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English 121

English 121. --Where does English go from here? --World Englishes Questions and Answers. What will happen to English during the next century?. Is English splitting into many different fragments? (Divergence) or

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English 121

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  1. English 121 --Where does English go from here? --World Englishes Questions and Answers

  2. What will happen to English during the next century? Is English splitting into many different fragments? (Divergence) or Is English tending to become more standardized because of international use? (Convergence)

  3. Divergence • Growing national pride in local varieties of English • Indian English • Singaporean English • Nigerian English • Malaysian English • Sri-Lankan English • Caribbean English • International English

  4. Divergence It is likely that mutually unintelligible forms of English will increasingly develop as the language is taught and learned in areas of the world which are isolated from contact with first-language speakers.

  5. Convergence • Worldwide influence of the Internet, • American global broadcasters such as CNN • Movies/Television • International Politics • Business • Education

  6. Convergence It is also likely that English will remain mutually intelligible because of the constant interaction (electronic and otherwise) between the Englishes of various parts of the world, and the value of English as lingua franca.

  7. Both? The one certainty is that the English language will continue to change in the future, and to respond in dynamic and unpredictable ways as its use increases across the world.

  8. Questions about English

  9. Are there any words that mean completely different things in various parts of the world? • rubber British English ‘an eraser’; American English ‘a condom’ • Walking on the pavement is safe in Britain (where it means ‘sidewalk’) but fatal in North America (where it means the paved surface of a road) • In South Africa, robot is the standard name for a set of traffic lights, a globe is an electric light bulb, and a packet is a shopping bag

  10. Which varieties of English are spoken by the largest and the smallest numbers of people? • American English is the largest variety, spoken by 250 million people. • It is difficult to select the variety with the smallest number of English-speakers (would only predominantly English-speaking countries be considered? Would second-language speakers count?) but as an example, in 1993 the first-language speakers of English in Hong Kong were estimated to number 59,000. • However, all English-speaking populations are undoubtedly growing in numbers, so estimates become inaccurate quite rapidly!

  11. What was the first country outside Britain to use English as its first language?

  12. Ireland was invaded by an English force under Henry II in 1171, after which Norman French and English were introduced. • The first significant and fast-growing English-speaking settlement dates from 1607, at Jamestown in the colony of Virginia.

  13. Are there varieties of spoken English which might be unintelligible to someone from London or New York?

  14. Some varieties may be unintelligible within particular countries! • There are certainly varieties of British English which Americans can’t understand, and vice versa .

  15. There are some varieties of English among second-language speakers (for instance in Africa and Asia) which border on pidgin English, and which would be unintelligible to most English speakers. • Krio (Sierra Leone), • Gullah (South Carolina and Georgia in the United States) • Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea) • The creoles of the Caribbean region

  16. Does the Internet lead to a brand of English that suppresses local variation in favor of quick and easy communication?

  17. To an extent, when users of the Internet opt for online jargon and e-mail abbreviations and suppress any regional vocabulary which they feel might not be understood. • There is no proof that this online behavior will influence the varieties of English in any significant way, for example by making the different spoken varieties into a single bland Internet English.

  18. Is it possible to produce a dictionary that truly covers all the world Englishes?

  19. No single dictionary could hope to cover all varieties of English comprehensively, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), recognizing the importance of recording the ‘family’ of English as fully as possible, is attempting to include the significant local words from each of the major English-speaking areas.

  20. Do all English-speaking countries have their own English dictionaries?

  21. No, not ye. Many of the smaller varieties still need documentation • There are dictionaries for • British English • American English • Australian English • New Zealand English • Canadian English • South African English • Caribbean English

  22. Are people everywhere worried about the misuse of English, and about maintaining its ‘purity’?

  23. In every English-speaking country there are people with these concerns. These are difficult issues to address, as each person has his or her particular likes and dislikes, and there are often strong feelings about the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ uses of language.

  24. The central issue seems to be that language change is inevitable and unstoppable. • From the beginning English has stretched and enriched itself by absorbing words from other languages—Scandinavian, French, Latin, and Greek, to name but a few—and thus the concept of a ‘pure’ English is difficult to support.

  25. Grammatical adaptation has also taken place over the centuries; and looking at the complications of Old English, we can be deeply thankful for this fact. • It is useful, however, to differentiate between what is beyond our control (historical language change) and what we can influence (good teaching of English, wide reading, support of poets, novelists, and playwrights).

  26. Good, effective, creative use of English and the control of a wide vocabulary are skills which every person has the power to use and encourage in others.

  27. What can you do next? • Approach your other classes with an understanding of language and how it works—and doesn’t work. • Don’t let anyone tell you that you do not know your own language very well. Even if you are a second language speakers, consider all that you do know about English.

  28. Embrace your ability to change language in order to use it for your own purposes. But • Understand that there are good reasons to follow language rules—sometimes, not all of the time.

  29. Take more linguistics classes. • Become a linguist • Our field needs more people to work with language. That’s all…

  30. Final Exam • Tuesday, December 13—12:30-2:30 in this room. • Study guide is available on-line

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