Advantages and Disadvantages of the Global Spread of English - Annotated Bibliography Example

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Global Spread of English Introduction Seventy years ago the globe was red, showing the extent of the British Empire at that time, and that is of course without counting other areas where English had an historical importance such as the United States of America. The globe today looks very different, but English has continued to grow as a worldwide language, both as a first language, a second language and as a lingua franca. This shift has both positive and negative implications, both for the speakers concerned, for those who do not speak or understand English, and for the language itself. It also has implications in such fields as international trade, education, religion and other areas. It has implications for women in that most English writing until recently was by men, and it is often written from a Western, Christian point of view both of which could present problems for example for a Muslim and a woman. This topic will be investigated by using a literature search, the results of which will then be analysed. Justification English now has considerably more non-native speakers than native speakers ( Jenkins 2002). This can mean that communication is hampered by such things as local usage, differences in pronunciation etc. It can also mean that people are not always as free as they would be in their own language to put across their ideas, especially if they are women coming from a background with few if any cultural links to countries where English is the majority language and mind-set. This paper will consider whether this numerical supremacy of non –native speakers is necessarily a bad thing. Thesis There are both advantages and disadvantages connected to the global spread of English. Method A literature search will be conducted using search terms such as global English, disadvantages of the spread of English, World Englishes, teaching of English, English as a threat to native cultures etc. Documents will be considered for their topicality and relevance to this discussion. Literature Search Jenkins, J, A Sociolinguistically Based, Empirically Researched Pronunciation Syllabus for English as an International Language, Applied Linguistics, Oxford University Press, 2002 This writer says that changing circumstances mean there must be changes in pronunciation goals, although the native speaker standard will be maintained as the norm to be aimed at ( Jenkins 2002, page 84) so that communication between non-native speakers can operate smoothly. Yet even within the United Kingdom there is regional variation, and the system works. The same will apply elsewhere within any English speaking region. A non-native speaker from one country may feel that they can speak English, but still may have some difficulty communicating with those from another part of the world, especially if there are cultural and gender as well as language differences. Their teacher could be a non-native speaker, who may also have learned their English from a non-native speaker. Women would be more likely to have a non – native speaker in school than a man, who is more inclined in many parts of the world to have benefitted from higher education, in part because of such customs as the perceived needed for male guardianship, as in Saudi Arabia. Jenkins ( 2002) argues that regional identity and accent should be maintained , but only if this does not disrupt communication. Rajagopalan, K., The concept of ‘World English’ and its Implications for ELT, World English and ELT, ELT Journal,58/2, April 2004, Oxford University Press Rajagopalan describes ‘World English’ as a developing yet misunderstood phenomenon. He believes that native varieties of English are giving way to ‘World English ‘as a passport to world citizenship’( Rajagopalan , 2004,page 111). Rajagopalan points out that this World English may be far removed from that of a native speaker and its speakers are disadvantaged. He even suggests the native speakers may need to have crash courses in World English in order to enhance their skills. Tollefson,J., Policy and Ideology in the Spread of English, in Hall, J. and Eggington,W., ( editors) The Sociopolitics of English Language Teaching, Multilingual Matters, 2000 Tollefson shows how education in many countries is often in English, but that the resulting language is often considered to be a second best when compared with some other varieties of English, such as those from America or the United Kingdom. The author describes the paradox of English being seen as the key to economic success in a global market, but on the other hand some forms of English not being considered to be ‘as good’ as others. Yano. Y., World Englishes in 2000 and Beyond, World Englishes Volume 20 , no. 2, pages 119 – 131 Yano describes the challenge presented by the need to maintain intelligibility and common standards of English. He describes any variety of English as being acceptable, as long as it intelligible. He names advantages of globalisation, such as trade and the ability to make use of advances in technology and science, but world trade depends upon the survival of the fittest. Yano says that globalisation suggests equality of opportunity, but in fact works to widen the gaps in society. Jhingan, ( 2009 points out disparities between rural people in India and those from cities, as well as between males and females, with women being disadvantaged. He discusses how global English leads to good communication, but also to the suppression, of other languages, and perhaps cultural ideas. He describes how difficult it can be to learn English by using it, in societies where the use of English is not the norm. English will develop naturally to reflect local cultures, and so move away from its origins. He says that the number of non-native speakers now exceeds the number of native speakers but this does not necessarily result in a shift on power. That, ( Crystal 1997), depends upon who the speakers are and their place in society. Braine, G., A History of Research on Non-Native Speaker English Teachers, in Llurda, E. (editor) Non-native Language Teachers : Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the Profession, New York, Springer, 2005 Non-native speakers all around the world teach English, but are often considered to be less capable than native speakers. Braine describes this as a very sensitive issue. The majority of the non –native speakers admitted to difficulties with such things as vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency and listening comprehension. He mentions a number of ways in which their skills could be improved, but does not describe how these could be accessed. It was felt that the differences perceived were not to do with being a native speaker or not, and more to do with the country of birth and the level of schooling achieved. It was also found, especially among primary school teachers, that any difficulties experienced, were not considered by the teachers concerned, as being due to their proficiency, or lack of it, in the language. There was considerable research into the attitudes of students, which went to prove that most were satisfied and that satisfaction levels rose the longer the interaction was between teacher and pupil. Braine suggests that there should instead be an emphasis upon the professionalism of non-native teachers.. Phillipson, R., English Language Spread Policy, International Journal of the Sociology of Language , vol 107, pp 7-24, 1994 Phillipson begins by saying that within a generation English would be a world language. He was writing before the massive development of such things as the world wide web. He was also quoting from a document of 1956 which saw certain kinds of English as being dominant and better than others. He describes how language as an instrument of state. He describes how historically language was used as an instrument of domination, pointing out a number of international languages which are the evidence of invasion, the propagation of religion and conquest in earlier centuries. He points out how local languages, whether used in education or not, were given lower status. Even today, in many former colonies, even independent governments do not give the development of native languages any stress. In more modern times though, English is progressing for other reasons than colonisation. These include trade and international relations and a desire for better standards of living and modern technology. Burridge, K., English in Australia, in Kirkpatrick ,A. ( editor) The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes , London and New York, Routledge, 2010 This article gives a careful analysis of how a particular variety of English developed. Burridge points out the diversity of English within the United Kingdom during the earliest years of Australian colonisation in the late 18th century. Few migrants spoke standard English, and how over time adaptions were made by many speakers in order to merge into modern day Australian English. This process is known as koinéization. She describes the result in Australia, with the dialects of London dominating, but as a compromise dialect. The process can be said to consist of five stages over an extended period of time as described by Trudgill in 2004. It is pointed out that this change has taken place quite quickly, over only roughly 250 years. For most of that period, it was a relatively separate development, uninfluenced by other Englishes. This makes it rather different from the development of modern day Englishes in societies constantly exposed to both British and American English on radio and the internet etc. . Also, in more recent years, there has been a large influx of people from other non-English based societies. In Australia many parts of the society are relatively physically isolated. There is a division between the cities and rural communities, and this too had led to even greater diversity, a moving away from this compromise English, and the development of regional differences. There is a tendency these days to see the world as a global village. Australia is an example of a coming together but also a diversity, despite a commonality – these are all Australian Englishes. Analysis From a native speaker’s point of view it seems good that English is spreading around the globe. There are also benefits for non-native speakers, such as access to some forms of higher education, greater ease of trade and access to scientific and technological ideas. On the other hand the use of English can be so often accompanied by a foreign culture with ideas and practices very different from those of the country where the use of the native language or languages may be threatened. The spread of English, as with some other international languages such as Spanish, was originally accompanied by invasion and the deliberate suppression of the native population. Only those who could speak English to a high level would be able to progress in those societies, just as happened long ago in the countries of the Roman empire with speakers of Latin and Greek. Now the English language is spreading for rather different reasons, but it continues to produce some of the same results. There are societies where only old people really speak their native language. Their children and grandchildren may know it to some extent, but at school and at work English is used. Often though the English is taught to them by a non-native speaker, who may not have the same fluency and ability as a native speaker, although it can be shown that this is not necessarily so. Conclusion The spread of English will continue for the foreseeable future. It seems impossible to stop. It is also obvious that it will continue to change and adapt to the cultures in which it becomes established. This is a necessity if it is to be truly useful as a means of communication. As in so many areas of globalization it is however likely in general to be of more use to those where links to countries where English is the main tongue, and at present , to men rather than women, because of educational differences, and the type of work carried out by women as compared to men. Perhaps what is needed is a variety of Englishes – one for international communication, a world English, perhaps English in some way simplified, and also one for other occasions, more closely related to a local society and culture. Both have their uses and advantages. One meets national and even international norms, the other fits in more closely with a particular society and its norms, whether Muslim or Christian, English dominated or not. . References Braine, G., 2005, A History of Research on Non-Native Speaker English Teachers, in Llurda, E. (editor) Non-native Language Teachers : Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the Profession, New York, Springer Crystal, D., 1997, English as a Global Language, Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, Jenkins, J, 2002, A Sociolinguistically Based, Empirically Researched Pronunciation Syllabus for English as an International Language, Applied Linguistics, 23/1 pages 83-103, Oxford University Press, Jhingan, A., 2009, Making the Indian Higher Education System, Future Ready. Retrieved from http://education.usibc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/EY-FICCI-report09-Making-Indian-Higher-Education-Future-Ready.pdf Phillipson, R.,1994, English Language Spread Policy, International Journal of the Sociology of Language , vol 107, pp 7-24, Rajagopalan, K.,April 2004, The concept of ‘World English’ and its Implications for ELT, World English and ELT, ELT Journal,58/2, , Oxford University Press Tollefson,J., 2000, Policy and Ideology in the Spread of English, in Hall, J. and Eggington,W., ( editors) The Sociopolitics of English Language Teaching, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, Trudgill, P., 2004, New-Dialect Formation: The Inevitability of Colonial Englishes, Oxford, Oxford University Press Yano. Y., 2001, World Englishes in 2000 and Beyond, World Englishes Volume 20 , no. 2 pages 119 – 131 Read More

Yet even within the United Kingdom there is regional variation, and the system works. The same will apply elsewhere within any English speaking region. A non-native speaker from one country may feel that they can speak English, but still may have some difficulty communicating with those from another part of the world, especially if there are cultural and gender as well as language differences. Their teacher could be a non-native speaker, who may also have learned their English from a non-native speaker.

Women would be more likely to have a non – native speaker in school than a man, who is more inclined in many parts of the world to have benefitted from higher education, in part because of such customs as the perceived needed for male guardianship, as in Saudi Arabia. Jenkins ( 2002) argues that regional identity and accent should be maintained , but only if this does not disrupt communication. Rajagopalan, K., The concept of ‘World English’ and its Implications for ELT, World English and ELT, ELT Journal,58/2, April 2004, Oxford University Press Rajagopalan describes ‘World English’ as a developing yet misunderstood phenomenon.

He believes that native varieties of English are giving way to ‘World English ‘as a passport to world citizenship’( Rajagopalan , 2004,page 111). Rajagopalan points out that this World English may be far removed from that of a native speaker and its speakers are disadvantaged. He even suggests the native speakers may need to have crash courses in World English in order to enhance their skills. Tollefson,J., Policy and Ideology in the Spread of English, in Hall, J. and Eggington,W., ( editors) The Sociopolitics of English Language Teaching, Multilingual Matters, 2000 Tollefson shows how education in many countries is often in English, but that the resulting language is often considered to be a second best when compared with some other varieties of English, such as those from America or the United Kingdom.

The author describes the paradox of English being seen as the key to economic success in a global market, but on the other hand some forms of English not being considered to be ‘as good’ as others. Yano. Y., World Englishes in 2000 and Beyond, World Englishes Volume 20 , no. 2, pages 119 – 131 Yano describes the challenge presented by the need to maintain intelligibility and common standards of English. He describes any variety of English as being acceptable, as long as it intelligible.

He names advantages of globalisation, such as trade and the ability to make use of advances in technology and science, but world trade depends upon the survival of the fittest. Yano says that globalisation suggests equality of opportunity, but in fact works to widen the gaps in society. Jhingan, ( 2009 points out disparities between rural people in India and those from cities, as well as between males and females, with women being disadvantaged. He discusses how global English leads to good communication, but also to the suppression, of other languages, and perhaps cultural ideas.

He describes how difficult it can be to learn English by using it, in societies where the use of English is not the norm. English will develop naturally to reflect local cultures, and so move away from its origins. He says that the number of non-native speakers now exceeds the number of native speakers but this does not necessarily result in a shift on power. That, ( Crystal 1997), depends upon who the speakers are and their place in society. Braine, G., A History of Research on Non-Native Speaker English Teachers, in Llurda, E. (editor) Non-native Language Teachers : Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the Profession, New York, Springer, 2005 Non-native speakers all around the world teach English, but are often considered to be less capable than native speakers.

Braine describes this as a very sensitive issue. The majority of the non –native speakers admitted to difficulties with such things as vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency and listening comprehension.

Read More