Ch.

4 English as a global language

Future trends and Issues about spread of English

The possible trends of English as a world language in the future

(Textbook Ch. 4, pp.167-177; Appendix C)

Will English continue to be the language for lingua franca in the future?
(Consider the change in political and economic powers, e.g. the rise of China)
English in the future will be affected by BOTH native and non-native speakers;
(e.g.1 three person, he be running may no longer be treated as foreignor
strange or wrong? become more acceptable??
(e.g. 2 the no. of bilinguals and multi-linguals keeps increasing: Will codeswitching / code-mixing in communication, esp. social networking apps become
more common or will be taught ?)
(code-switching: English (as the default) + another language)
Will words originally used by locals gain more prestige in their own countries,
or even internationally when used by their famous movie stars and highly
educated speakers internationally? (e.g. in Singapore, Book 3, Ch. 8)
This is related the issue about balancing between
maintaining international status and local identity (e.g. Use of
Singlish and standard English)
Whats your view about the
future of English?

The possible trends of English in the future

(something about diachronic change of a language)

If the Anglo-Saxon people travel to

the 21st c and meet their great great
great grandchildren in England,
will they understand their English?
Do they think their descendants are
speaking in English? Or a strange
language?

Will Obama and Cameron be

able to understand the
Terminators English if they
travel to the 25th c and meet the
Terminator? Do they consider
each other speaking in English?
Or a strange language?

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the English varieties (convergence or
divergence?) (Textbook Ch. 4, pp.167-177)

1. Will English become fragmenting into mutually

unintelligible varieties due to the emergence of so many
new Englishes (Englishes carrying more local cultures)?
2a. If so, will these unintelligible varieties become
different languages?
2b. Or will they continue to be grouped into ONE big
English family?

Will they understand

each others English in
the future when more
and more local features
are observed in their
own English variety
OR if there are more
and more English
varieties ?

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the varieties

(Textbook Ch. 4, pp.167-177)

Answers to Question 1
NO, not fragmenting into unintelligible varieties:
Advancement in technology (broadcasting, satellite) has a strong standardising
effect,
More people know the standard forms via the internet or TV
Unintelligibility may only occur in spoken English if people from different
regions speak their dialects very fast;
Solution: if they slow down the speed, reduce using
specific lexical items, the problem will be solved.
YES:
Advancement in technology may also cause linguistic diversity;
People promote themselves on the internet (including ISIS)
(post messages, videos on the internet)
New varieties of English made known and promoted more easily
Language attitude (especially young adults!) may also affect whether the answer will be
YES or NO.

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the varieties (Textbook Ch. 4, pp.167-177)

2a&b. Will these unintelligible varieties become different languages? Or will they
continue to be grouped into ONE big English family?
To answer 2a&b, we need to think whether
Intelligibility is the only key element that decide whether a language should be
categorise under the same English family or be counted as a separate
language?

NO:
Language is attached to identity and politics;
e.g. People in Norway, Sweden and Denmark are regarded as speaking different
languages (not dialects) although their languages are largely shared,(their
languages are intelligible among people living there);
But they are defined as languages, not dialects of each other,
because they have clear political boundaries.
Political situation is also an important factor whether the language (or the
code) is called a dialect only or a language.

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the varieties(Textbook Ch. 4, pp.167-177)

2 factors that influence whether a dialect may become a

language (increase in status):
1.whether the community has a single mind (unity) about
promoting their code as a language(representing a new
nation/community?)
2.whether the community has enough political and economic
power to influence the decision and be respected by outsiders.

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the varieties(Textbook Ch. 4, pp.173-175)

Example 1:
Is Ebonics (AAVE, a blend of Ebony and phonics) a language?

finally unsuccessful.
Why not?

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the varieties(Textbook Ch. 4, pp.173-175)

Example 2:
Will Euro-English become a novel variety?
- a new standardized English forms in Europe;
- distinctive vocabulary of the Union (e.g.Euro-dollars,
Eurofighters)
-syllable-timed rhythm (roughly equal time given to
each syllable)
-slower rate of speech
-avoidance of idioms and colloquial vocabulary
-clear articulation

Issues about English varieties in the future:

Intelligibility and categorisation of the varieties(Textbook Ch. 4, pp.167-177)
Solutions to enhance intelligibility of the varieties of English
non-native usage emerged in the new varieties of English, therefore new version
of ELF is necessary.
English as a lingua franca (ELF, Jenkins 2007, Appendix D)
ELF researchers suggest to include:
-adding s to uncountable nouns (by natives): informations
- Zero marking of 3rd person singular s: she think
They are differences (ELF variants), NOT deficiency.
We are no longer learning English just to communicate with native
speakers in the Inner Circle.

Issues about English in the future

The widespread use of English changes the concept about Who owns English

The widespread use of English changes the concept about

Who owns English
In the past and also nowadays :
English belongs to the British people whose ancestors are Anglo-Saxon people
and are now inhabited in England,
Also belongs to the British settlers in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and
Canada and their offspring.
(In general we call them the white people. They use English as a mother tongue, a
categorisation according to ethnic groups, political boundary/national identity and
geographical location)
But now, English is so widely used, 30% of the world population use it!
People who use English as their mother tongue
may not be British or American but Singaporeans
Similarly, Indians or Americans may tell you that
they are Hong Kongese or Chinese.
Some people use English in a specific way to
represent their identities (e.g. Indians)
so Indians, Singaporeans and even HK people
may argue that they own English too.
Nowadays, it is hard to define who owns English by only referring to
skin colours, geographical and political boundaries.

Who owns English

Oxford Dictionary
The language of England, now widely used in many varieties
throughout the world.
Macmillan Dictionary
the main language that people speak in the UK, the US, Canada,
Australia, and some other countries. There are different varieties
of English, e.g. American English, British English, and South
African English
Will the meaning of English language change many years later
because the concepts about ownership of English changed due to the emergence
of more and more English varieties and
more widespread use of English in different parts of the world
(not just by British or Americans)???
What will be the new dictionary meaning
of English language 50-100 years later?

Social, cultural, political changes

affect languages (meaning of
words).