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English Quiz. Indicate whether the following sentences are acceptable or not. Revise any sentence you decide is unacceptable and try to provide a reason for your evaluation. Ready?. 1. He has many luggages. 2. If a passenger on a preponed flight
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Indicate whether the following sentences are acceptable or not. Revise any sentence you decide is unacceptable and try to provide a reason for your evaluation. Ready?
2. If a passenger on a preponed flight shows up at the time written on his ticket and his plane has already left, he is not entitled to a refund.
4. My daughter is having a terrible cold. I will take her to the clinic this afternoon.
9. I request you to call back after three o’clock when the manager returns from her meeting.
11. She will attend Northern Arizona University next year, isn’t it?
14. The student requested for an extension on her homework because she had been sick for two weeks.
15. Many researches prove that cigarette smoking is hazardous to one’s health.
16. My husband, he is working at the hospital as a medical assistant.
Your Score • How many of the 16 sentences did you mark as unacceptable? • What were some of the corrections that you made?
Answers • He has many luggages. India, Singapore, Malaysia, HK 2. If a passenger on a preponed flight shows up at the time written on his ticket and his plane has already left, he is not entitled to a refund. India
3. She lives in 6th Avenue, right behind the church. UK 4. My daughter is having a terrible cold. I will take her to the clinic this afternoon. India
5. We often exchange our knowledges in class discussions. Malaysia, Singapore 6. She has lead many tours at Buckingham Palace. Spelling: (led in AE), UK and HK
7. All my furnitures were burnt in the fi Singapore., Nigeria, India, Malay., UK, (many former British colonies) 8. We shall discuss about your schedule conflict tomorrow. HK, Nigeria
9. I request you to call back after three o’clock when the manager returns from her meeting. South Africa 10. She bought carrots, two lettuces, and several onions. UK
11. She will attend Marquette University next year, isn’t it? Tag question Zimbabwe, some varieties of UK, India, E/W Africa 12. I am sorry for the botheration I have caused you. Archaic form from UK still used in India
13. I have read this book yesterday. Present perfect to indicate past some varieties of Indian English 14. The student requested for an extension on her homework because she had been sick for two weeks. Malaysian, Singapore
15. Many researches prove that cigarette smoking is hazardous to one’s health. Canada, UK, S. Africa, (many former British colonies) 16. My husband, he is working at the hospital as a medical assistant. Topic comment structure HK, E/W Africa
So… All of these sentences are acceptable in some form of English. So, English is spreading throughout the world. But what do we mean by spreading?
Development of Distinct Varieties of English • As the spread of English progresses, it is bound to reflect a diversity of disparate cultures. • Non-native speakers are taking advantage of this additional language and are exploring new dimensions of English usage, phonetically, lexically, syntactically, semantically, and pragmatically. • There is always room for non-native speakers to exploit it in their unique ways. We have seen many examples of this in the quiz we took earlier.
We simply cannot internationalize things and ideas without having them accommodated to the customs and needs of people who are supposed to use them for their own purposes. Are there Macdonald’s in India? Yes. Do they serve hamburgers? No! The same goes with language.
Diversification is the cost we have to pay for the internationalization of English. • It is important to recognize that English has become an international common language because it is being enriched as a culturally diverse language. • People might imagine that a common language should be a uniform language. But this is not true. • If American or British English standards were imposed upon all users of English, it would never have become an international common language.
What happens when English becomes internationalized? • New forms of language emerge (as we have seen). • Potential for miscommunication. • “My Mother Isn't Well, Sir.”
CROSSTALK Setting: The office of a superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Force. The superintendent was English. A young Chinese police constable saluted the superintendent and stood at attention in front of the desk.
“Yes?”, enquired the superintendent. “My mother is not very well, sir”, started the constable. “Yes?”, repeated the superintendent, a frown appearing on his brow. “She has to go into hospital, sir”, continued the constable. “So?” “On Thursday, sir.”
The superintendent’s frown was replaced by a look of exasperation. “What is it that you want?”, he asked sternly. At this direct question, the constable's face fell and he simply mumbled, “Nothing, sir. It's all right”, and turned and left the room. As soon as the door had closed the superintendent said: “You see. A classic case. They can't get to the point.” （Source: Honna, N., A. Kirkpatrick, and S. Gilbert （2000） English Across Cultures. Tokyo: Sanshusha.）
Who is responsible for the miscommunication? The superintendent? The constable? Both?
Do you think that when a country adopts English for some purpose, that they need to adopt the vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics of the “inner circle” countries? • Why or why not?
