4
Chapter One
English as a global language
In everyday thinking English is regarded to be the world‘s most important
language of our days, since it is supposed to be the main means of
communication among people of different mother tongues in the world.
However, in spite of its undeniable central role in international communication
(at both the global and European level), the figures of its speakers show that
English is not the major language of the world, nor even of the European Union.
On the contrary, its leading role and its great significance is represented by the
high number of non-native speakers in the world. As a matter of fact, according
to Ethnologue statistics
1
, English is the third language of the world, ranking after
Chinese and Spanish. In his The English Language
2
, Crystal estimates around
320-380 million native speakers, and 420 million second-language speakers
and 750 million foreign-language speakers; the CIA World Factbook
3
counts
around 340 million English native speakers all over the world.
Gauging the number of the countries where English is considered official
is a challenging task, because of the disagreement around the definition of
some categories, such as official or co-official, national or state language.
According to Crystal
4
, English holds a ―special place‖ in more than 75 territories:
it is the official or joint official language of a country (as in the case of Ireland or
Canada), or is the only dominant language, due to historical and political
reasons (see the USA or the UK). Eventually there are countries where English,
in spite of having lost its former official status, still plays a leading role in them
(such as in Tanzania or Kenya).
1
Retrieved 27 Nov. 2010. <http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=size>
2
David Crystal, 2003:109.
3
Retrieved 27 Nov. 2010. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/>
4
David Crystal, 2003:109.
5
1.1 Terminology
Another tough issue concerning English is its terminology: many expressions
are used to refer to its status. English is in fact labelled as lingua franca, global,
world, international or universal language, although each term reflects different
perspectives. A lingua franca is defined as
A language which is used habitually by people whose mother tongues
are different in order to facilitate communication between them.
5
The term lingua franca originally meant ―the language of Franks‖, referring thus
to the mixed Neo-Latin language which during the age of the crusades
functioned as a general means of communication among the different linguistic
group in the Mediterranean area. Subsequently, its meaning was applied to any
language used as a means of communication among speakers of different
languages.
According to McArthur (1999), the term world English began to be used
in the 1920s, international English in the 1980s and global English since the
1990s. As for the first, it indicates every form of English used in the international
sphere, including different varieties:
I used the term to mean all English everywhere, whatever its form
[…], and I did not think for a moment then that it could refer to
common-core English […], and I don‘t recall ever meeting it in this
sense.
6
On the other hand, English as an International Language (EIL), has a more
political flavor, and refers to
The English language, usually in its standard form, either when used,
taught, and studied as a lingua franca throughout the world, or when
taken as a whole and used in contrast with American English, British
English, South African English, etc., as in International English
7
5
Definition provided by the Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved 27 Nov. 2010
<http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/lingua-franca>
6
Tom McArthur, 1999:397.
7
Ibid.
6
Thirdly, English as a global Language (EGL) is an expression which is strictly
associated to the 1990s phenomenon of globalization, to the idea of a
borderless economic world and of a ―global village‖.
8
Another way in which English can be labelled is contact language, that is
a linguistic variety used among native speakers of different languages in
multilingual context and which presents elements of interference from these.
1.2 The spread of English
What characterizes English today are not intrinsic features of the language
itself, but rather the consequence of its use by speakers. Language spread
implies an increase in the number of users and functions of a language, a
process of expansion into new geographic and language-use areas, where it is
the use itself of the language that leads to its spread.
The spread of the English language has usually been divided into three
stages, where the language itself held different roles. The first one includes the
expansion on the British Isles, displacing the Celtic languages of Wales,
Scotland and Ireland
9
, the second involves the settlement of English in North
America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, while the third involves the
establishment of English in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific region.
Contact with various environments has lead to a phenomena of linguistic
adjustment of the language in every particular context.
The invasion of the Normans began the geographical spread of the
English language, which until the 11
th
century A.D. was restricted to England: by
reducing Wales under their control, introducing countrymen into Scotland,
invading the East coast of Ireland and English-speaking soldiers and settlers
with them, the Normans set off the first Anglicization process.
10
The second phase (or first Diaspora, according to Kachru‘s terminology)
is characterized by waves of a significant number of speaker migration directed
to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where their
8
Tom McArthur, 1999:397.
9
Sandra Mollin, 2006:16.
10
Ibid.
7
language was then adopted by other immigrants. Consequently, a combined
culture and language emerged from this mixed population, influencing
significantly the structure and the codification of standard varieties in
dictionaries and grammars. Nevertheless, the prestige of those varieties of
English based on the British model, have not always been regarded positively:
the American English variety, for instance, was considered as less educated,
less beautiful, less cultured when compared to the British one. Yet, as the
power of the USA increased, it gradually became the most powerful and
influential variety of English worldwide. Noah Webster greatly contributed in the
achievement of this status, by publishing An American Dictionary of the English
Language (1828), that is still providing a standardization of the variety, and
establishing schools. During the 20
th
century, other factors influenced the
prestige of the same English variety: firstly, the fact that the USA have been the
most powerful nation in the world. Secondly, that its influence has been
extended also through American popular culture, such as music and Hollywood
films. And thirdly, the importance of American English is strictly associated with
the main progress in communication technology. All in all, the growing influence
and prestige of the American English variety is the product of political power, of
the American culture and media, and of its advanced communication
technology.
As for the third phase (or the second Diaspora), it distinguishes itself
from the previous one in the sense that English came to Africa, Asia and the
South Pacific by political dominance and its native speakers remained a
minority. The period of British sovereignty, called the Raj
11
, lasted more than
180 years, until the independence of India in 1947. During this age, English was
made the language of secondary and tertiary educations and the official
language of the administration and the courts. Nevertheless, these territories
distinguish themselves from those involved in the second phase, because of
their linguistic reality, where English co-existed with other local languages. Thus
the population of these countries were and still are generally bi- or multilingual.
The use of English within these cultural environments has brought to the
11
Sandra Mollin, 2006:17.
8
emergence of some new hybrid varieties, reflecting and constructing the cultural
identities of its speakers. Generally after the independence of African and Asian
colonies, English assumed the role of the second official language together with
other local idioms, being it considered as the most neutral option in the
linguistic/cultural choice of a national language. For that reason English is used
as an official language in educational, governmental, national and international
affairs domains. Besides, another reason for this choice is due to the position
English holds in the world: it is considered a way for these new independent
countries in their acceptance at a global level.
These varieties are ―nativized‖ by their speakers, who have assumed
distinctive linguistic features which vary from British or American standards:
they differ in pronunciation, intonation, in grammar as well as in their syntax
and, most evidently, in their vocabularies and expressions, which are mainly
influenced by the local languages. However, these emerging and increasingly
autonomous varieties of English have not been considered as such for a long
period: only towards the end of the 20
th
century some interest around them
arose. The expression New Englishes refers to those codified and recognized
varieties of English, which are developed through an education system where
English is the language of instruction, though not necessarily the main language
spoken by the population in general. An example of these varieties is the South
Asian English (or Indian English) spoken in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan and studied in works such as Hobson-Jobson: The
Anglo-Indian Dictionary by Yule and Burnell (1886).
Within this third phase, also Africa held an important position, although a
distinction must be made. As for West Africa,
By the beginning of the 19
th
century, the increase in commerce and
anti-slave-trade activities had brought English to the whole West
African coast. With hundreds of local languages to contend with, a
particular feature of the region was the rise of several English-based
pidgins and creoles, used alongside the standard varieties of colonial
officials, missionaries, soldiers and traders.
12
12
David Crystal, 1990:102.
9
Afterwards, during colonialism, in this part of the continent, English was spread
mostly among the elites, while pidgin Englishes was the most important means
of communication among different ethnic and linguistic groups.
13
The varieties of English which developed in East Africa differed from
those found in West Africa, due to the fact that here a systematic interest began
later, only in the 1880s, since it had not been a trade area before.
14
Moreover, a
widespread lingua franca, Swahili, already existed thus preventing the
emergence of pidgins. The early standard variety of English held an important
position, due to the settlements of white farmers in the colonies and thus
became an essential means of communication between them and the East
Africans. Besides, it was the only language of communication and
administration, discrediting Swahili as lingua franca.
A British model was introduced early on into schools, reinforcing the
exposure to British English [...]. The result was a variety of mother-
tongue English [...]. the rapid emergence of a settled population who
used British English as a first language had two important effects.
First, it provided a strong model for Africans to learn as a second
language. These would soon form the majority of English users in the
region, living mainly in the cities and larger towns. Secondly, with
Standard English becoming widespread as a lingua franca there was
little motivation for the development of the pidgin varieties of English,
which are such a noticeable characteristic of West African countries.
15
The widespread of English reached also the territories of South East Asia and
the islands of the Pacific, where the British interest began during the 18
th
century. Here English grew as the dominant trade language in the British-
influenced areas. Also in these protectorates it became the language of
education, law and administration, as well as lingua franca between different
groups.
The introduction of a British educational system exposed learners to a
standard British model very early on.[...] English rapidly became the
language of professional advancement and the chief literary
language. Soon after the turn of the century, higher education through
the medium of English was also introduced. The language thus
became a prestige lingua franca among those who had received an
13
Sandra Mollin, 2006:18.
14
David Crystal, 1990:102.
15
Ibid. 103.
10
English education and who had thereby entered professional
society.
16
Some linguists argue that since 1945 we have been experiencing a fourth stage
of the English spread, characterized by large-scale learning as a foreign
language all around the world, thus, English became the means of most
communicational domains, such as international relations, international travel,
safety, the media, education and communications.
17
Crystal also underlines the
intranational use of English, in countries where it is not the first language:
Radio, television, and cinema links, coupled with a vast increase in
travelling mobility and the arrival of the Internet, have brought a
universal awareness that English operates on a world scale.
18
Therefore this fourth phase implies the establishment of English as the major
language of international domains and, thus, the acquisition of it as a foreign
language by a large percentage of the global population. Continental Europe is
the area where the influence of English is the strongest, as it functions as
intraEuropean lingua franca as well as working language of transnational
companies and organizations.
19
In East Asia the use of English is increasing
rapidly, due to economic reasons, such as the presence of important industrial
and trading centres which are opening to the Western world. In the Near and
Middle East the same language holds as the language for international relations
and in Latin America it is still the first foreign language learnt.
The attitudes towards the global spread of English are not always
positive, though. Mainly in those regions involved in this last fourth phase, many
speakers are threatened by the global dominance of English and purists fear
the corruption of their own languages. An evident example is the use of English
in former colonies, where it could represent a practical intra- and international
lingua franca, but it may also be considered as a symbol of oppression.
20
16
David Crystal, 1990:104.
17
Sandra Mollin, 2006:19.
18
David Crystal, 1990:209.
19
Tom McArthur, 2001:15.
20
Ibid.
11
1.3 Models of English
Together with the change of the language, linguistics have been trying to design
a range of different models in order to systematize and analyse the status of
English and of its speakers. Particularly, together with the shift from an only
standard variety to New Englishes, the linguistic discourse has moved on
outlining and identifying speakers of English: they are no longer confined to
static groups, rather they are in constant exchange and contact with different
people and situations.
Many models have been created by linguists in order to describe the
English language use in the world: Kachru‘s model (1985) is probably the one
which has come into most general use in understanding the progress of the
spread of English and functions as a framework for an analysis of the roles
English plays in different countries of the world. He describes the spread of
English with three concentric circles (an inner, an outer and expanding circle),
each of them symbolizing the kind of spread and functional domains in which
the language is used in a variety of nations and cultures.
Figure 1: Concentric circles. Kachru's model 1985
The inner circle represents those countries which use English as a first
language (L1 English speakers) and demonstrates a high proficiency level. In
12
these countries (e.g. the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
South Africa) English holds as the official language and mother tongue of the
majority of the population. Moreover, the standard varieties of these countries
are regarded as the norm, providing the basis for international English language
learning.
The outer circle contains countries where English has an official or
important status in a multilingual environment, alongside other local languages.
Often the use of English in these countries (e.g. India or Singapore) is restricted
to some domains, such as administration, the media or education. Usually they
are former colonies of English speaking countries and thus, the intertwining of
English and local languages has brought to the development of indigenous
varieties of English with characterizing features (such as Indian English). These
varieties are referred to as norm-developing varieties.
The expanding circle encompasses all the environments where English is
learned and used as a means of communication at an international level, thus,
among speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL). In these contexts,
such as China, Greece and Argentina, the English language holds restricted
functions, limiting itself to some domains, as business, tourism, international
relations. As for its speakers, they have no variety of their own (since the
language is given no official status in them) and they are considered as norm-
dependent followers. The majority of European countries belongs to this
category, since in the European Union English is regarded as a widespread
means for international communication.
Recently this model underwent some criticism of having oversimplified
the reality of English worldwide
21
and of being obsolete, no longer adequate to
describe the global shifting uses of the language. The nation-based model is
organized according to the functions of the language, the variety status,
concepts which have no longer a geographical limitation. As a matter of fact, the
present position held by English is of unclear boundaries between outer and
expanding circles, and of difficulty in defining L1, L2 and EFL speakers. In other
words, it has been claimed that it glosses over some particular realities
21
Sandra Mollin, 2006:26.
13
(especially in ESL-countries), that it does not take into consideration those
tendencies of code-mixing and hybridization for communication purposes, as
well as the presence of English-based pidgins and creoles.
22
Graddol (1997)
argues that a redefinition of terms such as native speakers and foreign-
language speakers must be done and suggests to modify Kachru‘s model on
the level of speakers‘ competence: he distinguishes between speakers with
higher and lower language competence.
The leading role of English today is related to the outer and the
expanding circle, since an increasing number of countries use English EFL as a
means for international communication (where it does not stand as an official
language) and also because of the great role that the countries belonging to the
outer circle are playing.
Those who speak English alongside other languages will outnumber
first-language speakers and, increasingly, will decide the global future
of the language.
23
New models focusing on different aspects of the language have emerged in
recent years, emphasising the value of communication, rather than of language
competence, and considering English mainly in its function as a global lingua
franca.
24
One of these models it that of Modiano, who focuses on the ability to
communicate at an international level. He identifies three centripetal circles, at
the core of which stand speakers who are proficient in ―international English‖,
followed by proficient native and foreign speakers of English and, successively
by learners and people who do not know English at all.
25
According to Modiano,
the term International English (EIL) includes all those varieties of the language
which come close to the centre of an international lingua franca English. This
model has faced some criticism too, due to the vagueness in defining
proficiency or non-proficiency in EIL.
Phillipson also developed a model where he distinguishes between
dominant English-speaking countries and periphery-English countries.
22
Sandra Mollin, 2006:26.
23
David Graddol, 1997:16.
24
Sandra Mollin, 2006:28.
25
Marko Modiano, 1999: 24.
14
Countries belonging to the first group are the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand. Those peripherical can be divided into two subgroups:
countries where English is used as an international link language (such as the
Scandinavian countries or Japan) and those in which English holds an
intranational function, due to the colonial past (e.g. in India). In this latter group,
English may be called ESL, since it is widely used in higher education or
administration; in the former, EFL can be a valid label, since it is not dominant
and not used in education, administration, but taught at schools. For instance,
Scandinavian countries or the Benelux are moving towards the model of ESL,
since the number of fields in which English is present is constantly increasing.
Thus, the linguistic world has attempted to get over the traditional,
obsolete conceptualization of English. Yet, in times of globalization, it seems
difficult to force English into one model at all, as it holds different functions for
different speakers. It stands as the language of national identity to native
speakers, as a traditional foreign language for learners and as a lingua franca
for many speakers.
It appears in a plethora of different varieties –global, national,
regional, local- and in various hybrid forms. Model-making perhaps is
only valid any longer when looking at one specific perspective of
English; we can no longer grasp the whole reality of English in one
look.
26
Another interesting model and theory regarding the spread of English is that
developed by Abram de Swaan, who tries to explain how this language is
becoming even stronger and suggests a possible hierarchy of the languages of
the world. In his Words of the Word he provides a new perspective of study,
with a strong economic and sociological orientation, believing that the process
of globalization must not be separated from its linguistic aspects. The central
concept of his theory is the global language system which is represented as a
concentric and organized structure. Within this, de Swaan distinguishes four
levels, whereby the lowest contains peripheral languages, spoken by 10% of
the world‘s population. These are surrounded by central languages, which have
numerous multilingual speakers. Then he identifies only 10-12 supercentral
26
Sandra Mollin, 2006:31.
15
languages, such as Spanish, Chinese and Arabic, around which there is only
one hypercentral language: English. According to his theory, this position held
by English should explain why it is chosen worldwide by many language
learners and how it can become a constantly successful world language.
Particularly, he provides some criteria through which to analyze the situation of
English. For instance, the communication potential of a language is important in
order to understand how speakers‘ decisions influence the language choice of
others. With prevalence he defines the possibilities a language provides to
communicate with others: the more speakers a language has, the higher the
prevalence, since it becomes more attractive for others to learn it as a foreign
language. Eventually centrality measures the strength with which a language is
linked to others. Therefore, he considers that linguistic behaviour is profit-driven
and, as for English, people seek to learn the language because it is perceived
to be socially and economically useful to them. Learning English is a skill which,
to some extent, can lead to an increase of prestige and honour (what he calls
―symbol capital‖) and material wealth (―economic capital‖). Thus, the greater the
number of people who speak English in the world, the stronger the pull
becomes to learn the language. So, although the number of native speakers is
declining, the number of English speakers will continue to grow, due to the high
number of non-native speakers, which will play a growing important role in the
future of the same language.
Each day, all over the world, tens of millions of students are busy
learning English, in the process improving their own position in the
world language constellation and, unwittingly, improving the value
position of all other English speakers.
27
1.4 English and Medieval European Latin
The current ever-increasing role of English as a global lingua franca is in some
works compared to the position held by Latin in the Middle Ages. Phillipson in
27
Abram de Swaan, 2001:52.
16
his English-Only Europe?
28
provides a comparison between the two languages,
stressing the features they share (although the present status of English differs
in many aspects from the situation of Latin in an earlier period).
Latin served for centuries in western Europe as a unifying lingua franca
among the elites and in the upper classes of European society: it was used as a
written medium for religious and legal texts and different reference functions,
being it the first language learnt in educational institutions. It was, indeed, the
language of the clergy and of the literary few.
29
So, both languages function as
a means of accessing key domains of knowledge and influence, such as
religion, science, medicine, politics, etc.. Besides having (at the beginning) a
social role of distinction, just like English today, medieval Latin derived from a
standardized written variety, called classical Latin. During the Middle Ages it
gradually diverged from its original fixed norms in writing and speaking: its
status became culturally more and more neutral, so that it was used as a means
of communication between speakers of different mother tongues. As English,
also Latin had local spoken varieties, which, in the course of time, drifted
further and further away from the standardized, unified Latin of the middle ages.
In the comparison of the former situation of what might be called
European Latin and the current situation of international English, some existing
differences can be detected. First of all, the relation between the ―core‖ and the
derived varieties is different: while there is a mutual contact between
international English and the many standard varieties, the interaction between
classic and medieval Latin is unidirectional, since the latter could not have had
effect on its classical predecessor, as this was a ―dead language‖. Secondly,
these two languages differentiate in the way they contact other languages:
whereby Latin functioned as a unified European written language, English
approaches other languages in both oral and written forms. Phillipson
underlines also the different economic and political role of the languages:
During and after the medieval period Latin was not connected to a
particular political or economic system, other than feudalism and
institutional religion, whereas English was central to the industrial
28
Robert Phillipson, 2003:39.
29
Ibid. 40.
17
capitalism, that the British empire was the leading exponent of until
1914, and the neoliberal economic world order that the United States
has spearheaded since then.
30
Considering the similarities and differences between Latin and English, a
question about the future of English may arise, since the international role of
Latin was shaken and driven away by the individual national languages.
Linguists ask whether the same situation may occur to English, whether
national languages can lead to the end of global English. The pessimistic side
considers global English as a dying variety, which is near to extinction. On the
other hand, there are those who consider the unifying nature of international
English as the key factor: in the era of globalization, although national varieties
may diverge, global media holds them together.
1.5 English as a global language and globalization
Although it is a commonplace that no other language of communication has
ever been subjected to such a global spread, an explanation for the evolution of
the worldwide dominance of English is not easy to provide. As a matter of fact,
its relatively simple grammar or its high number of native speakers cannot be
regarded as satisfactory reasons (for instance, Chinese is the first language of
the world, with around one billion native speakers, though it cannot be
compared with English in its international role). Some linguists recognise some
important elements which make English eligible for the role of a lingua franca,
such as the fact that it has been open to foreign elements. Moreover, on a
linguistic level, the quite simple structure of the English language has gradually
downgraded the role of both Latin, which had been used as the only lingua
franca in Europe for centuries, and French, the language of diplomacy until the
first part of the 20
th
century, since these two have a very extensive and
complicated system of conjugation and declination. Eventually, they were
exclusive elite languages, while English is present in every social class. Besides
30
Robert Phillipson, 2003:40.
18
these factors, McArthur
31
shows the political and the economic role of the USA:
linguistic globalization can be a consequence of the more general phenomenon
of economic and cultural globalization, whereby the USA can be considered as
the core of it.
Nonetheless, establishing the relation between this phenomenon and
English is not an easy task, since it is complex to determine causes and
consequences. The availability of English as an international, global language
obviously and greatly influences the process of globalization. At the same time,
the same language is reaching more and more its status due to globalization
itself.
32
In other words, linguistic globalization can be considered as both a
consequence and a precondition of the globalization process.
According to Crystal
33
, the elements which make a language become
global are the speakers, considered in their qualitative aspects (who these
speakers are, not their number) and the power involved, which can be political,
economic, technological and cultural. For instance, the British Empire covered
nearly one third of the earth‘s surface, whereby the language was a guarantor,
as well as a symbol of political unity. English became a new unifying medium of
communication within a colony, but at the same time it reflected the bonds
between that colony and the home country. By the beginning of the 19
th
century
Britain became the world‘s leading industrial and trading nation and most of the
inventors of the Industrial Revolution were of British origin, such as Thomas
Newcomen and James Watt. Thus, the new terminology of technological and
scientific advancement had an immediate impact on the language. Those who
wished to learn about these would need to learn the language. Thus, as already
underlined, the present status of English is the result of the global leading role
of the British Empire in the 19
th
century and the emergence of the United States
as the leading economic power of the 20th century.
Globalization is complex to define: not only does it involve economics,
politics, communication, technology and culture, but it also affects ideas and
knowledge of people. Furthermore, since the world is becoming increasingly
31
Tom McArthur, 1999:399.
32
David Graddol, 1997:33.
33
David Crystal, 1990:7.
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