Chapter 4: A

Global Language
Learning points for this unit

 The main learning points include:

 The political, technological, economic and cultural
factors that are responsible for English becoming a
global language.
 The interconnectedness of processes of globalization
and the spread of English.
 Arguments about the future of the language, both in
terms of its global status and the forms it is likely to
take.
English Now

 400-500 m. people = L1
 150-100m= L2 (70 countries)
 500-1000 m. = EFL (100 countries)
 It is the official language in 70 countries
 1 billion learners of English including beginners
 1500-2000m. Speakers could communicate in English
 One third of the world’s population can communicate in
English
English Now

 English is the Working Language in

the UN (192 members) instead of
translation
 Number of L1 speakers is decreasing
and L2 speakers is increasing.
 The ratio of native to non-native
speakers of English is 1 : 4
The ratio of native to non-native speakers of English is 1 : 4
The Recency of World
English

 A language becomes a global language when it develops

a 'special role' that is recognized in every country. This
special role is present with English because of the
following:
The Recency of World
English
1. It's the first language of USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland,
Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa (400-500
million people). If pidgin and Creole are considered
varieties of English then their speakers would be
included in this category but if they are considered
separate languages, on grounds of mutual
unintelligibility or sociopolitical identity or both, then
this number will be excluded and the lower total would
be acceptable.
The Recency of World
English
2. It is the official language and medium of communication,
i.e. government, laws, broadcasting, the press and the
educational system in about 70 countries, such as
Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, India, Singapore and
Vanuatu
The Recency of World
English
3. English is the foreign language, no official status, which
the children meet in school and adult education in over
100 countries in Europe, Asia, North Africa and Latin
America. In this category fluency is an important
criterion. Those who speak English as native speakers
would produce a small figure, whereas including every
beginner would produce a relatively large one. It was
reported by the British Council (1997) that a billion (one
thousand million) people learn English as a foreign
language; including all learners from beginners to
advanced.
 Global English

 The total number of those who could communicate in

English range between is 1500 and 2000 million speakers
from all sources (Braddol, 2006). That is to say that
approximately one in three of the world's population
can communicate to a useful level in English.
 This has acquired English its global status at the twenty-
first century. English was also used as a lingua franca
since the 1950s. In the United Nations it had only 51
member states when it began in 1952, but now it has
192 members. This required a 'working language' for
communication as an alternative to translation. English
occupied this role.
 Global English

 There are, however, issues that should be kept into

consideration concerning the above facts of the global
status of English. First, although a third of the world
population is capable of using English for
communication, still there are two third who could not.

 The situation now is that the population growth in areas

where English is a second language is about twice than in
areas where it is a first language and is increasing.
Graddol (1999) suggests that the proportion of the
world's population who have English as a first language
will decline from over 8% in 1950 to less than 5% in 2050.
The situation is unprecedented for a world language.
 Explanation for the emergence of world
English:

 What are the reasons that lead to the emergence of English as the
leading global language in today's world?
 A weak argument says that English acquired an
international status because of the simplicity of the
language, lack of inflectional endings, absence of
grammatical gender, etc. This argument ignores other
complex areas, e.g. syntactic, lexical and stylistic
complexity and irregular spelling. Yet a language
becomes a world language for extrinsic reasons only,
not intrinsic reasons that are relevant to the language
itself. English has acquired this status due to the POWER
of the people who speak it; political (military),
technological, economic and cultural power.
 Explanation for the emergence of world
English

 Political power is seen in the form of colonialism that spread

English around the world since the 16th c. so that by the 19th c. it
has become the language on which the sun does not set (Quirk,
1985).

 Technological power in the Industrial Revolution of the 17th and 18th

c.
 Economic power in the 19th c. of the United States
which even exceeded Britain's as the population grew.

 Cultural power in the 20th c. manifested in many aspects

in life especially of American influence.

Several domains can be identified within which English has

become pre-eminent in this way which induced people
to adopt English as a medium of communication, either
for internal or external purposes:
 Domains where English is the
medium of Communication
1. Politics
 English became a world language because of the growth of the
British Empire, which continued till the 20th c. The League of
Nations and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian nations) helped
in proclaiming English as their language of communication and
publications.
Domains where English is the medium of
Communication
2. Economics
19th c. witnessed the rise of Britain as a leading industrial and trading
nation. The population growth, 5 m. in 1700 doubled by 1800, also
helped in the spread of English. No country could equal the
economic growth of Britain in the 19th c. with gross national
product rising at 2% per year.

 Britain was the workshop of the world in the production of textiles

and in mining.

 Leading scientists and technologists during the Industrial

Revolution worked in English.
 English became a medium of learning, international
banking resulting in London and New York becoming
investment capitals of the world.

 The resulting 'economic imperialism' brought a fresh

dimension to the balance of linguistic power.
Domains where English is the medium of
Communication
3. The Press

 English became an important medium of the press for nearly 400

years. New printing technology, mass production and
transportation gave another boast to the English medium.

 Today about third of the world's newspapers are published in

English.
 By 1870, Reuters, news agency based in London,
acquired news monopolies than any of its continental
competitors.

 In 1856, the launching of New York associated press

resulted in the majority of the information transmitted
via telegraph wires was in English.
Domains where English is the medium of
Communication
4. Advertising

 By the end of 19th c. advertisements in publication dramatically

increased especially in more industrialized countries. Mass
production and flow of goods fostered competition, consumer
purchasing power was growing and new printing techniques
provided fresh display possibilities.

 2/3 of newspaper especially in USA was devoted to advertising. An

international market grew; the 'outdoor media' began to travel to
the world with English as the language of advertisement.
 America owned 27 of the 30 world's top advertising agencies.
Domains where English is the medium of
Communication
5. Broadcasting

 Radio telecommunication started by the invention of wireless

telegraph by Marconi in 1895. By 1918, wireless signals of
telegraph code signals crossed the Atlantic Ocean reaching
Australia.

 English was the first language to be transmitted by radio. The

first commercial radio station in Pennsylvania, USA,
broadcasted its first programme in 1920 and there were over
500 broadcasting stations licensed in the USA. Public TV
developed twenty years later.
 These media means influenced the growth of world
English. BBC World Service and Voice of America were
worldwide broadcasted. After the Second World War
several countries; Soviet Union, Italy, Japan,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany,
launched English-language radio programmes.
Domains where English is the medium
of Communication
6. Motion Pictures

 The new technologies following the discovery of electrical power altered

the nature of home and public entertainment. The technology of this
industry was carried out in Europe and America during the 19th c. After
First World War the dominance shifted from England and France to
America.

 From 1915 the emergence of the feature film, the star system, the movie
industrialist and the grand studio, all based in Hollywood, California. As a
result, when sound was added to the technology in the late 1920s it was
spoken in English which then dominated the movie world.

 About 80% of all feature films are in English.

Domains where English is the medium of
Communication
7. Popular Music

 The recording industry was the second entertainment technology

after the cinema, emerging in the 19th c. Here again English was
the dominant language. In 1877, Edison devised the phonograph,
the first machine that could record and reproduce sound and
quotes in English were the first to be recorded.

 All the major recording companies in popular music had English-

language origins.
 Jazz, with the development of the blues and many
other genres were almost entirely in English.

 Pop groups, Elvis Presley and the Beatles, the Rolling

Stones, so famous worldwide, mainly sang in English.

 Pop music was the incompatible source of spreading

English language around the youth of the world so
rapidly and immensely.
Domains where English is the medium of Communication
8. International travel and safety

 English language is the main mediating language in international

travel; package holidays, business meetings, academic
conferences, international conventions, community rallies,
sporting occasions, military occupations and other 'official'
gatherings in the domains of transportation and accommodation.
 Safety instructions on international flights and sailings,
information about emergency procedures in hotels, and
directions to major locations are now increasingly in
English alongside local languages.

 English has become the international language of the

sea and air (Seaspeak and Airspeak).
Domains where English is the medium of Communication
9. Education

 English is the medium of great deal of the world's knowledge, e.g.

science, technology and business education.

 English has become the official language or chief foreign language in

schools for many countries since 1960s.
 Advanced courses in The Netherlands, for example, are
widely taught in English.
 The English language teaching (ELT) business has
become one of the major growth industries around the
world in the past half century.
 Several examples of English grammars, e.g. Lindley
Murray, are translated into other languages.
Domains where English is the medium of Communication
10. Communications

 The postal and telephone systems and the electronic networks

deal directly with English which acquired the status of an
international language.

 3/4 of the world's mail is in English.

 The Internet's language is English; when people in other

countries began to form links with this network, it was
essential for them to use English. At the turn of the century,
70% of usage at least of the World Wide Web was in English.
By 2003, less than half the host servers in the world were in
English-speaking countries.
 A similar predominance for English has also been
observed in social networking forums and microblogging
sites like Twitter.
 There is more high-quality content on the internet in
English than in other languages with higher number of
hits than on other non-English sites.
Domains where English is the medium of Communication
10. Communications pp. 163-164
 English and Globalization

 All the above factors have contributed to the

emergence of English as a world language. These are
examples of social processes which can be grouped
together under the term globalization.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization
 Globalization is defined as 'the process by which businesses or
other organizations develop international influence or start
operation on an international scale, widely considered to be at the
expense of national identity'
(The Oxford English Dictionary)
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization

 The positive viewers look at globalization from a neoliberal

perspective as a natural stage in the history of capitalism and thus
a positive development in the social organization of the world. The
ability to trade freely across the world, taps new markets, takes
advantage of cheap foreign labor and enhances money-making
capacities of companies.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization
 The negative viewers, anti-globalization advocates, see
globalization as having destructive effects on societies and it
leads to CULTURAL HOMOGENEITY: that the cultural choices of
the dominant countries (especially USA) are spreading at the
expense of local or indigenous cultural identities, and that there
is a 'flattening out' of the rich diversity of human cultures.
 Globalization in this sense is similar to powerful
corporations and countries exploiting resources and
workforces across the globe, while simultaneously
imposing a bland and standardized cultural form on
different local traditions. McDonald's outlets and Coca-
Cola advertisements are seen as emblems of this
cultural imposition.
 In terms of language-related issues, globalization
highlights the way large and powerful languages (e.g.
English) is spreading across the globe at the expense of
other smaller languages.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization
 Interpretations of the globalization: The effects of globalization
are interpreted from different perspectives. Some look at
globalization as commercial opportunities with positive effects,
while others look at the damaging effects on 'traditional' cultures
and the increase of inequality around the world.
 Another interpretation looks at it as leading to 'hybrid' cultures;
where a mix of the modern and the traditional, the local and the
imported which creates new cultural and social practices.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization

 'Glocalization' is a term introduced by Robertson (1995). It is a

blend of globalization and localization- to describe the way in
which practices that spread across the globe will be 'nativised' by
local cultures. There is mutual influence between the inner circle
language and culture, and that of the outer circle and expanding
circle language practices who immigrate to English speaking
nations.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization
 This increasing 'interconnectivity' is affecting the way things
operate in the world. An important process of globalization is the
way the new technologies, especially communication and
transport, offer different ways of relating with people across the
world. It is now easier to interact with someone on the opposite
side of the world, send information, money and goods long
distances in a short space of time.
 The world is, thus, 'shrinking' and becoming more interconnected.
These result in changes in social organization. Society is no longer
so 'local', but instead people connect with different cultures and
communities on regular basis.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization

 The second part of the article deals with the role of the English
language in this age of globalization. The relation between
language and globalization is a two-way street.
 On the one hand, there is a need for a one means of
communication that transcends national boundaries. It is important
for international business communication to have a common
working language. And English has emerged as the language which
most readily fulfils this role.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization

 On the other hand, the English language itself is changing to adapt

to the circumstances in which it is used and the different contexts
it operates in. Language contact results in new varieties of English
developing, which are influenced by the linguistic and
communicative practices of the communities which use the
language.
 Reading A: English &
Linguistic Globalization

 So there are two different forces at work here- one which creates
the need for a common language which can be used across national
and cultural boundaries, and another which results in continued
and greater diversity in the language.
 The future of English as a
world language

 Will English continue to gain prominence as a global language? Will

the above factors remain to privilege English or are other languages
likely to emerge as rival forces on the global linguistic stage? And if
English does continue to spread, what will the consequences be for
its form and shape?
 The future of English as a
world language
 'To have learnt a language is immediately to have rights in it. You
may add to it, modify it, play with it, create in it, ignore bits of it,
as you will' (Crystal, 2012, p. 167). It is possible for a linguistic
fashion to start by a group of non-native learners, or by those who
speak a Creole or pidgin variety, which then catches on among
other speakers, for example, the phenomenal spread of rapping
and hip hop.
 As numbers grow and non-native speakers gain in
national and international prestige, usages which were
previously criticized as 'foreign' can be part of the
standard educated speech and may eventually appear in
writing.
 For example, a new concord rule ('three person' rather
than 'three people'), 'furnitures', 'he be running', can be
correct usages one day.
 The future of English as a
world language
 This diversity in the language reveals political, social and
sociolinguistic issues.

 These new varieties of English start to acquire power and prestige

in their respective countries. Words become to be used in the
national press. They are adopted by first-language speakers of
English in the locality. For example, it has become popular in New
Zealand English to use Maori /ˈmaʊ.ri/ words (natives of New
Zealand), especially the grammatical feature of dropping the
definite articles 'the' before the people name 'Maori' itself.
 These local words begin to be used at the prestigious
levels of society: by politicians, religious leaders,
socialites, pop musicians and others. Using local words
is not seen as ignorant but may be even 'cool'.
 The future of English as a
world language

 The next step is the move from national to international levels.

These important users travel abroad and start using these words in
international gatherings which in turn are used and accepted
internationally in an attempt to accepting features of increasing
diversity in English.
 The future of English as a
world language
 Nowadays, New Englishes are becoming standardized, as
markers of educated regional identity.
 In multilingual settings as Malaysia and Singapore we
encounter varieties which bring elements of different
languages together (code-mixing) and make use of informal
features that would not be used in Standard British or
American English.
 However, many still view these usages negatively, e.g.
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore said in his
speech that Singlish (a hybrid of English, Chinese and
Malay) is a plea for Singaporeans and they need to cut
down on its usage and maintain the use of Standard
English if the country aims at acquiring an international
role. He said that the media and popular television
sitcoms help in spreading this new variety.
 The future of English as a
world language
 The contemporary view, as presented in the National Curriculum
for England, is to maintain the importance of Standard English
while at the same time maintaining the value of local accents and
dialects. The intellectual basis for this policy is the recognition of
the fact that language has many functions, and that the reason for
the existence of Standard English (to promote mutual intelligibility)
is different from the reason for the existence of local dialects (to
promote local identity). This also applies to Singlish since there is
no conflict between a standard variety of English and Singlish in
Singapore, as reasons for the existence of the former, to permit
Singaporeans of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate
with each other and with people abroad, are different from the
reasons for the emergence of the latter, to provide a sense of local
identity.
 The future of English as a
world language

 If the people who use mixed varieties as markers of their identity

become more influential, attitudes will change, and usages will
become more acceptable. There are already over 350 living
languages that influenced the English vocabulary. In the Oxford
English Dictionary there are over 250 words from Malay.
 An English family of languages?

 The future of world English is likely to be one of increasing multi-

dialectism, but could this become multi-lingualism?
 Is English going to fragment into mutually unintelligible varieties;
into families of discrete and mutually unintelligible languages?
 An English family of languages?

 Today we live in the proverbial global village, where we have

immediate access to other languages and varieties of English which
has a strong centripetal and standardizing effect. The pull
imposed for the need of identity could be balanced by a pull
imposed by the need for intelligibility.
 An English family of languages?

 There has been mutual unintelligibility also with intra-national

accents and dialects; e.g. Cockney (London), Geordie (Newcastle),
Scouse (Liverpool) and Glaswegian (Glasgow). The problem is
largely resolved if the speakers slow down.
 Also occupational varieties such as legal or scientific can cause
difficulty for understanding.
 The intelligibility criterion provided little support for an
English 'language family'. It is an inadequate
explanation, for example, people from Norway, Sweden
and Denmark speak different languages but they
mutually understand each other.

 To promote an autonomous language policy, two criteria

need to be satisfied: firstly, to have a community with a
single mind about the matter. Secondly, to have a
community which has enough political-economic power
to make its decision and then it is respected by
outsiders with whom it is in regular contact.
 An English family of languages?

 There are very few examples of English generating varieties which

are given totally different names as a language (not a dialect). For
example, Tok Pisin is an English – derived pidgin. Ebonics is a blend
of Ebony and phonics in the mid 1990s a name proposed for the
variety of English spoken by African-Americans – previously called
'Black Vernacular English' or African-American Vernacular English.
Yet giving a distinct name, Ebonics to a variety, was rejected by
the US black community and by those in power.
 An English family of languages?

 Another example of a variety emerge to acquire linguistic

status is recognized in the European Union where several
languages are co-official but for pragmatic linguistic realities
English is the most widely used language. Yet the Germans,
French, Greek and others use English with their own pattern
of influence or 'interference' from their mother tongue.
There will be the usual sociolinguistic accommodation (Giles
and Smith, 1979) and the result is a novel variety of Euro-
English, a term used to describe the distinctive vocabulary
of the Union (Eurofighters, Eurodollars, Eurosceptics, etc.).
 An English family of languages?

 This language variety also includes hybrid accents, grammatical

constructions and discourse patterns. A common feature is to
accommodate to an increasingly syllable-timed rhythm (like
French), simplified sentence constructions, avoidance of idioms
and colloquial vocabulary, slower rate of speech, and the use of
clearer patterns of articulation. This is a natural process of
accommodation, which in due course could lead to new
standardized forms in Europe. Jenkins (2007) argues that common
patterns of non-native usage will emerge around the English-
speaking world, resulting in a new version of English as a Lingua
Franca (ELF).
 Conclusion

 Global English is a functional reality but its linguistic

character is difficult to define. The emergence of hybrid
varieties raises debates about their form and status.
Several processes are recognized and discussed, e.g. native,
non-native, first, second and foreign language. This make
us reconsider the notion of 'standard', especially when we
find such hybrids being used extensively and fluently by
groups of people who have education and influence in their
regional setting. The notion of mutual intelligibility is raised
when people use these hybrid forms. In addition, a new
sociolinguistic dimension comes up with new challenges in
relation to language attitudes towards these English speakers
who are unintelligible to the Standard English users.
Watch the following videos:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kvs8SxN8mc
(David Crystal - Will English Always Be the Global
Language?)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_q9b9YqGRY
(David Crystal – The Future of Englishes)