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Essay on emergence of standard english
English Colonization
Language Arts 802: Development And Usage Of English Quiz 1: History Of The English Language
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The emergence of English began to appear in 5th century AD after the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians invaded Britannia in the 4th century. Referred to as Old English back in the day, the language has undergone several transformations to where it is now called English. Today, over 750 million people speak English as a language and at least half of those use it as their mother tongue (McCrum et al., 2002, pg. 9-10). Many people rely on English to serve them financially and for social purposes (Crystal, 2003, pg. 29). Besides this socio-cultural factor, it has gained prominence around the world as several countries have adopted their own variety of the language and English is being used more frequently as a foreign language. Together with this geographical-historical factor, the socio-cultural factors allow English’s future as a “global language” to become more of “a reality”. To understand how English has spread across globally, we will look at a model created by Braj Kachru. Kachru’s model of the spread of English is divided into three concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1992:356). Countries such as the United States, Australia and Britain are part of the Inner Circle. According to Kachru, the English in the Inner Circle are “norm-providing” varieties where it is the dominant language (Davies, 2005, pg. 45). Other places such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are part of the Outer Circle, where English was brought over through colonial means (Davies, 2005, pg. 45). The English in the Outer Circle territories are “norm-developing” varieties that have recognized the growing importance of English as a language and in these areas; English has been given a higher status. Melcher... ... middle of paper ... ...ith standard Singaporean English. Graddol et al. goes on and says that Singlish has been described as “Colloquial Singapore English”, a lower variety of Singaporean English used by less competent speakers or that it is used “by some language learners at the beginning stages” by the National University of Singapore and has been panned by government officials for flopping as a international language. The Singaporean government has banned Singlish from television and advertisements while is showing strong support for standard Singaporean English. The relegation of Singlish as an inferior language and the promotion of standard Singaporean English, which has close ties to standard British English, bring us back to the question of uniqueness. How can we identify any variety of English as a ‘distinct’ one if it is closely related to another standard variety of the language?
The author, Bill Bryson, briefly introduces and describes the history of English. In this book, The Mother Tongue, Bryson uses an interesting way and scholarly manner to guide readers through the various linguistic and social movements in the English language, the center of the world language as well as the export of manufactured goods. He gives different kinds of instances by comparing with various languages to present how the language merged together of interacting.
Singlish has been, and still is, the top favourite medium of communication in Singapore. However, Singlish has raised much controversy over the past few years. Many Singaporeans viewed Singlish as a diluted version of English, with its twisted grammar and simplistic vocabulary. The opponents of Singlish feel that “Singaporeans’ usage of Singlish has created such a bad impression of our conversational skills to foreigners when they visit us, that we are no longer remembered by our incredible evolution from a fishing village to a leading financial hub of the world, but by the slang that we speak.” (seanGng, 2010). These Singaporeans have discouraged Singlish and some even moved to ban Singlish among our society. One of the by-products of this opposition is the Speak Good English Movement, a popular campaign that encourages Singaporeans to speak accurate English. The opposition of Singlish largely feel that Singlish casts negative light on Singapore’s English standards and that if Singaporeans are unable to speak proper English, then we cannot use English as a medium of communication at an international...
4. Singlish is a melting pot of many different languages that can sound fun and upbeat to some people, but can make others cringe at the sound of misused grammar. You know you’re speaking with a Singaporean when you hear the reduplication and discourse particles, and the elimination of linking verbs. Singlish is a crucial part of their identity and their culture as it brings everyone together despite their social class.
The development of the English language was a combination of cultural, political, social and religious events that each playing their own part shaping the modern English language spoken today as a first language by 400 million people . As Baugh and Cable convey to us in A History of the English Language; ‘It understates matters to say that political, economic, and social forces influence a language’. Although it cannot be identified exactly when the inhabitants of Britain began to speak English, there are some sources that give an insight into the nature of the forces that played a role in its foundation such as: the four medieval manuscripts;
Reading of Chapter four in the textbook titled " Foreign Influences on Old English,” the followings are the terms that came across as interesting and necessary for the understanding of the extent of foreign influence on the old English language:
...nology is moving ahead at the speed of light. With all this advancement comes the inevitable need for a language that unifies the world. The need for a common language to conduct our business and economic affairs, and our need to communicate internationally on political and world interventions has made English the leader in world languages. It is not the language spoken first by most, but it the language that the world uses when it comes together to communicate.
In Singapore, the Two most widely used official languages are English and Mandarin Chinese. Although all four official languages have the same equal status, English is definitely their main language. Except for the time when they study their mother tongue in Singapore’s educational system, English is used in every institution. According to Sherman Tan, although there are four official languages promoted in Singapo...
Finally, there are many different varieties of English, or as it is called Englishes, such as Singaporean English, Indian English and Nigerian English. Each variety of English expresses the identity and culture of its speakers. It has been predicted that in the distant future these forms of English will fragment into mutually unintelligible varieties. Therefore, this fragmentation may slow the spread of English as a global language.
The settlement of the British Isles by north Europeans followed by Norman French paints the backdrop to this essay which will focus on the period between the early 15th and 17th centuries, when a 'standard' English evolved. It will show that modern-day English is very different to that first introduced to the British Isles, but by identifying changes through time, its continuity can be demonstrated. Finally, it will suggest that present day English is in a position analogous to that which existed before the Norman invasion, when there were many varieties and dialects, and that this may lead to its decline as a global language, due to decreasing intelligibility.
Have you ever wondered where the names of the different items you use daily came from? Or listened to people talk and find a particular word interesting or odd and wonder why it has become part of our English language? The English language that we speak today has developed as a result of many different influences and changes over thousands of years. The resulting changes to the English language can be split into three time periods that include, Old English or Anglo-Saxon, Middle English and Modern English which is commonly used today
Since the establishment of the British Empire, the spread of English language has been experienced in many parts of the globe. The success can be attributed significantly to the colonization activities that the empire had embarked on. They would train the indigenous community English language as they suppressed the local dialect. This massive spread is termed as lingual imperialism (Osterhammel 2005, pp. 14). The English language has become the first and second language of many nations across the world, and this makes it an international language. The native’s proportion to the non-native who speaks English cannot be compared with nations in the isle of Britain and far are speaking the language .considering that more than 70%
It has been adopted by different sectors making it one of the most used languages in the globe. This has been attributed to its effective nature, easy learning and rich history. However, conservative groups exist who argues that there should be global language since it may cause the emergence of superior cultures. Nevertheless, it is evident that different cultures ranging from the early polish immigrants, the African American community, the advertising and media will greatly benefit from the globalization of the English language. This will prove in the end that English is indeed a global
In order to visualize the “global” as an adjective in the collocation “global language”, a study has shown the numbers of people speaking the language. According to them, there are about 6000 languages in the world and not surprisingly English is at the top of the list of most dominant. In the world there are 375 million first-language speakers, approximately the same number of second-language speakers and about 750 million foreign-language speakers (David Graddol, The Future of English? A Guide to Forecasting the Popularity of the English Language in the 21st Century. British Council, 1997). According to magazine Economist, more than one billion people speak some form of English. These numbers could make people think that English is really conquering the world which can be both positive and negative.
Mollin, S., 2006. “English as a Lingua Franca: A New Variety in the New Expanding Circle?”, The Nordic Journal of English Studies 5(2), pp. 41-57. Available from
English spreads widely in each countries, no matter the area of region or information transfer, English becomes an important position in global language. As the specification of a global language, it essentially refers to a language that learned and spoken internationally, so English can be the most out-standing. According to the number of English-speaking calculations, English is the official language used by most countries, English is the most widely used second language in the world, and the percentage of web pages with English content is estimated to be over 50% (Crystal, 2003). Meanwhile, the history and usefulness cause English to be a global language, and they mainly influence to spread English faster in China and to bring convenience