Official Status of the English Language - Term Paper Example

Debates on English surround on issues about the said language in line with it as a topic of study and as a medium of instruction. For sure, English has become one of the leading languages used in the world today, because of the varying implications of its usage. However, long before the days when English was not as popular today, it remarkably generated a different status. It is clear that today English receives varying official status based on the point of view of Inner Circle, Outer Circle and Expanding Circle contexts, which eventually shapes the debates over education arising in different parts of the world. This is the main point that the work at hand addresses. However, prior to that, it is important to understand how Kachru defined each of the components of the Kachru’s Three Circle model. Kachru’s Inner Circle represents the English-speaking countries, but with a significant combination of monolingual speakers and speakers of English as a second or third language like New Zealand, Australia, UK, and the US (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.95). The Outer Circle English-speaking countries involve South Africa, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and other countries colonised by English speaking countries and now English has become their secondary language or even the medium of instruction. In other words, Kachru’s Outer Circle may be composed of countries with British colonial heritage or American colonialisation of using English in education (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.95). In Expanding Circle country, English has no official status, but learned as a foreign language primarily for communication with speakers of other language (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.18). For instance, in Japan from the past English was not an essential component of life. Thus, Japan can be one of those countries in the Expanding Circle. However, recently the country has the ideology that learning English is linked to economic advantage and improved employment prospects, which makes learning English a lifestyle choice nowadays. For this reason, it might be well argued that English could be something like a requirement ignited by globalisation and the global market (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.18). In other words, the Expanding Circle countries have no obvious colonial history of English, leading them to consider English as a foreign language (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.95). For this reason, English when used as a language of instruction according to Kachru might be diverse due to the prevailing contexts of Inner Circle, Outer Circle, Expanding Circle and even in schools with different language by which English is used as the language of education, and in universities across the world teaching subjects through English with students having variety of first language backgrounds (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.95). This is eventually the official status of the English language, which shapes the debates over education arising in different parts of the world. In one way or another, the use of English language is not only controversial, but highly political and economic issue knowing that there is a prevailing thought that the English used by the Inner Circle should be the revolving standard around the world. In the first place, there is an existing fallacy that English is best taught monolingually and by native speakers, which adheres to the observation that Englishes beyond the inner circle are silent (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.172). However, it is revealed that the pluralised version of Inner Circle English led many nations to become more concern with the official and standard use of English. This includes many things like grammar, syntax and other technicalities, and just as how the native English speakers learned the way how the English language is used or how the native speakers are expected to use it. It is therefore by no surprise for the many people to find out that the prevailing standardised tests for English stay on their monodialectal focus while having Inner English Circle to remain as the standard. However, it is argued that such view should be changed knowing that the Inner English Circle is pluralised, resulting further to the point that proficiency level must also be based on multidialectal competence (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.157). This without question is one important argument that is now prevailing that concerns the official status of English around the world. For this reason, there are various reasons to integrate this actual scenario to the actual education for the actual learning of English around the world. Knowing the point that there are various circles as stated by Kachru that led to the varying status of English around the world, it is therefore by no surprise to generate a thought that will emphasise the need to come up with a standardised form of English. For intuitive reason, the academe would like to argue that the best way to generate this standard is to trace those places where English language is spoken as the mother tongue. In other words, it is here in these places where the right or appropriate usage of the English should be considered at its most acceptable level. However, as already stated, this could make no sense at some point, due to the fact that in contemporary time, there are various countries around the world, including the Expanding Circle to become more eager to learn and use English language even employ it as a medium of instruction. For instance, the drive for English led South Korea to migrate in the English-speaking countries to learn English, but this does not take all the reasons why people may migrate, as the entire issue may be highly environmental, economic and political in its general essence (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.53). Therefore, there is a great reason why English has become pluralised, and with appropriate point, this could be due to environmental, economic, and political reasons. For example, many Japanese and even Chinese nowadays are learning English largely for the sole purpose of economic concerns. However, another important issue about the English is its becoming a business at some point. In fact, various Expanding Circles and not just only the Outer Circles invest a lot of money just to learn this language. This could therefore mean that it is by no surprise that for as long as many people around the world even the non-native speakers will eventually learn the English language. For this reason, multidialectal competence should therefore be considered and it is now time to eliminate or at least reconsider the monodialectal focus, by which English native speakers are the primary sources of standard of English competence, as far as the issue of education linked to it is concerned. This could be another proof on how English has gone to be involved in business while linking it to the academe. As stated, the Inner Circle of English comprises of countries where English is the main language, and are known to be producers of the English-language media products, primarily closed to Outer Circle countries with historical British subjugation and American colonialisation (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.220). For this reason, one of the primary markets of the English should be the Outer Circle. It is therefore by no surprise that next to the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle should have the closest standard of English to the former. This could be a point of advantage for the Outer Circle which must have considerable background of English. However, as the world faces globalisation, the use of English as international language could make sense, knowing that the countries holding this language as mother tongue are quite influential to make a difference in the world. They could also set the standard for English, without being too sensitive to the multidialectal concern. Thus, they could absolutely set what is the ultimate standard in the academe. While competency could be based on the level of English usage, it remains a prevailing debate as to how the world should gauge the appropriate English standard under the international setting without prior bias linked to monodialectal focus. In contemporary time, English has remarkably been used to address the world. One important example is shown in non-English speaking channels like Al Jazeera with English sister channel having production centres that are based in Expanding Circle of English (Hewings and Tagg, 2012, p.231). Notice that this could somehow lead to significant cultural and other fundamental concerns, which might not be literally enticing on the part of the native speakers or those who quite know a lot about English. This is another point that to set what is quite original or based on the standard of the native speakers might just turn out to be a frustrating act, knowing that the existence of multidialectal issue about English as it has become pluralised and has strongly evolved over time in the world is a bit strong enough to make a difference. For this reason, the official status of English in the international setting might be quite diverse based on various point of views and factors like culture, politics, environment and so on. Some academic thoughts that try to pursue the standard of considering the multidialectal concern are therefore making sense. However, it cannot be totally eliminated from the minds that there will always remain a significant bias for as long as the prevailing fallacy that native is speakers are quite better in English than those coming from either Outer or Expanding Circles is continuously exercised with all of its potential functionality in the academe. First, the point that it is fallacious is the due to the fact that the materials to learn, as product of commercial consideration linked to English, primarily came from the Inner Circles. Therefore, the thought of introducing the same level of standard cannot be overlooked at some point. However, a matter of exposure is quite another consideration. This is the reason why many Expanding Circles are eager to learn English from native speakers. In a nutshell, the reason why there are controversial issues surrounding English, primarily those that are linked to education, is because of the existence of various circles that Kachru identified. In these circles, there are native speakers; there are those who encountered English as second language; and there are those who do not have any potential English background at all since birth. Arguments arise because the need to achieve the standard English in the international setting is required in the academe, which might be a little problem due to multidialectal concern. Another problem is the existence of potential bias, which enhances the monodialectal point of view, and led many people to consider that native English speakers are far better in English than those coming from either Outer Circles or Expanding Circles. This can be definitely contested due to the fact that the Inner Circle is making commercial and political advantage of the English language so they must have provided the best materials to the entire world to make everyone at least good enough at the use of English, a fact clearly depicted in the case of how the Outer Circles are taught and how the Expanding Circles are influenced. Reference Hewings, A., and Tagg, C. (eds.) (2012) The Politics of English: Conflict, Competition, Co-existence. Abingdon: Routledge. Read More