Communication and

Globalization
Objectives:
understand the implications of
globalizations on communication;
explain the notion of World Englishes in
the context of English being a global
language; and
use Standard English and bias-free
language in writing.
 Society is composed of individuals. It is due to the
communication ability that humans are considered
superior to animals.
 The process of communication has always been and will
always play a significant role in the existence of human
life. No human can survive without communicating. It is
believed that prior to the time of human existence
there were no symptoms of speech and writing.
 When humans started residing on the earth it was only
after a long years of time that they had started to
speak.
At first the communication was only at intra-
personal level and thus defining it as intra-personal
communication.
Gradually interaction between the individuals
increased which was later termed as inter-personal
communication.
This was not enough. Then people started thinking
in wider perspective.
The communication broadened its horizon to group
communication, organizational communication and
then to mass communication.
 The time where we live is 21st century and this period is very
well known for its development in science and information
technology.
 Nowadays emails, internet, fax, phones, mobiles, television are
very common. And these are the tools that have made
communication easier, faster, and reliable.
 At present it takes no time to communicate from one corner of
the world to other. In this relation, the whole world is being
looked at as a single community that is connected by electronic
communication systems.
 Thus, globalization can be defined as the integration and
democratization of the world’s culture, economy, and
infrastructure through the transnational investment, rapid
proliferation of communication and information technologies, and
the impacts of free-markets on local, regional, and national
economies.
Globalization
GLOBALIZATION
The uprooting of human activities – political,
cultural, economic, social
or:
interconnectedness -> interdependencies
of many different parts in the world.
From a communication studies perspective:
Why globalization? – because it is possible to
communicate on a global scale
”Only in the past couple of centuries, as every
human community has gradually been drawn
into a single web of trade and a global network
of information, have we come to a point where
each of us can realistically imagine contacting
any other of our six billion conspecifics and
sending that person something worth having:
a radio, an antibiotic, a good idea.”
(Appiah, 2006)
 Globalization mainly deals with the
interconnectedness of the people in a global manner. It
is due to the globalization that we are so much adapted
and accustomed to not only the western cultures but
other cultures as well.
 The influence of Hollywood, McDonalds, and change in
language, culture, and dressing are such examples of
globalization.
 Globalizationis a two-way process. If there was no mass
media, globalization would not have been possible. The
information disseminates from one part of the world to
other part in seconds, this miracle is just due to the
mass media.
 Globalization is only possible because of mass media and
on the other hand mass media gets advanced due to
globalization.
 Globalization has helped the people to be updated with
each happenings of the world. The thoughts and ideas of
individuals now work in wider perspective.
 Despite having many advantages many people still argue
that globalization cannot always be useful to individuals
since working technically is not always proper.
 Itmay confine an individual to just himself being self
centered.
 Other critical issues may arise due to the globalization. So
globalization can be seen both positively and
pessimistically.
 The mass media, cultural industries and
communication and information technologies have
become the major catalysts for cultural activity,
mass consumption and participation in public life.
They are also increasingly the basis for direct
communication across vast distances and without
respect to time.
Consequently, access to the resources that
facilitate communication be part of the basic
building blocks of citizenship and raises policy
issues that are central to the development of civil
society.
 Communication and information technologies, while
of little interest in themselves, are strategically
critical in efforts to intervene economically on the one
hand, and in the cultural sphere on the other.
The stakes of communication policy revolve
around struggles over who gets to use these
technologies, under what conditions, in order to
promote which projects, and in whose interests.
Conceptually, "communication" is another way of
describing the technological space at the interface of
economic globalization and cultural globalization.
Globalization
Globalization has affected us in numerous
ways.
Airfare has become cheaper, and one can
travel internationally more than one could in
the past.
Many Filipinos have decided to work or live
abroad, with some of them migrating to
other countries.
The free trade of goods and services all over
the world has brought multinational
companies and foreign investors to our
shores.
Because of all these factors, it is important
to be aware of the differences between our
culture and the rest of the world’s cultures.
Because of the advent of the Internet, the
world seems to be shrinking continually.
One can communicate internationally in a
matter of seconds, whether one is sending an
email, chatting in social media, or sending a
text message.
One can read about different cultures, and
have access to films, academic papers, and
the like from countries around the world,
and vice versa.
Given this increasingly shrinking world, one
should know the difference between the kind
of English that we write and speak, and the
kind of Englishes that exist outside of the
Philippines.
The dimensions of globalization
Effects of Globalization
Advantages of Globalization
World Englishes
 DavidCrystal (2003) begins the first chapter of the
book English as a Global Language with the
assertion that English is, in fact, the global
language.
 After giving various examples to support this
statement, he questions the assertion by asking,
“What does it mean to say that a language is
global?” (Crystal, 2003).
 In asking this, he considers the implications of
English having this status, especially for its many
users who speak different mother tongues.
 In The Story of English, Robert McCrum et al.
(1986) discuss the “success story” of the rise of
English. They also provide a variety of examples
that demonstrate the global presence of English.
 The questions that follow help the reader explore
the implications of the language’s wide reach.
 Review what you know about the The Story of
English. How did it come to be a global lingua
franca or an international language?
 Watch “The History of English in Ten Minutes”
posted by The Open University on Youtube:
https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r9bOkYW9s
(accessed April 3, 2017). After watching it, come
up with your own list of the factors that led
English to take on its global status.
 Dosome quick Internet research to find out how
English came to have an official status in the
Philippines.
 How do you feel about the role and status of
English in the Philippines?
Readings in World Englishes
 Read“Speak English: The story of a Once-obscure
Language and How It Became the Last Word in Global
Communication,” excerpted from the Chicago Tribune
from The Story of English (McCrum et al.,1986).
 You may access the full excerpt via the following link:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/198-09-07/featur
es/8603070293_1_official-language-mother-tongue-sp
eak
). Read only up to the first paragraph of page 2 of the
article.
 The first and final paragraphs of your assigned reading
(First paragraph)
The rise of English is remarkable success story. When
Julius Ceasar landed in Britain nearly 2,000 years ago,
English did not exist. Five hundred years later, English,
incomprehensible to modern ears, was probably spoken by
about as few people as currently speak Cherokee-and with
about as little influence. Nearly a thousand years later, at
the end of the 16th century, when William Shakespeare was
in his prime, English was the native speech of between 5
and 7 million Englishmen, and it was, in the words of a
contemporary, “ of smell reatch, it stretcheth no further
than this iland of ours, naie not there over all.”
(Final paragraph)
The emergence of English as a global phenomenon-as
either a first, second or foreign language—has recently
inspired the idea (undermining the above claims) that
we should talk not of English but of many Englishes,
especially in Third World countries where use of English
is no longer part of the colonial legacy but the result of
decisions made since their independence. Throughout
the history of English there has been a contest between
the forces of standardization and the forces of
localization, at both the written and the spoken levels.
 The appearance of the first substantial English
dictionaries in the 18th century was a move towards
written standardization. It was Victorian England
that realized the idea of “The Queen’s English,” a
spoken standard to which the “lesser breed” could
aspire. The industrial revolution meant roads,
canals, and, above all trains: People travelled more,
both geographically and socially. The pressures of
class ambition speeded the emergence of a standard
form of English speech.
Task 3
 Basedon McCrum’s essay and some additional research on your
part, why is the rise of English such a remarkable “success
story”? what lead to English taking on the role of a global
language?
 Can you add to the evidence given by McCrum in paragraphs 3
to 7 that English is the most widespread language in the world?
 DavidCrystal (2003) says that “a language achieves a genuinely
global status when it develops a special role that is recognized
in every country.” What is the special role of English in the
Philippines?
 Whydoes McCrum says that “we should not talk of English but
of many Englishes?
 Question number 4 is an important one. It is now a
more widely accepted fact that there are many
World Englishes, sometimes referred to as
“varieties of English” used in the world.
 Allare equal in the sense that each is best suited
to the communication needs of its speakers.
However, not all are equal in prestige.
 Some varieties are more prestigious than others
because of social attitudes about the speakers of
these varieties.
 For example, in the social variety of English called
African American English (AAE) “used by many (but not
all) African Americans in different regions of the USA,”
certain features such as ‘g-dropping’ in words like
readin’ (reading), walkin’ (walking), and singin’
(singing) are stigmatized” (Yule, 2010.
 Thisprocess of stigmatization follows a regular pattern
whereby the social practices, especially speech of
dominated groups,” such as African Americans, ”are
treated as ‘abnormal’ by those dominant groups who
are in charge of defining ‘normal’” (Yule, 2010).
 Some scholars, like Ruanni Tupas and Rabdy
(2015), use the term “unequal Englishses” to focus
discussions of “the unequal ways and situations in
which Englishes are arranged, configured, and
contested.”
 It is important for writers from a postcolonial
context such as the Philippines, which has a
conflicted historical relationship with English, to
be aware of the political forces—not just economic
ones—guiding their use of the language.
 Thetwo most well-known varieties of English are those
of the colonial superpowers: British English and
American English.
 But there are many multilingual countries around the
world in which varieties of English have developed. This
may be because English was initially “transported” to
that country by English-speaking settlers-as in the
united states, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
 It could also be that English may have been brought to
that colonizers-as in South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Singapore and the Philippines.
 In the latter countries, English has a particular role as
official language, medium of instruction, or even language
of law and government.
 Englishis also studied as a foreign language of law and
government.
 English is also studied as a foreign language in some non-
English speaking countries, such as Holland and Yugoslavia,
as mentioned earlier by McCrum, and in Korea and Japan.
 In these countries, there is less exposure to English, and it
is often learned for career progression because it is the
language of international business.
 Asmentioned earlier, all of these World Englishes are
equal in functionality, but not all are equal in prestige.
 The idea, however, in writing, is to adhere to the
standard English of one’s country because each variety,
including those of the United States and United
Kingdom, has its own peculiar or individual features.
 These features include differences in spelling,
punctuation, favored words and expressions, and
sometimes, grammatical constructions. The table that
follows gives an example of some of these differences
of American English and British English.
 Aspect American English (US) British English (UK)
Punctuation She said, “I’ll be at work She said, “I’ll be at work
by 8 a.m.” by 8 a.m.”
Date March 2, 2017 2 March 2017
Spelling center, color, organize, centre, colour, organise,
program programme
Words Elevator, pants, diaper Lift, trousers, nappy
Expression/Local Ruffled feathers (agitated) Knickers in a twist
idiom (agitated)
Grammar Do you have that book? Have you got that book?
Pronunciation Vase / vas / - sounds like Vase / va:z?] – sounds
(irrelevant in VEYZ like VAHZ
writing)
 Thus, two English speakers-one from the US and
the other from the UK-may become confused when
encountering the other’s unfamiliar accent and
word choices in a conversation and when seeing
different spelling and punctuation conventions in
writing.
Activity: Varieties of English
1) Can you think of more examples of the differences between
American and British English? Add examples to the previous
table, or create your own table of aspects and examples.
2) For further awareness of World Englishes, watch David Crystal
talk about the topic in a video posted by the British Council I
Serbia on YouTube. Serbia on YouTube. Search for “David
Crystal – World Englishes” or access the video via this link:
https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_q9b9YqGRY (accessed
June 21, 2017).
3) Just for fun, look for a video clip on YouTube of a person
speaking variety of English that you like. Share this video with
your classmates and list and describe at least three features of
accent/pronunciation, word choices and unique expressions.
 Philippine English, as well, has its unique and idiosyncratic
usages.
 For example, “comfort room” is a Philippine term for
“washroom,” “toilet,” or “lavatory.”
 When Filipino says say, “There’s traffic,” they mean “There’s
heavy traffic.”
 Moreover, the word “salvage” in the Philippine context can mean
either “to save” or “to brutally murder, usually political
reasons.”
 Matthew Sutherland, who writes about Philippine English from an
Englishman’s perspective talks about the expression “for a
while,” which he says baffles foreigners because the expression
does not exist outside of the Philippines.
 The UK’s equivalent, he says, is “just a second” or
“just a moment” (quoted in Aguilar, 2004).
 Similarly, Sutherland notes that “for a while” is
frequently used in the Philippines on the telephone,
whereas in the UK, the more typical expression would
be “hold on” or “hang on” (quoted in Aguilar, 2004).
 Importantly, he mentions that these British idiomatic
equivalents would be just as baffling to those
unfamiliar with these usages.
 Filipinos might, in response to being told to “hang on,”
may very well ask. “Hang on to what?”
 Sutherland also notes that “every English-speaking
nation has its own set of English phrases and
idioms; English is equally idiosyncratic in, say,
India, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, or Singapore.”
 In other words, there is no wrong way of speaking
English as long as those who speak it understand
each other. In fact, Sutherland says, “The many
versions of English spoken around the globe merely
serve to make English an even richer tongue.”
 However, the fact that all varieties of English have
individual or peculiar usages is why it is important –
in the context of academic and professional writing
to follow a standard.
 This standard advocates the use of a consistent
spelling and punctuation system.
 It also avoids colloquial and informal usages,
eschewing these in favor of more widely understood
uses or explaining such usages for the reader if it
becomes necessary to use them in writing.
 The label for this variety is Standard English or –
depending on the region – standard American
English.
 This is defined as consisting of “the conventional
vocabulary and usage of educated speakers and
writers of English” (Roberts & Turgeon, 1998).
 To use this kind of English means to follow a
spelling or pronunciation system that is consistent
with the prescribed standard.
 For example, Standard Philippine English follows Standard
American usages for spelling, punctuation and the formatting
of dates.
 In terms of grammar and diction, Standard English “does not
include slang, vulgarisms, regionalisms, and other
constrictions that are considered… unorthodox by those
seeking a language acceptable to a general audience”
(Robert & Turgeon, 1998).
 In general, then, writers should avoid local idioms,
expressions, and construction like those examples
mentioned, and essentially, to use words that will be clearly
understood by English speakers from any region of the world.
 In summary, in everyday speech and informal
context, one is free to use his or her own variety
of English.
 However, in more formal writing contexts, one
should be able to identify which features of this
variety may not be understood by other speakers
of English and to use alternatives that will be
understood by a wider audience.
Task: Philippine English, World Englishes, and Standard
English

1. Watch these two videos by Mikey Bustos on

YouTube. You may type in the titles below or
access the sites via the links provided.
“FilipinoAccent Tutorial” by Mikey Bustos at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BBtSir4tA
(accessed April 3, 2017)
Mikey Bustos Pinoy Lessons “Pinoy English” at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqIFT8zT8V8
(accessed April 3, 2017)
2. List examples of the following characteristics of Philippine
English:
a. Two pronunciation features
b. One grammatical feature
c. Two unique expressions from Philippine English and their
commonly understood equivalents
3. Look up the meanings of the following examples in the
table from Philippine English, Canadian English, Australian
English, South African English, and Singapore English.
Then, provide alternatives that will be understood by
other English speakers from different regions of the world.
 Usages Unique to a More Widely Understood
Variety of English Alternative
Philippine English – “I bought  
some dirty ice cream for you.”
Canadian English – “I’m going to  
write a test today in English.”
Australian English – “That book  
has good oil.”
South African English – “She is  
coming just now.”
Singapore English – “He always  
likes to action in front of the  
ladies.”