WORLD ENGLISHES

WORLD ENGLISHES
The term World Englishes is used to describe all the
different varieties of English that exist worldwide. As
English travels around the world, it changes and
develops in different ways to fulfil the needs of the
people who use it.
 Let’s Go Back! -came from
Englaland

Englisc language

3
Germanic
Tribes

Celtic
Language
Old English (450-1100 AD)
Germanic tribes spoke similar languages – old
be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English.
Middle English (1100-1500)
Linguistic class division, the lower classes spoke English and the
upper classes spoke French.
Middle English – the language used of the great poet Chaucer.
Early Modern English (1500-1800)
-sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift)
-British had contact with many peoples from around the world.
-Spelling and grammar became fixed
Late Modern English (1800-Present)
-main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English
is vocabulary.
-the English language adopted foreign words from many countries

1600- the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation

of a distinct American variety of English.
an estimated 1.35 billion people, meaning almost 20%
of the world currently speaks English.

English used worldwide can differ in terms of

vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and accent.

British colonialism and British and American

imperialism -the English language spread around
the world.
 Lingua franca = A language used as a common language between
speakers whose native languages are different.

Pidgins and Creoles

A pidgin is a language variety that arises when people who do not

speak the same native language communicate with each other. Pidgins
are typically a simplified form of a language, with a smaller vocabulary
and basic grammar.

When a pidgin develops into a more complex language with its own
syntax and grammar, it becomes a creole. A creole, in the classical
sense of Hall (1966), is a pidgin that has acquired native speakers,
usually, the descendants of pidgin speakers who grow up using the
pidgin as their first language.

In keeping with their extended social role, creoles typically have a larger
vocabulary and more complicated grammatical resources than pidgins. However,
some extended pidgins which serve as the primary language of their speakers
(e.g., Tok Pisin in New Guinea, Sango in the Central African Republic) are
already quite complex, and seem relatively unaffected by the acquisition of
native speakers (Sankoff, 1979; Samarin, 1995).
Varieties of English

• British English
• American English
• Australian English
• Canadian English
• Indian English
• Caribbean English
• Singaporean English
• Philippine English
Class discussion!

History
Spelling
Pronunciation
Local Word English