integration
147
Global English
A compromise is difficult in a climate in which the supporters of official

English (no matter how moderate) have come to be routinely labeled 'racist',
and immigrants wishing to use their own language (no matter how cultured)
are castigated by such names as 'welfare hogs'.
By 2010 in twenty eight states (Oklahoma joined in 2010) the Official

English legislation had been introduced.
148
Global English
• New Englishes
The long-standing debate, even now not wholly

laid to rest, over which language is better, that of
Britain or of the United States, has had all sorts
of effects over the decades, from establishment
of literary canon to what pronunciations and
usages are correct and should, therefore, be
taught.
149
Global English
• No variety is better than any other variety in some

absolute sense. No variety is better linguistically than
any other variety. A variety may only be better from a
social point of view.
Cf. our discussion of standard languages/varieties

and the complaint tradition.
150
Global English
The ratio of native speakers of English

against the non-native speakers is
constantly changing in favor of the non-
native speakers. If the trend continues
within fifty years there could be up to 50
percent more non-native speakers than
native speakers.
151
Global English
English changes all the time; new 'Englishes'

arise where the language has taken root (e.g.
British and American English). Other examples:
Indian English (about 50 million speakers of
English). Soon there will be more speakers of
English in India than there will be in Britain.
152
Global English
The concept of a monolithic English as the

exponent of culture and communication in
all-English-using countries has been a
convenient working fiction that is now
being harder and harder to maintain.
153
Global English
International varieties express national identities,

and are a way of reducing the conflict between
intelligibility and identity. People communicate
by a common written language. They speak in
slightly different ways, each group retaining its
identity through the local /national variety. It is
another way of 'having your cake and eating it'.
154
Global English
What we now have is English languages

and English literatures.
155
Global English
If two social groups come to be separated

only by a mountain range or a wide river,
they will soon begin to develop different
habits of speech.
156
Global English
If a typical American has no wish to speak

like or be labeled as a British user of
English, why should a Nigerian, an Indian,
or a Singaporean user feel so?
What about a Norwegian, a German, or a

Dutchman?
157
Global English
As long as the old-fashioned English

speech community continues to be the
paradigm of reference, a monolingual,
mono-cultural way of looking at the
linguistic world is unavoidable.
158
Global English
Communicative competence and the

various Englishes
cf. degrees of indirectness, topics,

rules of address, ways of inviting people,
paying compliments, etc.
159
Global English
ELT (English Language teaching);

standardized tests are based solely on
native speaker varieties.
160
Global English
It is most important in teacher training to

create teacher awareness of the status
and functions of Englishes in the world
today and in the future.
161
Global English
• Standards and codification: codification has

taken place almost exclusively in the Inner Circle
countries, e.g., Britain and the USA. If there are
two, why not three? If there are three, why not
10, 12?
162
Global English
• Will English fragment? Will it be like Latin which

gave rise to the various Romance languages
(e.g. French, Spanish, and Italian, over 1000
years ago)?
• In 1877 Henry Sweet thought that a hundred

years later America, England, and Australia will
be speaking different unintelligible languages.
163
Global English
Euro-English -the English of the French,

the Greeks, the Norwegians, etc.
(speakers of the expanding circle); these
people bend English to suit their purposes.
164
Global English
• Will the World Standard Spoken English (WSSE)

arise?
•
Which variety will be most influential in the
development of WSSE? American English? The
recent direction of influence has been one-way.
British English shows more and more influence
of American forms (especially spelling and
vocabulary).
165
Global English
• Terminological disputes: are British English,

American English, Australian English, etc.
dialects or varieties of English?
• The term dialect has been stigmatized by the

lay-people.
166
Global English
RP : RP speakers are outnumbered these

days by the undoubtedly educated people
who do not speak RP.
167
Global English
Who can be labeled as a user of English?
What does it mean to 'speak English'?
What does it mean to be a native speaker of English?

168
Global English
In thinking of a country as an ESL country

or of a person as an ESL speaker, for
example, we perpetuate the dichotomy of
native versus nonnative, "us versus them“
.
169
Global English
Is Esperanto a solution to the problem of inequitable

communication?
• Ludwik Zamenhof – the founder of Esperanto (1887)
• Linguistic characteristics of Esperanto
• Lack of economic and political clout - the main reason

for the weakness of Esperanto
• Esperanto could be an excellent solution to the EU

communicational problems.
170
Global English
Several important problems should be addressed:
1. The role of the ‘big’ (especially English) and the ‘small’

languages.
2. Native/non-native imbalance in communication.
3. Costs of learning several languages
4. Costs and the practical aspects of translation
5. Matters of principle – basic human language rights
6. Governmental language strategies; most EU countries
do not have such strategies; language problems do not
appear to be important enough to deserve significant
attention
If these problems are not addressed in a serious

manner, we may be heading for an English-only Europe.
171
Global English
END OF PRESENTATION
172

Global English: ENG 106/106L Fall 2014 Instructor: Karol Janicki Class 1-4

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Global English

1. Crystal, David. 2003. Second edition. English as a global language.

12 meetings, 2 hours of lectures per meeting = 24 hours

5. Standard English, Non-Standard English and the complaint tradition (Trudgill -

9. Communicative competence (Trudgill - Chapters 5 and 6, PowerPoint materials,

Global English as a political question

English as the language of power

The Great English Divide – people who

In some countries it is not only useful to be

Language policy and the influence of

Transnational corporations are taking this

The use of a language is often regarded

English and the European Union

There have been attempts to introduce English

The EU developed as a mixture of

EU – the official situation:

Languages have equal status (this principle

Speakers of some languages have, in fact,

LINGUA and SOCRATES:

programs aim at developing learning and

A 1995 EU document recommends that all

Of the ca. 504 million (in January 2012)

Language planning as opposed to laissez

2000 – Condolezza Rice: “The rest of the

Many US business companies endorse this

Who owns English?

What does it mean that a language is a

• Dea illam monet - 'goddess that-one warns'

• Dea puellam monet

Multilingualism and the dominance of

• In some countries, for instance, the US,

A New York Times article encouraging

• The fundamental value of multilingualism

• In both the US and Britain, foreign languages are

• Both Britain and the US have been investing

e.g., the function of the British Council, promotion

How do we react when other people use

Some people feel envious of the success

What is the status of English in foreign

Why a language becomes a global

There is nothing inherently good, logical,

Do we need a global language, a lingua

The dominance of English promotes a major

Toward equitable communication

The Danish minister ‘period story’

• The ‘diplomatic corps’ story

People with a non-native accent are often ignored

You have to speak good English (native or close

The foundation of some world institutions:

The foundation of some world institutions:

The function of translation; the possibility of

In the case of disagreement over

The costs and quality of translation for

What are the dangers of a global language?

• - A monolingual linguistic class complacent and

Linguistic complacency: a report from 1996 -

The teaching of foreign languages varies

The use of a single language is no guarantee of social harmony or mutual

• Children and bilingualism; the role of

The use of English as a global language

A global language gives access to the

A global language enables mutual