World Englishes and the Multilingual Turn

1. World Englishes and the Multilingual Turn Annalisa Bonomo Università di Enna «Kore» annalisa.bonomo@unikore.it

2. World Englis(es) as “an acute problem” Far from prescribing a monolinguistic view of English, its worldwide spread has been described by Pennycook as “an acute problem” because, “while on the one hand, we may want to acknowledge the usefulness of English as a language of global communication, we clearly also need to acknowledge it as the language of global miscommunication, or perhaps, ‘dis-communication’”.

3. Despite the many domains in which English plays the most salient role, it continues to occupy that “in-between space” beyond homogeny and heterogeny which calls for contextual hybridity of the world English patterns.

4. So what are «Englishes»? The word “Englishes” works as an umbrella term which can find applications and perspectives in different domains and according to various viewpoints (from historical to regional, from social to functional, but to name a few).

5. Widening Kachru’s circles… It is English pervasiveness which led to the rise of the paradigm of World Englishes as complex phenomena, widening the famous labels by Kachru’s circles, which have been used to refer to institutionalized second and foreign language varieties of English spoken around the world. The more inclusive view of English in the world today “brings with it new practical challenges—challenges both for those who use the language as part of their everyday life, and for language professionals whose job revolves around English”

6. Kachru’s circles

7. McArthur invented the circle of world English theory (1987)

8. Multilingualismas more than a goodmastery of two or more languages As a consequence, the multilinguhal turn blurs the edges of what multilingualism is beyond a good mastery of two or more languages. In other words, non-linearity enters the global function of English as a lingua franca; rather than exhibiting English as an imperialist power, the debate deals with English as a “vehicular leader” or an “obstacle”.

9. Some famous «Englishes» Some famous case studies such as: - African American English • the Gullah variation* • American Indian English, • Tristan da Cunha English ** • Nigerian English • Geordie show how much the sharp line between local dialects and the standard variety has vanished throughout the long journey of pidginization, creolization, assimilation and the melting processes which have gone through the step of codification. * Gullah is an English-based creole spoken by the Gullahs (group of blacks inhabiting the sea islands and coastal districts of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida)  that is marked by vocabulary and grammatical elements from various African languages About the origin of the name: Perhaps it is a shortening of Angola, or Gola, the name of an agricultural people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. ** Tristan da Cunha has the most isolated variety of English: the island is situated almost 1500 miles south of St. Helena, over 1700 miles west of Cape Town in South Africa and over 2000 miles east of Uruguay. It is accessible only over the sea as there is no airport on Tristan da Cunha. it is also the youngest native-speaker variety of English around the world, as it developed in the 1820s. Different “flavors” of English were originally brought to the island from various regions of the British Isles, as well as from the Northeastern United States, South Africa and… St. Helena.

10. The Gullah corridor

11. Tristan da Cunha

12. Englishes and a «complex» perspective Far from formulating the myth of an “unmarked” English which is suitable for all occasions, speaking of World Englishes according to a complex perspective may help to achieve considerable findings that variation is one of the most useful pieces of evidence of the good health of a language, its status, its prestige.

13. Edgar Morin and complexity When we say “complex”, we refer to the meaning of “complexity” as commented on and theorized by the French philosopher Edgar Morin. According to Morin: “Society is more than a context, it is an organizing whole of which we are part (…). Complex unities such as human beings or societies are multidimensional: a human being is a biological, psychological, social, emotional, rational being. Society includes historical, economic, sociological, religious dimensions. Pertinent knowledge must recognize this multidimensionality and insert its data within it.” This is also an intriguing perspective that is arising in language matters. The use of complexity in language evolution and language description designates a real turn in the descriptive approach which assumes a new “non-finite state of English”.

14. A complex framework In the same fashion, multilingualism as something more than an accumulation of languages, is a complex framework according to which the circles of world Englishes become crucially relevant in the question of “linguistic ownership” and its various implications.

15. Variation and pluricentrity A narrow view of what is good or bad English has been abandoned to exhibit variation and pluricentrity of English as legitimate and colourful manifestations of its complexity.

16. Who is the multilingual speaker today? • According to Kemp: “complexity is a characteristic of the nature of multilingual participants’ use of their languages (…). Multilinguals may use a number of languages on account of many different social, cultural and economic reasons”* *C. Kemp, “Defining Multilingualism”, in L. Aronin, B. Hufeisen (eds.), The Exploration of Multilingualism, Amsterdam, Philadelphia, John Benjamins, 2009, p. 12.

17. Cultures as «in-between spaces» Recursivity, functioning and language awareness—which have marked the Romantic view of the language as concerned with only its culture— give way to different linguistic evolutions which move from cultures as in- between spaces. Indeed, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “culture takes diverse forms across time and space and that this diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities and cultural expressions of the peoples and societies making up humanities”

18. It is between “uniqueness” and “plurality” that culture plays a strong role in creating identity. Through culture you feel part of a specific community, but every culture is organized hierarchically (recalling Hall’s famous Iceberg Theory). Thus, social status, meanings of power and different ways of thinking influence human behaviour and communication as well.

19. Iceberg model of culture by Edward T. Hall (1976)

20. Multilingualism as «the topic du jour» • Nevertheless, how many languages are there in the world? According to Ethnologue: Languages of the World (a printed and online encyclopaedia published by the Summer Institute of Linguistics) there are 7,097 known living languages around the world, and every different language implies a different and ever-changing cultural frame, the product of a “complex system which includes the knowledge, beliefs, art, moral, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”. As a consequence, multilingual matters become topics “du jour” in language studies and in linguistics too.

21. The Nigerian case For this reason, concepts like “standard/non-standard”, and “developed/undeveloped” varieties are not so easy to disentangle since socio-political motivations can be involved in the matter. The Nigerian context is a case in point. In Nigeria, the inclusion in the Constitution of three languages, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo as “the three major languages” has partly contributed to the increasing attention they have received over the years. It has also influenced the esteem and the prestige they have commanded or enjoyed in the national scheme of things, and their perceived importance among Nigerians

22. Some figures: • Apart from the number of languages assumed to be spoken in the country (up to 400, or even more), what is interesting is the coexistence of the three provincial languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) with English, which is de facto the national language by now. • Hausa: (Provincial). De facto provincial language in northern region. • Igbo: (Provincial). De facto provinciallanguage in southeasternregion. • Yoruba: (Provincial). De facto provinciallanguage in southwesternregion. • English: (National). L2 users: 60,000,000 in Nigeria (Crystal 2003a)

23. Beyond the multiplicityoflanguages in Nigeria… Going beyond the undiscussed role of English and the multiplicity of the languages still present in Nigeria (divided into educational, dispersed, developing, vigorous, threatened, shifting, moribund, nearly extinct,dormant, second language only, and extinct), what favours the three provincial languages over the others is the intertwined relationship between language and politics. In other words, “the speakers of those languages are, to a large extent, the political power brokers and decision makers within the country.”* *E. Adegbija, Multilingualism: A Nigerian Case Study, Asmara, Africa World Press, 2004, p. 6.

24. The present status of English in Nigeria must be studied as the combined outcome of the contact/clash between English and the indigenous languages in five dimensions of influence: the educational, political, cultural, sociolinguistic, and linguistic.

25. a) The educational dimension concerns the changing role of the English language as a medium and subject of instruction. (…); • b) The political dimension concerns the emergence of an Englishs peaking elite and the role played by the language in the fight for independence as well as in the evolution of the various constitutions under which the country has hitherto been governed. (…); • c) The cultural dimension concerns the introduction of new concepts and values, as well as modes of interaction, as reflected in both Nigerian English and Nigerianlanguages. (…); • d) The sociolinguistic dimension concerns the mode of acquisition and use of English, and the emergence of a bilingual elite, speaking English and one or more Nigerian languages. (…); and • e) The linguistic dimension concerns not only the way English has permeated the vocabulary of Nigerian languages (particularly technical terminology), but also other less conspicuous influences in the sound system.* • *A. Bamgbose, “English in the Nigerian Environment”, in K. Bolton, B.B. Kachru (eds.), World Englishes, Vol. II, London, New York, Routledge, 2006, pp. 105–106,

26. A “lay” investigation of babelization… Therefore, “if we consider multilingualism as a complex set of linguistic systems mutually interacting, what we need today is a ‘lay’ investigation of the babelization of the contemporary multiethnic society, where ‘lay’ means overcoming the excessively prescriptive patterns which are usually applied to language studies and which constitute the fatal attack to new languageentropies.”* *A. Bonomo, World Englishes and the Multilingual Turn, Cambridge ScholarsPublishing, 2017, p. 23

27. English(es) as an ethical resources and cognitive effort Thus, the assumed spread of English as the backbone of contemporary multilingualism in the world entails different paradoxical non-linear feedbacks between languages and cultures in contact; such feedback may work as an ethical resource, or as a cognitive effort.

28. This being so, the study of the spread of English needs to work simultaneously on four different levels, at least: • • the individual use of the language; • • the use of/in language communities; • • the use of English in family bilingualism; and • • the use of English for specific and professional purposes. • All four levels deal in some way with issues of language loss, shift or maintenance in language contexts which still reveal double frames and pushes; take for instance countries as Morocco (or the Maghrebian countries more generally) where a conservative attitude towards native languages coexists with a modern and progressive trend in the colonial languages and theiruse.

29. More questions…less answers… The multiple relationships between multilingualism and a new lingua franca, needs to be reexamined by asking: how to consider multilingualism a resource thanks to the global rise of the English language? how to regulate the transfer? how to make multilingual education a meaningful participation tool of democracy?

30. English in Maghreb This hybrid nature of the greatest postcolonial cultures has been represented by the Francophone literature of French Africa and by the Anglophone bilingualism of the Indian Subcontinent. Hence, the domestication of English in Maghreb is still something new if compared to the professional standards which English has already obtained in other parts of the world. It means to further competitiveness of teachers, students and institutions, putting Arabic on the top, preserving the value of French, but promoting the spread of English too.

31. In Tunisia… In Tunisia, English was initially taught as a third language at a late age in secondary education and at the university level. It was taught as a language of culture with focus on American and British history and literatures. (…) Changes occurred recently, reflecting local and global developments. Linking the teaching of English to the needs of the country and moving away from the curriculum outlined earlier has become policy. English is called upon to serve a “function rather than cultural” aim. (…)

32. To prescribe or not to prescribe?To describe or not to describe? There are some signs that the typically sharp dichotomy between prescriptive and descriptive approaches in language phenomena has provided some empirical evidence of language flow and its codification. In other words, all language factors that can be described as improper or, more generally, incorrect and considered as non-standard manifestations of languages; seemingly, everything that can be prescribed as pure and unchanging will be part of what standard is—or it should be—in use.

33. Gullah Gullah, locally defined as Geechee, and named after a tribe in Liberia, seems to be “the most conservative form of ‘black English’ spoken in the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia today. It strongly resembles the Krio language of Sierra Leone and draws many elements from other West African languages as well”. Developed in the rice fields during the eighteenth century, Gullah is considered as a creole English-based vernacular whose origins are still under dispute

34. Turner’s investigation about the African heritage in Gullah The endeavours that seek to establish the connection between Gullah, African American English and English as its base language have shown interesting results. Lorenzo Dow Turner—considered to be the first relevant black African American linguist—delivered some interesting figures about the number of African words (approximately 350) and nicknames (roughly 3,600) used by Gullah speakers; at the same time, he noticed how the African heritage in Gullah variety was not only vocabulary restricted

35. He was able to prove, among other things, that the intonation of words within a sentence structure played an important role in the meaning of Gullah sentences, just as it does in West African “tone languages”. One of the most intriguing features of Gullah dialect is the peculiar and frequent use of idioms, proverbs or fixed expressions: For example: Mus tek cyear a de root fa heal de tree (SE: you need to take care of the root in order to heal the tree);

36. World Englishes and geographical factors: Tristan da Cuhna The emergence of norms passes through inter- and intra-individual variability and the stabilization of new generations of speakers; such variables are particularly relevant in the Tristan da Cunha language scenario, where the little number of inhabitants and speakers would deserve a chapter in an adventure story based on creolization and melting races, seafaring, military and nautical backgrounds of the first settlers.

37. As one of the main trading routes between Europe and the Indian Ocean in the past, Tristan da Cunha is still under the sovereignty of the British Crown, and it counts today a few inhabitants (roughly 300 units) who have farming and fishing as their unique economy. The language spoken in the archipelago developed in 1820s as a result of mixed inputs brought to the island “from various regions of the British Isles, the northeastern US, the South Africa Table Bay region and St. Helena”. Compared to the complex settings in which English is spoken today, Tristan da Cunha is by no means the most uncommon place in which English is spoken as a first and unique language.

38. Among the results of Schreier’s exhaustive research on Tristan da Cunha English (which covers variation in accent and grammatical variables to name a few aspects of his survey) the completive done and the use of the greeting formula How you is? exemplify interesting sociolinguistic changes

39. the use of done as a preverbal perfective marker • She asked us if we turned in the assignment; we said we doneturnedit. • Preverbal done in this function appears to be a feature of Southern White American English (SWAE), where it occurs in the speech of the lower classes of society (Feagin 1991:162). According to Feagin, preverbal done is claimed to derive from the mesolectcreole spoken by Blacks during the era of American slavery. Hancock (1976:283) comes to a similar conclusion when he argues that the form has passed into Southern U.S. white speech through Afro-American dialects.

40. Another pidgin or creole feature which TdCDE has in common with AAE is the frequent absence of inflected verb forms in past tense contexts. The following examples from TdCDE respectively may illustrate this: So I rushed back and get those shoes When the day begin to crack, the whole plantation break out with all kinds of noise, and you could tell what was going on by the kind of noise you hear (Dillard 1972: 41).

41. The greeting formula “How you is”? • The greeting formula How you is? works as an identity marker in Tristan da Cunha English. Like other speech patterns which have been always investigated in terms of linguistic demarcation, the greeting, “observed phenomenologically and hermeneutically, is formed into the constituting act of mutual recognition prior to mere convention”. • This is particularly true for an island in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, the formula has different values for islanders of differentages. • Although there are various cases in communicative contexts in which the Tristanians use the more standard formula how are you? in answering back to their interlocutors, such findings show that they have the option to “take up the formula and use it to address an outsider, or else to use a non-local type associated with the linguistic background of the addressee”. • This involves a certain amount of individual variability along with interaction needs instead of value judgments on the part of the speakers involved in the interaction.

42. To sum up: Being exposed to the existence of other languages increases the perception that the world is populated by people who not only speak differently from oneself but whose cultures and philosophies are other than one’s own. Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try to understand each other, we may even become friends. —MayaAngelou