WORLD ENGLISH

English as a world language

Who is a native speaker? Is it important? What is an error and

what is a difference?

KACHRU’S “CIRCLES” THEORY

Many varieties of English exist across the globe. Kachru (1992) has classified these as being in the ‘Inner Circle’, ‘Outer Circle’ & ‘Expanding Circle’

Kachru’s Circles

Studies suggest that there were (in 2001) an estimated:

375 million users of English in Inner-Circle societies (English as a 1st language)

375 million in Outer-Circle societies (English as a 2nd language)

750-1,000 million in the Expanding Circle (English as a Foreign language)

(McArthur, 2001)

The spread of English

1. From the United Kingdom to countries where native

English speakers have settled down in large numbers (Kachru’s Inner Circle countries, 1992): Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States as a first language for many

2. As a second language (Kachru’s Outer Circle, 1992): Examples - Hong Kong, India, Singapore

3. Or a foreign language (Kachru’s Expanding Circle, 1992): Examples - Germany, Hungary, Poland, China, and Japan

Reasons for the spread (Kandiah, 1998):

ColonisationThese were countries formerly colonised by the British- e.g. India, Singapore, Malta etc.- English as a language gained importance in the

administration of the country- English served an official purpose within the country in law,

education and government.

‘Global village’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZI1EjxxXKw ( David Crystal on Global English)

McArthur’s Circle of World English – a different way of representing the phenomenon of World English.

Is there really a ‘World Standard English’?

References

Kachru, B. (1986). The Alchemy of English: The Spread, Functions, and Models of Non-native Englishes. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 

Kandiah, T (1998), ‘Why New Englishes?’ in J A Foley, et al. (eds.), English in New Cultural Contexts: Reflections from Singapore (Singapore: Oxford University Press), pp. 1–40.

McArthur, T.(2001). "World English and World Englishes: Trends, tensions, varieties, and standards", Language Teaching Vol. 34: 1.