ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC COLLEGE 2006

FARZANA GOUNDER AND NONNA DANCHENKO

BY ANDREW PIRIE

CONTENTS

 History of English (assignment 2 final)

 History of English
o Misunderstood Idioms
o English as an International Language
o English Today
o Seven Ages of English
o English as an International Language: An Overview
 The Story of Old English
 Internal Causes of Change
 External Causes of Change
 The Story of English
o Students Seminar 2 To What extent will English continue to be associated with
economic advantage and leading Technology?
o Terms for Remerging sub varieties of English
o World Englishes (Kachru & Nelson)
o English in the World the World in English (A. Pennycook)
o How is the spread of English Language impacting on linguistic diversity? Has EIL
Influenced the extinction of other languages
 Panel Disscusion Student Activity 2
 Crossing Over
o Linguistics
 Philippine English
o Assignment 3 Draft?
o Assignment 3 Main?
o New Zealand and the Philippines (Assignment 1)
 Singlish (Singapore English)
o In defence of Singlish
o A War of words over Singlish (Article)
o Photos and Presentation
 Negro Love Song
 African English
o History of English in Kenya
o Language Policy Formulation in Multilingual South Africa
o Zimbabwe
 Fiji English
o Lexical Borrowing in Fiji English
 Tok Piksin
o History
o Current Use and Attitudes
 Portugese Idioms
 US English First Language
 The Rainbow Passage
 Comma Gets a Cure
 Notes
 Blog Yahoo opinions English language been known as the global language?
 Story of English quizzes
 Grades
English as an International Language 10.711

Nonna Danchenko & Farzana Gounder

Assignment 2: Final
October 27, 2006

Andrew Pirie
S2042232
Describe the widespread occurrence of English in the world today and
suggest reasons why it has spread so extensively and become so popular.

OUTLINE

 INTRODUCTION – Colonization & Migration

 BACKGROUND –Spanish – British – American Hegemonies
 First Diaspora
 Colonists Britain to the new world
 Mayflower
 Interaction with the natives
 Slave Trade
 Caribbean
 US (influence on Southern Accent)
 New Zealand and Australia
 Australia - mix Aborigine & Britain
 New Zealand - mix Maori & British
 Second Diaspora
 Africa
 West Africa – lingua franca used means of communication
those with hundreds of local languages
 East Africa
 Important role in
 Government
 Education
 Law
 Second language speakers
 South Asia
 India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan
 East India Trading company setup by British
 Neutral means of Lingua Franca
 1835 English educational system adopted in India
 English associate official language in India
 South-East Asia
 Tok Piksin developed as English based Pidgin
 Protectorates leased by British
 Singapore – lingua franca 3 ethnic groups
 Indian
 Chinese
  Malay
 Malaysia
 Hong Kong
 Reasons
 Historical Reasons
 Internal Political
 External Economic
 Practical
 Intellectual
 Entertainment
 Conclusion
 References
History of English

Describe the widespread occurrence of English in the world today and suggest
reasons why it has spread so extensively and become so popular.

INTRODUCTION
Today English is the most widely spread language on Earth as it is practically
spoken on all continents either as a mother tongue or secondary language (Mateescu,
2003, pg. 1). How did the English language on a miniscule island nation in Europe
develop so rapidly across the globe? According to Otto Jespersen in the 1500s only a
small island nation of four million people spoke English; today well over 1 billion people
speak English (Burns, Coffin & Pennycook, 2001, pg.78). This essay will look into why
English became so popular and suggest reasons why it spread so extensively. US
President John Adams in the late 1700‟s predicted (cited by Kachru, 1992a, p.2):
“English will be the most respectable language in the world and the most universally read
and spoken in the next century, if not before the close of this one” (Burns, Coffin, Kachru
& Nelson, 2001, pg.9).
Not only is language part our speech and communication but also applies to the process
of thought itself. No language has ever been approached as universally as English. It is
the first time in history a language can be viewed as predominant (Parris, 2005, ¶ 12).

BACKGROUND
Colonization and Migration of the new world played a crucial role in the
distribution of the English language. The English replaced the Spanish as the world‟s
dominant sea power with the defeat of the Spanish Armada at the end of the 16 th century.
This gave England the power to build colonies & trade posts and defend trade ships
between these colonies. England set up trade posts in four corners of the globe and
became the world‟s superpower. America‟s economic boom at the end of the 19th century
was due to the utilization of a vast amount of resources and created a period of economic
growth never seen anywhere in the history of the world. At the beginning of the 20 th
Century America managed to keep out of World War I whereas England was virtually
bankrupted and could no longer afford to maintain its colonies by the time it had been
through the depression and World War II. The spread of English in the form of
American-English is also common today as the United States is the world hegemonic
power and dominates trade on the world basis.

Diasporas
Two Diasporas occurred which caused the spread of the English Language. The
first involved 25,000 people from the south and east of England migrating to America
and Australia. The second involved colonization of Asia and Africa (Jenkins, 2003, pg.
5).

First Diaspora
The first major colonists from England were the Puritans who arrived in 1620 on
a ship called the Mayflower. They settled in the new world founding a colony at
Plymouth, New England on the eastern coast of what would later become the USA. An
interesting thing to note is that they met two natives. These natives spoke a very complex
dialect which would have been nearly impossible for the colonists to master. The reason
they were able to communicate with the natives was because these two natives actually
spoke English. They had learnt English from earlier visitors to the new world. This
demonstrates the fact that the English language had actually made its way to the natives
faster than the colonists could actually setup a settlement with schools.
English spread to the southern parts of the US and to the Caribbean due to the
slave trade in the 17th century. Slaves were transported from West Africa in exchange for
sugar and rum. The slaves developed their own pidgin languages which later developed
into creoles (Jenkins, 2003, pg.6). These languages later blended with the southern accent
of white people in the United States.
In New Zealand and Australia a similar role of events had occurred. Australian
English was developed as a dialect mixing of Aborigine, Scottish, Irish, and various
English regional accents. New Zealand developed New Zealand English a dialect mix of
Scottish, English and Maori (Jenkins, 2003, pg.6).
Second Diaspora
The second Diaspora had a different outcome from the first Diaspora. From the
late fifteenth century West Africa English was used as a Lingua Franca for means of
communication between speakers of the hundreds of local languages. In East Africa
however English was applied differently. British colonists arrived later in East Africa
around the 1860s. English played a more important role in government, education and
law. English remains the official language in countries such as Uganda, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, and Malawi, and has large numbers of second language speakers (Jenkins,
2003, pg.6).
English was introduced to South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Nepal and Bhutan) during the late 1700s. The British setup their East India Trading
Company. English was utilized as a Lingua Franca amongst various different ethnic
groups in the countries and also as a way to communicate with/for the British for
purposes of trade. In 1835 it was proposed that an English educational system be adopted
in India. From this time onwards English became the official language of the Indian
education system. Today in India Hindi is the official language, but English is an
„associate official language‟ and is used predominantly as the lingua franca in India as it
is considered more neutral than Hindi as it is an outside force (Jenkins, 2003, pg.6).
British influence in South-East Asia and the south pacific came late in the 1700s
as a result of explorers such as James Cook and others. Tok Piksin developed as English
based pidgin. The British leased trade posts-protectorates in Singapore, Hong Kong, and
Malaysia. After the Spanish American war at the end of the 1800s the US was granted
sovereignty of the Philippines and to this day the Philippines has retained a strong
American-English influence. In Singapore the use of English has increased as a Lingua
Franca between its three ethnic groups Indian, Chinese and Malay (Jenkins, 2003, pg.8).

Reasons:
Historical Reasons
As explained above are a major reason for the spread of the English language.
Institutions of countries usually carry out their administrative duties in English these
include but are not limited to parliament, government agencies, the civil service, law
courts, national religious bodies, schools and higher educational institution, along with
publications such as textbooks, proceedings, records, etc. (Jenkins, 2003, pg.35).

Internal Political Reasons

English as mentioned earlier in some countries such as India provides a means of
neutral communication between different ethnic groups. It encourages unity and
nationalism amongst various ethnic groups in a country. In another perspective English is
also used in newspapers, radio, and television even in countries which don‟t have English
as their national language such as Thailand (Jenkins, 2003, pg.36).

External economic reasons

American companies have extensively engaged in international trade and have
strongly influenced international businesses. Organizations that would like to develop
international markets are thus under considerable pressure to work with English. The
tourist and advertising industries are specifically English-dependent, but any
multinational business will wish to establish offices in the major English-speaking
countries (Jenkins, 2003, pg.36).

Practical Reasons
English is the language of international traffic control; it is currently developing
its role in international maritime, policing and emergency services. It is the language of
international business and academic conferences, and the leading language of
international tourism (Jenkins, 2003, 2003, pg.36). According to Pennycook the Global
spread of English today is natural although its spread was initiated by colonialism, since
then it has been a byproduct of global forces, neutral and beneficial. In other words
people have learnt it because it is useful and they have chosen to (Burns, Coffin &
Pennycook, 2001, 2001 pg.79).

Intellectual Reasons
Most of the scientific, technological, and academic information in the world is
expressed in English, and over 80 percent of all the information stored in electronic
retrieval systems is in English. Closely related to this is the concern to have access to
philosophical, cultural, religious and literary history of Western Europe, either directly or
through the means of English translation. In most parts of the world the only way most
people have can read authors as Goethe or Dante is through English. The majority of text
books in the world are published in English and designed for the English-speaking
market (Jenkins, 2003, pg.36). This means that students must have a high level of
competence in English to be able to pursue their studies, and they are also dependent on
forms of western literature (Burns, Coffin & Pennycook, 2001, pg. 82). English is also
the universal language of the Internet, as a result of this people are forced to learn English
in order to use it (2003, Korpela, ¶1).

Entertainment Reasons
English is the main language of popular music, and saturates popular culture and
is associated with advertising. It is also the main language of satellite broadcasting, home
computers and video games, as well as such international illegal activities as pornography
and drugs. To these points made by Crystal (1997) could be added personal advantage
prestige since, in many cultures, the ability to speak English is perceived as conferring
higher status on the speaker (Burns, Coffin & Pennycook, 2001, pg. 81). English spreads
and adapts according to the linguistic and cultural preferences of its users in the outer and
expanding circles (Jenkins, 2003, pg.44).

CONCLUSION
There are numerous reasons why English has spread and became so popular.
Initially it was due to historical reasons such as Colonization and England‟s rise as a
global super power. Today it is due now mainly because of the economic, hegemonic,
and entertainment industry power of the United States of America, Intellectual reasons as
nearly all scientific papers and books are published in English as it has became the
default global language in this field. It is used as the language for legal proceedings
within states. As a neutral language English has been used as a means of communication
between various ethnic groups in countries to encourage unity, as well as professional
people from the different companies working for multi national companies.
References:
Burns, A., Coffin, C. (Eds.). (2001). Analyzing English in a global context. A reader.
London/New York: Routledge
Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes: a resource book for students. London & New York:
Routledge.
Korpela, J. (2003). English the universal language on the internet. IT and
Communication. Retrieved October 27, 2006, from
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/lingua-franca.html
Mateescu, D. (2003). English phonetics and phonological theory: 2.6 Varieties of
English. The international spread of English. Standard English and received
pronounciation. University of Budapest. Retrieved October 26, 2006, from
http://www.unibuc.ro/eBooks/filologie/mateescu/pdf/26.pdf.
Parris, M. (2005). The global spread of English is a seismic event in man's history. The
Times UK. 15/1/2005. Retrieved October 22, 2006, from
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1321256/posts
English as an International Language 10.711

Nonna Danchenko & Farzana Gounder

Student Seminar 2
November 7, 2006

Andrew Pirie
S2042232
Is the spread of English as an international language killing other languages?
What effects does it have on other languages?

Killing Language

 Information
 Estimation of the number languages world 3,000 – 10,000
 Most definitions of ‘language’ 6000-7000.
 Evidence
 A quarter of the world’s languages spoken by fewer than 1,000 people
 Close to 200 indigenous languages in North America, at one time there were
1,000 different indigenous languages spoken just within the United States.
 Of the worlds 6,000 languages 3,000 process of dying out and 2,400 endangered
 In many countries world English seen as a favorable/desirable language it gives
impression in society of prestige, success and power.
 According to Krauss 90% of the languages in the world are in danger of becoming
extinct (Graddol, 1997, pg. 39).
 Reasons
 Europeans who come from a history of standardizing and promoting just one
high-prestige speech carry their ‘ideology of contempt’ It is inconceivable that a
people who lack a rich material culture might possesses a highly developed, richly
complex language, wrongly assumed that primitive technology means primitive
linguistic means.
 Survival of the fittest, (Darwinism) since English has survived it must be one of
the stronger languages.
 Lack of opportunities for non-speaking English immigrants & refugees murders
smaller languages and supportive subtractive speed of big killer languages (e.g.
English). Subtractive speed new languages are not being learnt in the country at
the speed which mother tongues are being lost over generations.
 The truth is that there will probably always be immigrants in the U.S., coming
from a wide variety of countries, who cannot speak English but whose
grandchildren and great-grandchildren will end up being native English speakers
 Positions of power, English the language of the global village. English useful tool
for anyone who wants to be successful in the global economy.
 Educational policy. Tribal languages stand in the way of unity. Not suitable as
languages of education and technology essential for western-style development.
Most newly independent countries did not develop their own languages (Africa)
but continued to use the languages of their colonizers even when most of their
citizens did not know them. Younger members of the culture are educated to
believe that traditional knowledge is not worth learning because it will not lead to
a job (Jenkins, 2003, pg. 138).
Helping - Bilingualism

The majority of English speakers already speak another language. People may become
bilingual either by acquiring two languages at the same time in childhood or by learning a
second language sometime after acquiring their first language (Birner, 2006, ¶2).

Many bilingual people grow up speaking two languages. Often in America such people
are the children of immigrants; these children grow up speaking their parents' native
language in their childhood home while speaking English at school. Many bilinguals,
however, are not immigrants; it is not uncommon for people born in the U.S. to speak
English at school or work and another language at home (Birner, 2006, ¶3).

It is also possible to learn a second language sometime after early childhood, but the
older you get; the harder it is to learn to speak a new language as well as a native speaker.
Many linguists believe there is a 'critical period' (lasting roughly from birth until puberty)
during which a child can easily acquire any language that he or she is regularly exposed
to. Under this view, the structure of the brain changes at puberty, and after that it
becomes harder to learn a new language. This means that it is much easier to learn a
second language during childhood than as an adult.

 Bilingualism – important place for development is the outer circle of those who
speak a second language
 English is becoming widely used by EFL and L2 speakers for a wider range of
communicative functions it may take over some of the functions other languages
are used for construction of social identity and the creation and maintenance of
social relationships (Graddol, 1997, pg. 14).
 In some countries, nearly everybody is bilingual or multilingual. In parts of India,
for example, a small child usually knows several languages.
 In many European countries, children are encouraged to learn a second language
- typically English. In fact, the U.S. is quite unusual among the countries of the
world in that many of its citizens speak only English, and they are rarely
encouraged to become fluent in any other language.
 Future
 Loss of 50%-90% of worlds languages will mean that remaining languages will
acquire
 Languages that will benefit Swahili, Hausa, Malay, Tok Piksin, regional
languages in India, Russian, Mandarin and even Arabic (Graddol, 1997, pg. 58).
 Over the next century like two languages will die each month
 Bilingualism – increasing number of worlds English speaking population are
bilingual, in the past English has been dominated by monolingual speakers.

Key Questions posed by David Crystal (Jenkins, 2003, pg. 138).

1. How many languages are there in the world today?

2. At what rate are they dying off?
3. How many of the world’s languages are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people
4. How many indigenous languages are there in North America?

Birner, B. (2006). Bilingualism. USA: Linguistic Society of America.

Retrieved November 5, 2006, from http://www.lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-biling.cfm

Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English. UK: The British Council.

Retrieved November 3, 2006, from http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-elt-
future.pdf

Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes: a resource book for students. New York: Routledge.

Graddol
Graphs Pages 9-13,26,33
English as an International Language-10.711

Nona Danchenko & Fasana Gounder

Assignment 3

November 17, 2006

Andrew Pirie
S2042232
Outline

1) Title Page
2) Outline/Contents Page
3) Filipino English
a) Linguistic Features
i) Lexical
ii) Phonological
iii) Structural
b) Function(s)/role(s) in domains
c) Attitudes
4) References
Filipino English
3500-4000 words

Should we accept variety and variability as the inevitable consequence of the use of
English throughout the world? Discuss this question with particular reference to the
development of one variety of English from Graddol‟s „spheres of English‟ compared to
American English.

Filipino English and American English

Filipino English belongs to the Asian group of Englishes which includes Burmese
English, Hong Kong English, Hindi English, Manglish, Singlish and Sri Lankan English.
The Philippines is the 3rd most populous English speaking country in the world after India
and the United States. Only 55% of Filipinos speak English (as a Second Language). In
addition to Filipino which is the national language of the Philippines there are 111
distinct indigenous languages of which only about 10 are importantly regionally (Asian
Info, 2000, ¶1).

Some English is widely spoken in the Philippines it is common of speakers who have
knowledge of both languages involved in crossing which forms another language
Tagalish which uses a mixture of Filipino and English words (Asian Info, 2000, ¶3).

The Filipino language incorporates the vocabulary of English, Spanish, Arabic and other
Filipino languages (Cohen, 1988, ¶18).

Linguistic features (lexical, phonological or structural)

Philippine English generally follows American standards, except when it comes to

punctuation, where a comma almost never precedes the final in an enumeration.

Few Filipinos will distinguish between the short 'i' sound and the long 'e' sound; so big
will sound like beeg. The mixed 'ae' sound in 'ham' will sound as hum to a Westerner.
Filipinos use vowel sounds as in the Spanish five vowel sounds without the complex and
illogical phonetic variations English gives to these vowels.

One of the other peculiarities of Filipino English (from an American viewpoint) is that in
some cases the same phrase can have a nearly opposite meaning. For example, "every
now and then", which Americans use to mean "occasionally", is used my Filipinos to
mean "often".

While Filipinos as a people is with an F, the language is Pilipino with a P. This is because
their indigenous languages don't have the "f" sound, which is substituted by "p". That is
why at first Filipino English is hard to understand until you get use to the absence of
certain sounds we are use to in U.S. or British English.
Words used
Brown out – power failure. This is often refers to temporary to a black out in British and
American English. Refers to a temporary reduction in power in Canadian English.
C.R. = (Comfort Room) toilet or bathroom
For a while – used on the telephone means “please wait”
Gimik (Tagalog, from standard gimmick) – to gou out and have fun.

Motel – used mostly to refer to a love hotel or a motel used primarily for sex. Often used
with the word “short time” as in the construction “short time motel”
(although in American English the same definition is applied sometimes, however in
British, New Zealand and American English the word does not have the same meaning).

Officemate – a co-worker
Yaya- adopted Hindi word (aya) for nanny. Not really used as an English word in the
Philippines. It‟s used because of the lack of a better term.

Among mother-tongue speakers, the phonology of Philippine English almost completely

resembles that of the North American variant, while the speech of non-native speakers is
influenced to varying degrees by Tagalog and other indigenous Philippine languages.
Since many English phonemes are not found in most Philippines languages,
pronunciation approximations are extremely common although never among native
Anglophones.

Some examples include

Filipino = [pili‟pino]
Victor =[bik‟tor]
Family =[?amili]
Varnish = [barnis]
Lover =[loob-er]
Very = [„bejri ]

The above list applies mainly to Tagalog speakers, or tagalophones; a number of other
Philippine languages employ phonemes such as [f], [v], and [z]. It should also be noted
that this form of mispronunciation is generally frowned upon by English purists, some
schools, and businesses dealing with international clients. (link with attitudes)

Words borrowed by English from Filipino

 Yoyo, actually a filipino invention and known widely by its original name.

 To run amuck (amock?) Amok is actually a filipino word (malay origin) and
means the same in English - to lose control and act dangerously / crazy.
Function(s)/role(s) in domains

The official languages of the Philippines are English and Filipino. Philippine English is
the variation of English used in the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of
educated Filipinos. Philippine English is not officially taught in schools in the
Philippines, students learn American English. As well as in education it is also used in
churches, religious, affairs, print and broadcast media and business. Nearly all Filipinos
use English as a second language. For highly technical books such as medicine,
programming and calculus English is the preferred medium for textbooks,
communication etc. Very few would prefer highly technical books in the vernacular.
Movies and TV programs in English are not subtitled and are expected to be directly
understood.

Since 1974 when the Philippine government began a bilingual program, high School and
elementary education has been in Filipino, while University education has been in
American English (Cohen, 1988, ¶6).

In the Philippines, American English is widely used in official communications (laws,

memos, etc.). Tagalog/Filipino is used in formal literary works, as well as in songs,
movies, etc. Tagalish is more the lingua franca as far as urban regions are concerned
(Cebulish in Central Visayas and parts of Mindanao).

The abundant supply of English speakers and competitive labor costs has allowed the
Philippines to become the choice of foreign companies to establish call centers and
outsourcing industry. Another industry based on English proficiency in the Philippines is
the operation of English as a second language schools. English languages centers,
especially in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, attract foreigners, especially Korean and
Japanese students, for training in English.

Filipino English is used as a means of neutral communication across the Philippines

which is a sprawling archipelago of several thousand islands.
Attitudes

Philippine English is not encouraged by academics, language or business institutions nor

is it taught or promoted. However most schools in the Philippines who are not native
speakers of English, employ the use of this dialect.

What seems ridiculous, however, is that there are some Filipinos who cannot accept the
"limitations" of the Tagalog or Pilipino (as opposed to Filipino) language as far as
adopting foreign terms is concerned. To me, everyday usage should be the starting point
of any "coinage" of borrowed terms, and not the PILIT (forced) approach as in the case of
computer terminologies indicated at the beginning of this thread. What is so ludicrous,
for example, is that some terms were translated literally (e.g., malambot na plaka for
"software" disk). MALAMBOT in Tagalog is soft (as in soft bread, soft texture), but that
is not the same sense of "soft" in software. MATATAG NA PLAKA for hardware is also
not correct because we all know that hard disks are not MATATAG (durable, reliable),
but it is also ludicrous to use MATIGAS (hard) in the Tagalog sense.

It should be noted also that Filipinos speak and understand both English and Tagalog, so
there is really no point in pushing the translation of borrowed terms into Tagalog.

In 1980‟s there was a debate amongst Universities in the Philippines to change the
language of education from English to Filipino. Removing American English which was
imposed as the language of colonizers at the turn of the 19th century and replacing it with
Filipino. This will mean that lessons by instructors will be taught verbally in Filipino.
Supporters think it will improve learning. Critics say that it will limit learning as
international text books used for education are in English and textbooks written in
Filipino are scarce. Academic sources claim in a generation Filipino could replace
English as the means of communication in schools, as other Universities had shown
interest in the move. Brother Andrew Gonzalez of De La Salle University one of these
critics thinks that there is not enough indigenous knowledge and research going on that
using Filipino instead of English in education would be intellectual suicide (Cohen, 1988,
¶1-5,20).

Linguists claim that if students are taught in Filipino they will become more analytical
and creative. They will think of new ideas instead of copying old ones. American English
is used as the medium and taught in schools in the Philippines despite the fact the
Philippines constitution states the government
“shall takes steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as… [a] language of
instruction in the educational system.”
(Cohen, 1988, ¶16).
References:

Asian Info Philippine Embassy (2000). The Philippines languages. Retrieved November
12, 2006, from http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/philippines/pro-languages.htm

Cohen, M. (1988). Philippines universities debates replacing English as language of

Instruction. (1988, Apr 6). The chronicle of higher education, p. A31-32)
Retrieved November 12, 2006, from Proquest 5000 Database.

http://www2.seasite.niu.edu/tagalogdiscuss/_disc2/000006bd.htm
English as an International Language-10.711

Nona Danchenko & Farzana Gounder

Assignment 3

November 17, 2006

Andrew Pirie
S2042232
Outline

1) Title Page
2) Outline/Contents Page
3) Questions
4) Filipino English
a) Should accept variety and variability
b) Linguistic Features
i) Lexical/Phonological/Structural
ii) examples of basketball Tagalish
c) Function(s)/role(s) in domains
d) Attitudes
5) References
QUESTIONS:

3500-4000 words

Should we accept variety and variability as the inevitable consequence of the use of
English throughout the world? Discuss this question with particular reference to the
development of one variety of English from Graddol‟s „spheres of English‟ compared to
American English.
Filipino English:
Should we accept variety and variability as the
inevitable consequence of the use of English throughout
the world?
The English language has allowed and enabled new languages to form in the
Philippines. These new languages include Tagalish (mixture of English and Tagalog),
and Filipino English. Besides these two new languages their also mixtures of English
with provincial languages such as Visayan English etc. The English language has the
feature of incorporating new words into its vocabulary and has forced the creation of new
languages in the Philippines. These two new languages can both be seen as a learning
step for those trying to learn English, or independently as languages in their own right.
To many these languages are accepted only as conversational language and not as the
language of intellectuals and literature. Perfect use of the English language like most
Asian countries determines social class and level of ones education.

Variety and variability are an interesting phenomenon in the spread of the English
language as they allow some aspects of the native language to survive. This is a lot better
than a native language completely dying out but in the case of Tagalish which borrows
words from each, as displayed in Basketball Tagalish further on in the essay.
However it also allows New Englishes to emerge such as Philippine English which forms
its own grammatical rules.

Variety and variability should be accepted as there is no way to prevent it from

occurring. Variety and variability also allows cultures to add elements of their own
uniqueness into the English language. Otherwise everyone would just be speaking the
same common English. There is already enough differences between American English
and British English and it would be hard to imagine either forcing the other to be
accepted as the global standard and to immediately stop speaking English the way they
are accustomed to. The use of English is not only a useful tool of communication with the
global community but the way English is learnt by non native speakers as a secondary
language in the form of New Englishes also defines the culture and thought process of the
groups involved.
Filipino English and American English
New Englishes have emerged due to the introduction of the English language in
different countries across the world. Each of this individual New Englishes has been
regarded as unique variations of the English language in their own right (Schneider,
2003, ¶1).

Filipino English is one of many new Englishes it belongs to Kachru‟s outer circle
and the Asian group of Englishes which includes Burmese English, Hong Kong English,
Hindi English, Manglish, Singlish and Sri Lankan English (Dayag, 2003, ¶2).Filipino
English also belongs to the second diaspora of New Englishes (Jenkins, 2003, p. 22).
Interestingly Spain was the original colonizer of the Philippines and it wasn‟t until 1898
through purchase that America gained exclusive rights to the Philippines. The Philippines
became independent in 1946 but remained highly influenced by the United States in the
use of American-English (Jenkins, 2003, p.8). The variety of Philippine English spoken
before World War II was widely different to Philippine English today as the first teachers
of American English were American soldiers. After World War II the Philippine English
being taught was known as Bamboo English, Philippine Pidgin English and later in 1969
was termed by Llamzon as “Standard Filipino English” (Gonzalez, 1983, p.150).

The Philippines is the third most populous English speaking country in the world
after India and the United States, however only 55% of the Filipino population speaks
English as a Secondary Language. In addition to Filipino which is the national language
of the Philippines there are 111 distinct indigenous languages of which only about ten are
important regionally (Asian Info, 2000, ¶1).

Results in a survey conducted in the Philippines showed that personal usage of the
English language in Manila and surprisingly also in the Visayas islands was much higher
than any other areas of the country (Pangalangan, 2006, ¶6). Most Visayans speak
Tagalog as their second or even third language to their native dialect and the universal
Visayan language as well. So English is a third or even fourth language for them. The
tendency is for a lot of Visayans to be multi-lingual to some extent. According to
Pangalangan (2006, ¶6), “the survey also revealed that English is used more in cities
rather than provinces, among the wealthier rather than the poorer and not surprisingly by
young people more than the elderly.”

Some English is widely spoken in the Philippines and is common among speakers
who have knowledge of both Filipino and English. Crossing between English and
Filipino is known as Tagalish using words from a mixture of the two languages. The
original language of the Philippines is Tagalog. (Asian Info, 2000, ¶3).

The Filipino language incorporates the vocabulary of English, Spanish, Arabic

and other Filipino languages (Cohen, 1988, ¶18). Tagalog incorporates Malay, Spanish,
other Filipino languages and Arabic.

The Philippines is way ahead of its Asian neighbors in the use of the English
language other Asian countries send their young people to the Philippines to learn
English; however the other Asian countries are catching up quite quickly now
(Pangalangan, 2006, ¶7).
Linguistic features (lexical, phonological or structural)

Phonology:

“Philippine English features an attenuated vowel system which has the following sounds,
with those in parentheses usually missing in English. I u (I) (U) . (ə) ey (o) e ‫( כ‬æ) a”
(Gonzalez, 1997, p.32).

“The stress patterns of Philippine English are different from Standard American English
in polysullabic words, intonation is dominated by the intonation of the first language
rather than English with the marked use of the rising intonation for WH questions.
Rhythm is syllable-timed rather than stress-timed.” (Gonzalez, 1997, p.33).

While Filipinos as a people is with an F, the language is Pilipino with a P. This is because
their indigenous languages don't have the "f" sound, which is substituted by "p". That is
why at first Filipino English is hard to understand until you get use to the absence of
certain sounds we are use to in U.S. or British English.

According to Dave (1997, ¶12) Filipinos share the same five vowel sounds with Spanish
but unlike English does not contain the same complex and illogical phonetic variations
For example hardly any Filipinos will make any dissimilarity between the short „i‟ sound
and the long „e‟ sound‟, so „big‟ will sound like „beeg‟. The mixed „ae‟ sound in „ham‟
will sound as hum to a westerner.

Some other examples of Filipino pronunciation include

 Filipino = [pili‟pino]
 Victor =[bik‟tor]
 Family =[?amili]
 Varnish = [barnis]
  Lover =[loob-er]
 Very = [„bejri ]

The above list is mainly for Tagalog Speakers (Tagalaphones), a number of Philippine
languages e.g. Visayans use phonemes such as [f] [v] and [z]. This form of
mispronunciation is looked down upon usually by English purists, some schools, and
businesses who deal with international clients. As mentioned in Attitudes section later on
in the report (All Experts,n.d., ¶6).

Lexicon:

“Is portrayed by using calques (loan translations) from the Philippine languages (e.g.
„open the light‟ for „turn on the light) called „Filipims‟ (the term is Llamzon‟s) or lexical
words and collocations that are specific to the Philippines („captain ball‟ for „team
captain‟ of a basketball team) and by the use of loanwords from the Philippine languages
(„the common tao‟ or „the common man‟ and local words for realia of a local kind).”
(Gonzlez, 1997, p.33).

The Tagalog word for liar is Plastik which sounds like the English word plastic meaning
a type of material. This demonstrates that words in tagalog which have been borrowed
from the English language are used in different context.

According to Dave (1997, ¶13), one of the other peculiarities of Filipino English (from an
American viewpoint) is that in some cases the same phrase can have a nearly opposite
meaning. For example, "every now and then", which Americans use to mean
"occasionally", is used by Filipinos to mean "often".

Structural:
Philippine English is similar to American English Standards. Apart from in punctuation
where a comma almost never comes before the final in an enumeration. (All experts, n.d.,
¶4).
Syntax:
“The tense/aspect system of verbs and the article system of nouns have undergone
restructuring so that the uses of these forms are different from their uses in Standard
American English; these areas need further investigation since they have not yet been
systematically studied by local linguists. The sub classification of verbs and nouns and
the selectional restrictions or concurrence rules between verbs and nouns as well as verb
and preposition combinations or two/three word verbs are often local adaptations and do
not follow the American Standard English forms and combinations.” (Gonzalez, 1997,
p.34).

Words borrowed by English from Filipino

 Yoyo, was actually invented by Filipinos and is known world wide by its original
name (Meisenheimer, n.d., ¶8-9).
 Amok is also borrowed from the Philippine language, but seldom used. It means
to act crazy or dangerously.
Some examples of Filipino English and their American English counterparts include

 Brown out/power failure. This is often refers to temporary to a black out in British
and American English.
 C.R. = (Comfort Room)/toilet or bathroom
 For a while – used on the telephone means “please wait”
 Still alive – still haven‟t been knocked out of a sports competition, still around.
 Motel– used mostly to refer to a love hotel or a motel used primarily for sex.
Often used with the word “short time” as in the construction “short time motel”
 Although in American English the same definition is applied sometimes, however
in British, New Zealand and American English the word does not have the same
meaning.
 Gimik (Tagalog, from standard gimmick) – to go out and have fun, nightlife.
 Officemate – a co-worker
 Examples of Tagalish used by Basketball commentators

“Congruent Lexicalization
Discourse Markers

53.) Dr. J: It was a second time around, ano? (J15)

what?
"It was a second time around, right?"

54.) Noli: Well, walang gumagalaw. (N242)

none moving

"Well, nobody’s moving."

1. Dr. J: Oo, and a loose ball foul on Jerry. (J179)

Yes

"Yes, and a loose ball foul on Jerry."

2. Noli: Pero Dindo decided to give it to Alvin. (N405)

But

"But Dindo decided to give it to Alvin."

Insertion
Dr. J: Parang walang problema kay Jerry yong fade away. (J18)
Like no problem for that
"It seems like Jerry does not have any problem with that
fade away."”

(Thompson, 2006)
Function(s)/role(s) in domains
The official languages of the Philippines are English and Filipino. Nearly all
Filipinos continue to use English as a second language.

American English is the variation of English used in the Philippines by the media and the
vast majority of educated Filipinos. Although some speak Filipino English officially and
in written form it should be American English. American English is widely used in
communications, legal documents, and memos. Unofficially most people actually speak
Philippine English.

Universities do not teach Philippine English as students are made to learn their
lessons in American English although a lot of teachers resort to Philippine English. This
came to be in 1974 when the Philippine government began a bilingual program for
University level, although high school and elementary education is still done in Filipino
(Cohen, 1988, ¶6). This is done because children have enough difficulties learning Math
which would be even more confusing if it was being taught in a language they did not
understand. In the past when the subject had been taught in Math usually the teachers at
this level did not have enough knowledge as a lot of the technical language terms in Math
had no Filipino substitutes (Pangalangan, 2006, ¶10-11).

For highly technical books for example medicine, programming and calculus
English is used both in written form e.g. textbooks. Very few would prefer technical
books in the vernacular as there are no substitute words in Filipino for modern technical
terms.

English is also used in churches, religious affairs, print and broadcast media and
business. Movies and television programs in English are not subtitled and are expected to
be directly understood by viewers.
 Tagalog/Filipino is used in formal literary works, as well as in songs, movies, etc.
Tagalish is more the lingua franca as far as urban regions are concerned (Cebulish in
Central Visayas and parts of Mindanao). Filipino English is used as a means of neutral
communication across the Philippines which are a sprawling archipelago of several
thousand islands.

The abundant supply of English speakers and competitive labor costs has allowed
the Philippines to become the choice of foreign companies to establish call centers and
outsourcing industry. Another industry based on English proficiency in the Philippines is
the operation of English as a second language schools. English languages centers,
especially in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, attract foreigners, especially Korean and
Japanese students, for training in English.
Attitudes
Philippine English is not encouraged by academics, language or business

institutions nor is it taught or promoted. Most teachers in the Philippines, who are not

native speakers of English, employ the use of this dialect. To improve the English

language in the Philippines it is highly recommended that teachers should improve their

own academic knowledge of the language (Pangalangan, 2006, ¶9).

In 1980‟s there was a debate amongst Universities in the Philippines to change the

language of education from English to Filipino. Removing American English which was

imposed as the language of colonizers at the turn of the 19th century and replacing it with

Filipino. This will mean that lessons by instructors will be taught verbally in Filipino.

Supporters think it will improve learning. Critics say that it will limit learning as

international text books used for education are in English and textbooks written in

Filipino are scarce. Academic sources claim in a generation Filipino could replace

English as the means of communication in schools, as other Universities had shown

interest in the move. Brother Andrew Gonzalez of De La Salle University one of these

critics thinks that there is not enough indigenous knowledge and research going on that

using Filipino instead of English in education would be intellectual suicide (Cohen, 1988,

¶1-5,20).

To some it seems bizarre that there are some Filipinos who don‟t want to accept

that the Tagalog or Filipino language, and the need to adopt foreign words. The Filipino

language should be more adaptive to new words and terminologies from other languages

in order for it to survive. Everyday usage should be the starting point of any "coinage" of
borrowed terms, and not the PILIT (forced) approach as in the case of computer

terminologies. What is so ludicrous, for example, is that some terms were translated

literally (e.g., malambot na plaka for "software" disk). MALAMBOT in Tagalog is soft

(as in soft bread, soft texture), but that is not the same sense of "soft" in software.

MATATAG NA PLAKA for hardware is also not correct because we all know that hard

disks are not MATATAG (durable, reliable), but it is also ludicrous to use MATIGAS

(hard) in the Tagalog sense.

Since most Filipinos can already speak/understand both English and Tagalog, what is the

point of making up new Tagalog words for new English words.

Linguists claim that if students are taught in Filipino they will become more

analytical and creative. They will think of new ideas instead of copying old ones.

American English is used as the medium and taught in schools in the Philippines despite

the fact the Philippines constitution states the government

“shall takes steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as… [a] language of

instruction in the educational system.”

(Cohen, 1988, ¶16).

However since language teaching in Manila is so exam oriented (traditionally

asian) some students can score 100% but practically have very little oral knowledge of

the English language (Pangalangan, 2006, ¶12). Pangalangan suggests that the

Philippines “should emphasize Tagalish (Filipino English mix) more so than American or

Filipino English as it strings together the best way to convey thought from one mind to
another. This would only be effective in the Philippines but would play very little effect

in the globalized world.”

Pangalangan also believes there shouldn‟t be the attitude of looking down on

people in the Philippines because they can‟t speak English as smoothly as the native

speakers can. But he believes it is essential to learn the language in some form as it

allows Filipinos to find jobs abroad and communicate with English speakers

(Pangalangan, 2006, ¶13).

According to Pangalangan (2006, ¶1), “the latest survey by the Social Weather

stations shows that Filipinos self-assessed proficiency in English has declined.”

Pangalangan came from a purely Tagalog speaking home and preserved to learn the

English language eventually making it into Harvard Law school some years later.

To speakers of the English language, Filipino English is seen as acceptable in the

Philippines but is frowned upon by higher level academics who have studied in the states

or if spoken out of the country as an inferior form of the language. According to Dayag

(2003, ¶10), “…the discrepancy between standards and attainment results in linguistic

schizophrenia: on the one hand, a foreign standard [American English] is considered

ideal; on the other hand, a local standard [Philippine English] is accepted as reality. The

former is legitimate and postulated as an ideal; the latter is tolerated but still deemed

illegitimate”
According to Jenkins (2003, p. 41), “In the late 1960‟s idiosyncratic pronunciation and

grammar features began to be considered legitimate varietals characteristics rather than

errors.” This demonstrates the fact that there are huge differences between older and

younger generation‟s perceptions of Philippine English and that the language is

developing on its own independent of American English.

References:

All experts (n.d.). Philippine English. Retrieved November 21, 2006, from
http://experts.about.com/e/p/ph/philippine_english.htm

Asian Info Philippine Embassy (2000). The Philippines languages. Retrieved November
12, 2006, from http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/philippines/pro-languages.htm

Cohen, M. (1988). Philippines universities debates replacing English as language of

Instruction. (1988, Apr 6). The chronicle of higher education, p. A31-32)
Retrieved November 12, 2006, from Proquest 5000 Database.

Dave (1997). Philippines intimacy/sex research report. Filipino English can be hard to
understand at first. Retrieved November 19, 2006, from
http://www.sexwork.com/philippines/english.html

Dayag, D.T. (2003). The Sociolinguistics of Philippine English as a legitimate language.

Retrieved November 19, 2006, from www.waseda.jp/.../9A-
77WorldEnglishSpring2005/Assignments/11_Philippine_DayagD/L1-
2_3.Waseda%20Lectures.pdf

Gonzalez, A. (1983). When does an error become a feature of Philippine English. In R.B.
Noss (Ed.), Varieties of English in South East Asia (pp.150-173). Singapore:
Singapore University Press.

Gonzlaez, A. (1997) The History of English in the Philippines. In M.L.S. Bautista (Ed.),
English is an Asian language (pp.25-40). Manila: De La Salle University Press.

Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes a resource book for students. London: Routledge.

Meisenheimer, L. (n.d.). Lucky’s history of the yo-yo. Retrieved November 21, 2006,
from http://www.yo-yos.net/Yo-yo%20history.htm

Pangalangan, R. (2006, April 21). English is cool, Filipino English is 'kulang'.

Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A14. Retrieved November 19, 2006, from
http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=73217&col=115

Schneider,E.W. (2003). The dynamics of new Englishes: From identity to construction of

dialect birth: Abstract. 79, 2, Linguistic society of America. Retrieved November
19, 2006, from http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-
bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/language/v079/79.2schneider.pdf

Thompson, R.M. (2006). Filipino code switching: basketball Tagalish. Retrieved

November 19, 2006, from http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/rthompso/
English as an International Language-10.711

Nona Danchenko & Fasana Gounder

Assignment 1

August 31, 2006

Andrew Pirie
S2042232
The countries I associate with are New Zealand where I was born and currently reside
and The Philippines where I lived for three years and went to College (Tertiary). I will
draw examine these countries.

New Zealand is a British Colony. In New Zealand a different dialect of English to

British English developed known as New Zealand English due to strong influence from
the native Maori language. Most place names in New Zealand are in Maori for example
my home town Paraparaumu
para-pram or param (which would correctly be pa-ra-pa-ra-u-mu).

In the Philippines after the surrender of the Spanish the Americans were given
sovereignty of the nation. Although gaining Independence in 1946 the Philippines has
retained a strong American-English influence.

Problems facing the use of teaching of English are the New Zealander’s tendency to mix
vowels. This factor makes the New Zealand accent one of the most difficult to understand
for other English speakers. Problems facing the teaching of English in the Philippines is
the fact that Tagalog (the national language) are the vowel sounds. English uses A-E-I-O-
U 5 vowels. Tagalog before the coming of the Spanish in the 16 th century originally only
had 3 vowels A-I-U but was later expanded to five. These five vowels are the same as the
English vowels but pronounced differently.

In New Zealand I predict that it will continually become more difficult to understand by
other English speakers. Due to the fact that New Zealand is so far away from the rest of
the world and we not inclined to adopt American-English.

Tagalog should be considered a Pigeon which was introduced by the Spanish to speak to
the Malay people on the island. It is the merging of these two languages. It later became a
Creole as more people learnt it. With the coming of the Americans and introduction of
English. Tagalish and Filipino became more popular and can be considered a
development of Tagalog language this time merging with English words. A few words
have been borrowed from Tagalog by the English language such as Yo-yo, Manila and
the idiom ‘to run amok’.

In the Philippines another language has already developed called Tagalish which is a
mixture of Tagalog with substitute English words. It is very difficult to find people who
can speak pure Tagalog with the old three vowel system mentioned above. A lot of
English words have been used as well as a lot of Spanish words. My prediction is that
Tagalish will develop further and eventually replace Tagalog as the national language as
American media still has a lot of influence in the Philippines. Tagalog will not give way
to English as a national language simply because for a lot of Filipinos Tagalog is not even
there second language. The Philippines is an archipelago with 7,107 islands two big ones
Luzon and Mindanao and a large group of Islands in the middle known as Visayas. Due
to these boundaries 170 languages are spoken in the country. Tagalog is the language that
is used so people from different islands who speak different dialects can communicate
with each other. Like wise some of these dialects e.g. Visayan have sub-dialects such as
Cebuano and Ilongo and these people use Visayan as their median language.

According to a 1987 census the official language of the Philippines is now Filipino
(similar to Tagalish but doesn’t use as many English words).

I have learnt English as a first language and as a second language. I went through the
elementary and high school system in New Zealand. I also went to College (Tertiary) in
the Philippines and was taught English with students who had Filipino as their first
language as criteria and also learnt English as a second language. I found that native
speakers tend to not memorize terminologies but can pick up on the structure when
examples have been given. Students who take English as a second language know the
terminologies for grammatical terms. An example is idioms, I have learnt what idioms
are before but I can’t recall an example when give the terminology when given an
example of an idiom I can think of more examples. Students who learn English as a
second language tend to remember the terminologies for grammatical terms a lot better.
The specific question I would like to ask relating to English in the global context is
Is American-English going to spread and replace native languages or is it going to mingle
and form new languages like in the case of Tagalish?
 In defence of Singlish
An anti-Singlish editorial in the Straits Time (May 2, 2000) was yet another attack by a
Singapore opinion leader, but the issue needs a less reactionary approach. Firstly, like
nearly all official campaigns against language issues, there will be little to show for the
money spent. Language change is driven by forces nearly always well beyond the control
of governments and newspaper editors. Even Stalin failed, and governments more
sensitive to public opinion risk looking foolish. Secondly, the concerns that Singlish is a
danger to the international competitiveness of Singapore are wrong. Many English
speakers around the world speak non-standard dialects of English as their main language,
yet they are still fluent in standard English. In fact, leading researchers say that less than
15% of native-born Britons speak standard English as their everyday dialect 1 See the papers
linked below.

Speaking different dialects in different situations is called "diglossia", and happens

everywhere there are dialects of different prestige. In Singapore, Singlish is the low
prestige dialect, and standard English is the high prestige dialect.

Actually, there is no one "Singlish". At its most extreme, it has relatively few speakers,
just as standard English is Singapore hardly ever is exactly the same as the English of the
Home Counties. However, it is clear the most Singaporeans who can speak Standard
English also use a different form of English that we call Singlish, and which of these two
forms they use is easily predictable depending on the social situation. Using two dialects
for different social purposes is called "Diglossia", and it has been widely researched, in
Singapore and in many other places. The research goes back decades. It can be difficult
to find a good way of explaining to standard English speakers how people can easily
move between different dialects because the variation in English dialects around the
world is usually not very great 2 "Grammatical differences between Standard English and other
dialects are in fact rather few in number, although of course they are very significant socially" Trudgill .
Most people think of "Cockney" as being a separate dialect, although most of the
characteristics of "Cockney" that make it a "dialect" are pronunciation based, not
grammar based. However, "Cockney" can still illustrate the key points. First, we need a
definition of fluency in standard English using a few tests, and then we ask if "Cockney"
speakers can pass these tests. My tests are

 Cockneys can sustain a ten minute, two-way conversation with a member of the
British royal family (or Hugh Grant, or a job interview with a bank manager from
Brighton. These are conversations very likely to be in standard English.)
 They can comprehend a daily newspaper, and they can understand a London BBC
news broadcast and the Queen's annual address (to linguists, witten-word tests are
not as important, but I include them to show how difficult it is to imagine
residents of London not having good standard English skills).

My claim is not that an East Londoner (or Geoffrey Boycott or a Norfolk speaker (this is
a recording) for that matter) can sound like a member of the royal family, but by passing
these tests they demonstrate fluency in standard English. At the same time, they are able
to speak perfectly acceptable "Cockney" to other members of that social group. The
United States and England are full of people who can move between standard English
and local versions of English. This is just as well, because one leading researcher,
Trudgill, estimates that only between 9% and 15% of Britons actually speak standard
English as their main dialect, and that only 3% speak it with the "official" accent. While
researching this article I came across an old Straits Times article, where a Singaporean
mother complained that her daughter was speaking perfect standard English until she
went to playgroup, where she learned Singlish from her peers. In fact the daughter was
smarter than the mother; how could she have been accepted by the group if she kept
speaking prestigious standard English in the informal surrounds of the playground?
Rejecting the language of her peers would mean rejection by them. Children in Singapore
must learn the language of their peers. It is the same the world over.

Another example close to Singapore is Jakarta. Anyone with basic Indonesian knows
how different the native dialect of Jakartans is from Bahasa Indonesia, even though
Bahasa Jakarta is still the same language3 Jakarta is the only place in Java where Bahasa Indonesia
is spoken as a mother tongue.. Jakartans need standard Indonesian to talk with Indonesians
from outside Jakarta, and for formal situations, even when everyone present is from
Jakarta. You might think that native Jakartans get confused between the two dialects and
can't speak good standard Bahasa Indonesia, yet after three years of living there, I can
report that every single native-born4 Migrants from rural areas of Java are native speakers of
Javanse, a completely unrelated language, and sometimes struggle with Bahasa Indonesia Jakartan I met
speaks fine standard Indonesian, be they professionals, taxi drivers, maids, gardeners,
drivers, security guards or whatever. I don't think too much of relying on personal
anecdotes, but all the native Jakartans I've asked report the same thing. In other words,
native born Jakartans speak two quite different dialects of Indonesian with ease. This
would not be a surprise to people familiar with research in this area. Singaporeans easily
perform the same thing.

English speakers raised in Singapore learn early in their life how to use different dialects
for different situations, just as people do in all the other places on the planet with
different dialects for different social needs. Many languages have different dialects for
different social situations, and both Singlish and Bahasa Jakarta (known as 'slang' by its
speakers) are used mainly in informal circumstances between social peers even when
both speakers know the standard form of the language. The important conclusion is that
usage of Singlish does not mean that Singapore speakers will be impaired in using
standard English.

My reference to "Cockney" above may give the impression that Singlish is restricted to
usage in Singapore by less educated people, since Cockneys are famously lower class
residents of a poor part of London. In fact, as research by Gupta (see also links below)
and others show, Singlish usage is widespread through all classes in Singapore, including
"bank managers, doctors and teachers"5 private correspondence, groups who have excellent
command of standard English. In Jakarta, Bahasa Jakarta ("slang") is also used by all
classes.
Despite the negative pressure from the authorities, most Singaporeans are quietly proud
of Singlish, and why not? It is a fun, energetic and dynamic dialect. If Singaporeans wish
for a separate cultural identity, Singlish is likely to grow in popularity, no matter what the
government does. Not so long ago the editorial pages of the Straits Times were dismayed
by surveys showing that some young Singaporeans really wanted to be Westerners.
Singlish is strong evidence that most young Singaporeans are actually moving in the
opposite direction; they want "Singaporean" to mean more than living in an air-
conditioned dot on the map (Mahatir's phrase).

As for the concern about international English, who could seriously deny that these same
young Singaporeans are first class speakers of standard English? No country in Asia has
better English skills; among its service economy rivals, only Australia offers serious
competition in overall language skills. But is there a decline in English here? No.
Spending some time among both older and younger Singaporeans reveals that English in
Singapore is getting better with successive generations, even as Singlish seems to spread
further and further into the mass media.

English recently became the first language in 2000 years to have more second-language
speakers than native speakers. By using different dialects of English for both
international communication and for local use, Singapore is not joining a world wide
corruption. It is leading a world wide trend; globalisation means that people are becoming
more protective of their identities even as they spend more time in contact with the rest of
the world. This will drive language change everywhere, but it will not threaten the
requirement for standard English anywhere.

Clearly, Singapore's language education is working well. In an island speaking so many

languages, there is very good and improving command of standard English. It's odd to
think that Singlish is a threat to this, because evidence from all over the world says it's
not.

Relax, lah. Singlish is cool, it's homegrown and it's no problem.

Tim Richardson, Singapore.

Draft written in May 2000. Modified Sept 2000 and March 2001.

I am not a linguist nor involved in language education, language policy or anything

connected to the "language industry". My views are influenced by my undergraduate
studies in Linguistics, and by my own interests, observations and enjoyment of language.

I hope readers find the links below stimulating.

Further reading and links

Linguistic notes

This phenomenon of using one dialect in informal circumstances and another dialect
when formality is required is widely observed all over the world. Since dialects of
English in England are actually weak compared with the difference between Singlish and
standard English (the English used by East Londoners may no longer really be a dialect at
all in formal terms), it is more realistic to compare the Singapore situation with Egyptian
Arabic, for instance, which is well researched, or with different dialects of Javanese, or
the use of German in Switzerland. There is a mountain of research into "high" and "low"
dialect usage all around the world, and most linguists conclude that it is easy for humans
to manage this as part of the language acquisition process. Dialect swapping and mixing
of entirely different languages is known as diglossia and code-switching. Linguists
working in this area are often referred to as Sociolinguists, who specialise in studying the
way our societies and languages influence each other. Dialect research is a very important
area for language policy and education issues in the US, Singapore and elsewhere non-
standard languages and dialects are spoken side-by-side with prestige dialects.
Sociolinguistics is a fascinating and provoking field because the research often confronts
people with factual findings that are contrary to vested interests and emotional
investments. As in other areas subject to rational enquiry, keep an open mind and be
prepared to be wrong.

Here are some good places to go for more information.

1) Search

www.google.com for "dialects diglossia" and "dialects code switching"

2) Websites

 Singapore English : notes by linguist Dr Anthea Gupta (Highly Recommended)

 Language Varieties Network : This site is about varieties of language that differ
from the standard variety that is normally used in the media and taught in the
schools.
 Three papers about Standard English, including one by Trudgill and another
regarding teaching of English
The Trudgill paper is highly recommended for those who seek a definition of
Standard English.
The paper by Hogg asks "will Standard English survive?".
 A free introductory Linguistics book including a quick description of diglossia
with some examples. It comes from the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), a
group who have built up a strong array of practical linguistic techniques in order
to assist them in translating Christian religious texts (you will note in this 138
page document some Biblical quotes used to flavor the document). You might not
agree with their goals, but they are widely respected for their skills and materials.
3) Recommended texts and articles

 Fasold, Ralph, The Sociolinguistics of Society (Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Vol 1) (Barnes and Noble has this on its website, probably impossible to find in
Singapore at the moment).

 The Oxford Companion to the English Language (concise edition). Outstanding

book for anyone interested in English. Easy to find in Singapore.

 A bibliography of linguistic articles about diglossia and language acquisition in

Singapore. Some of these are easy for members of the public to find in Singapore
libraries, and some aren't.

Comments. Page modified: August 15, 2004

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A War of Words Over 'Singlish'
Singapore's government wants its citizens to speak good English, but they would much
rather be 'talking cock'

By HWEE HWEE TAN

subscribe to TIME Print send to a friend

Monday, Jul. 22, 2002

A couple of months ago, Singaporean officials unintentionally made cinematic history.
They slapped an NC-17 rating on a film—which means children under 17 cannot see it—
not because of sex or violence or profanity, but because of bad grammar. Despite its
apparently naughty title, Talking Cock: The Movie is actually an innocuous comedy
comprising four skits about the lives of ordinary Singaporeans. The censors also banned a
15-second TV spot promoting the flick. All this because of what the authorities deemed
"excessive use of Singlish."

Given the tough crackdown, you would expect Singlish to be a harmful substance that
might corrupt our youth, like heroin or pornography. But it's one of Singapore's best-
loved quirks, used daily by everyone from cabbies to CEOs. Singlish is simply
Singaporean slang, whereby English follows Chinese grammar and is liberally sprinkled
with words from the local Chinese, Malay and Indian dialects. Take jiat gentang, which
combines the Hokkien word for "eat" (jiat), with the Malay word for "potato" (gentang).
Jiat gentang describes someone who speaks with a pretentious Western accent (since
potatoes are considered a European food), as in "He went to Oxford to study, now he
come back to Singapore, only know how to jiat gentang." As for "talking cock," the
phrase means to spout nonsense.

I like to talk cock, and I like to speak Singlish. It's inventive, witty and colorful. If a
Singaporean gets frustrated at your stupidity, he can scold you for being blur as sotong
(clueless as a squid). At work, I've often been reprimanded for having an "itchy
backside," meaning I enjoy disrupting things when I'm bored. When I don't understand
what's going on, I say, "Sorry, but I catch no ball, man," which stems from the Hokkien
liah boh kiew. There's an exhaustive lexicon of such Singlish gems at talkingcock.com, a
hugely popular, satirical website that inspired the movie. Its director, Colin Goh, has also
published the Coxford Singlish Dictionary, which lovingly chronicles all the comic
eccentricities of Singapore's argot. Since its April release, the book has sold over 20,000
copies—an extraordinary feat given that just 1,000 copies will get you on Singapore's
Top 10 list. Singlish is especially fashionable these days among Generation Y, in part
because it gives uptight Singapore a chance to laugh—at itself.

But the government is not amused. It doesn't like Singlish because it thinks it is bad
language and bad for Singapore's sober image as a commercial and financial center. For
more than two years now, it has been waging a war of words spearheaded by the Speak
Good English Movement (SGEM), which organizes everything from creative writing to
Scrabble contests in order to encourage standard English. "Poor English reflects badly on
us," said Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at sgem's launch, "and makes us seem less
intelligent or competent."

In the past, the government would impose strict rules and hefty fines to shape social
behavior—don't spit, don't litter, don't sell gum. But this time, because it knows Singlish
is trendy, it's using the soft sell. Naturally, much of this has to do with semantics. Says
SGEM head David Wong: "SGEM is not a campaign, it's a movement. In Singapore, you
associate campaigns with the message that if you trespass, we're going to punish you. A
movement is different. We want to adopt a more lighthearted approach." This
lighthearted approach spawned the recent SGEM Festival, a hapless exercise in
unintended comic surrealism. Driving home from work, I would hear 'NSync-style pop
jingles on the radio telling me to "speak clearly." On the cartoonish www.sgem.com
website, I took a test to "Have Fun with Good English." I didn't—I failed the test because
I wasn't sure whether it was more proper to say: (a) "Please come with me, I will take you
to the airport" or (b) "Please come with me, I will send you to the airport." (According to
the website, the right answer is a.)

Blur as sotong responses like mine won't dampen Wong's zeal for promoting good
English. He dislikes Singlish because he thinks it's crude. "If my son came back from
school and told my wife that she was talking cock," he says, "I would slap him." He
would have to. Otherwise, how would Cambridge-educated Wong's son learn to jiat
gentang?

Singlish is crude precisely because it's rooted in Singapore's unglamorous past. This is a
nation built from the sweat of uncultured immigrants who arrived 100 years ago to bust
their asses in the boisterous port. Our language grew out of the hardships of these
ancestors. And Singlish is a key ingredient in the unique melting pot that is Singapore.
This is a city where skyscraping banks tower over junk boats; a city where vendors hawk
steaming pig intestines next to bistros that serve haute cuisine. The SGEM's brand of
good English is as bland as boiled potatoes. If the government has its way, Singapore will
become a dish devoid of flavor. And I'm not talking cock.

Hwee Hwee Tan, a senior writer at the lifestyle magazine 24/7, wrote the novels Foreign
Bodies and Mammon Inc.
From the Jul. 29, 2002 issue of TIME Asia magazine
http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/international-
StudentExperience/AsiaExperience/SingaporeExperience/Baxi_Singapore_SP05/images/l
ah.jpg
ISSUES

MOVIE ‘TALKING COCK’

-As for "talking cock," the phrase means to spout nonsense.

-“Sorry, but I catch no ball, man," which stems from the Hokkien liah boh kiew.
-Singaporean Officials put a NC-17 rating on film not because of sex,violence or
profanity but because of bad grammar.

AGAINST SINGLISH FOR SINGLISH

Singaporean government doesn’t like
Singlish
Singlish is bad Singapore business and
commercial image global identity.
Makes Singaporean seem less intelligent
Government has spent two years with
SGEM trying to encourage Standard
English
Singaporeans Proud of Singlish
Singaporeans feel part of their cultural
identity
Fun Energetic and a dynamic dialect
Likely to grow popularity regardless of
what the government does

KEY QUESTIONS

- Should Singlish be replaced by Standardized English?

- If so what else can the government do to encourage the promotion of
Standardized English?

SPEECH

A couple of months ago, Singaporean officials unintentionally made cinematic history.

They slapped an NC-17 rating on a film—which means children under 17 cannot see it—
not because of sex or violence or profanity, but because of bad grammar.

But the government is not amused. It doesn't like Singlish because it thinks it is bad
language and bad for Singapore's sober image as a commercial and financial center. For
more than two years now, it has been waging a war of words spearheaded by the Speak
Good English Movement (SGEM), which organizes everything from creative writing to
Scrabble contests in order to encourage standard English. "Poor English reflects badly on
us," said Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at sgem's launch, "and makes us seem less
intelligent or competent."

Despite the negative pressure from the authorities, most Singaporeans are quietly proud
of Singlish, and why not? It is a fun, energetic and dynamic dialect. If Singaporeans wish
for a separate cultural identity, Singlish is likely to grow in popularity, no matter what the
government does. Not so long ago the editorial pages of the Straits Times were dismayed
by surveys showing that some young Singaporeans really wanted to be Westerners.
Singlish is strong evidence that most young Singaporeans are actually moving in the
opposite direction; they want "Singaporean" to mean more than living in an air-
conditioned dot on the map (Mahatir's phrase).

REFERENCES

Richardson, T. (2004). In defence of Singlish. Retrieved Saturday September 23, 2006,

from http://www.tim-richardson.net/letters/singlish.html

Tan, H.H. (2002). A War of Words Over 'Singlish'. Retrieved Sunday September 24,
2006, from http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501020729-
322685,00.html
10.711

Types of English
ESL = English as a secondary Language
EIL = English as an International Language
ENL = English as a Native Language
EFL = English as a Foreign Language
ELF = English as a Lingua Franca (default language of people talking to each other)

Creole = simplified English language

From the video

Ruslish = US and UK music getting into USSR
English more influential than any other language world has ever known.
Aero
Language of airlines universal air traffic control planes flying over world
Airforce talk
Demonstrations –protests are in English
English newspapers non-English speakers
Trade
English neutral linked language in situations
Japlish e.g. Boyfrendo
Singapore united Malay, Chinese and Indian
Sciences use English writing reports
Shipping
International Business
Global English
Role of California –American English
Slang US Language – influence surfing talk
 Narley
 Bitchin
Later influenced same lingo in Middle Class valley girls
Gay Slang
 San Francisco
 Code back centuries in gay communities
Feminist Talk – elimination of the word man
High-tech language

Negative Positive
  Regional differences
 Loss of a language e.g. Maori
nearly died out from being banned
in schools
 Corruption of the original English
language – indigenous languages
 Creates division amongst those who
can or can’t speak language
(alienation) racism
 Domination of economics within an
English speaking minority.
 Misinterpretation of translation
 Less interest learning other
languages
 Used as an oppressor
 Generation gaps
English hardest language to learn
Trade
Less deception speak same
language
Creates unity
Common interpretation
Short alphabet with complex
descriptive words right amount of
complexity
Jobs foreign companies (Poverty
reduced)
New vocab English language
Language to mediate peace in

Idioms e.g. Sick as a dog

5-9-06

Colonization Ship Language

Airports – air traffic control – practical
Colonies – British/American Imperialism
Trade – economic reasons
Median Language – neutrals comm.
Intellectual reasons – neutral comm.
Intellectual reasons - scientific
Right number of vowels
Immigration/Migration
Understanding
Employment
Teaching opportunities
Writing purposes –translation has to be creative
Television
Globalization

1) Practical
2) Intellectual
3) Internal
4) Historical
5) Entertainment
6) External
12-9-06
Esperanto - Latin based, spanish grammar

Possible future spread of languages potential

Spanish = Espanol
Mandarin
Text Language - Electronic Language
Arabic
Hindi
French
(Hieroglyphic)
Shorthand
*Learn Latin

Questions:
15-9-2006
What factors have contributed to the development of American English?
Sources of language?
What about variations in pronunciation?
Prime sources of new idioms?
What features does rap draw from?
What is prestigious about North American Standard of pronunciation? Why is it socially
prestigious?

*Get DVDs out from Library on American English

Samuel Clarence = Mark Twain
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English language being globally known is an
international language. - comment?

2 days ago - 2 days left to answer. - 9 answers - Report Abuse

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Not just known globally, but is used as a primary language in:

Business
Squid Vicious Air travel (all International communications must be in English)
About Me United Nations.
Member since:
14 September This language dominance has two roots. First, the United States is such a
2006 dominant player in the world, politically and economically that knowing
Total points: English is just so darned important. Second, the legacy of the British Empire
1,492 (Level 3)means that much of Asia and Africa use English as at least one of their
Points earned national languages. Third, I can't deal with any language that capitalizes all
this week: nouns.
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English is internationally known because it is useful in many fields: business,

education, communication, computer studies, technology, travelling.
monica06 It is also the first language of great economic and political powers- the USA
About Me and the UK- and also former British colonies- Australia and Canada. It is used
Member as a second official language in many other former British colonies in Asia and
since: 24 Africa, and studied as a foreign language almost everywhere in the
October 2006 world...again, because it is useful!
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it is widely spoken so nothing wrong in it being the international

star language
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If there is no English how can we understand

what is in your mind and respond.
BHARANI
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By default, English is now the global language. Business, air travel (all air
traffic controllers have to use English as do commercial pilots), education,
medicine all use English extensively. It is more accessible than Chinese, for
example, more widely spoken by native speakers than either French or
iwasnotan... Spanish.
About Me It is not an easy language by any means. Pronunciation often has little to due
Member since: with spelling for instance. Grammar is difficult. And those 12 tenses (not to
27 September mention passive voice) all mean something. English loves time so we have
2006 all these tenses to clearly identify when actions occurred, are occurring or
Total points: will occur and not necessarily alone but in conjunction with other actions.
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English will be the global language for some time!

Only a new Empire will change that. The American influence is

jardim_20... still too broad and strong at the moment...
About Me
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November 2006 or if a single global event takes place).
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English is an international language because it is concise, precise and flexible.

In other languages, like Portuguese, one can find thousands of three- and
four-syllable words (cavalo, gato, cachorro, veado, etc.). English has
thousands of one-syllable words (horse, cat, dog, deer, etc.). Also you can say
Nice anything you want just by using inversion ("coma patient", meaning "the
About Me patient who is in a coma"). As far as I know, English is the only language that
Member since: can turn different classes of words (nouns, verbs, pronouns etc.) into
29 September modifiers (" a do-it-yourself kit"). Finally, it is so flexible that a whole
2006 sentence can modify a noun (which is impossible in any other language I
Total points: know): "she is going through that I-wanna-go-home syndrome". Needless to
213 (Level 1) say, it´s the most melodious of all languages.
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English language is not exactly globally known.What about Germany and

France ? They give more importance to their own mother tongue. The
 countries which had been captured and ruled upon by Britishers have adopted
the trademark left by the them.We see that in every field- may it be The style
of clothing, The sort of music that is evolving today or The religion of India
Adhvaitha which, once upon a time was known to be a country of Hinduism.
About Me Trade and the settling of people abroad is leading to the spread of languages,
Member since: customs and traditions. They mix up with the people there and adopt a part of
07 September their culture which they bring back along with them. Hence no language can
2006 be treated as international. They have always been the trademark of a certain
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JENA I Because it is most commonly used when people could not understand
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