History of the English Language

Source: English - One Tongue, Many Voices

Authors: Jan Svartvik, Geoffrey Leech

Jessica Marianijessica.mariani@univr.it

English: The Working Tongue of a Global

Village

“English, no longer an English language, now grows from many roots”

Salman RushdieThe Times, 3 July 1982

The Canadian writer Marshall McLuhan claimed that electronically connected media would eventually transform the world into a huge

“Global village”

What is Globalization?

It is the process by which the world has become increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural

exchange

EFFECTS

Increase in the production of goods and services The biggest companies are no longer national firms but multinational corporations with

subsidiaries in many countriesIncreased international TRADE

Greater dependence on the global economyFreer movement of capital, goods, and services

Language is Global for ONE REASON ONLY......

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Give it a try

English has become the working tongue of that Global Village

And that is...

The Power of the People who Speak it

How many languages are spoken today in the world?

6.800 distinct languages

Just 5 languages are spoken by more than half of the world's population

CHINESE

ENGLISH

SPANISH

RUSSIAN

HINDI

English is nowadays the mother tongue of over 320 million people

But

What is the most remarkable thing about English?

…..

1) It is used as an additional language by so many more people all around the world

2) It is the means of international communication

3) It has become big business

4) It is the most taught foreign language in the world

Why this huge demand for English?

Maybe...

Hypothesis 1

Is it easier, beautiful orsuperior in linguistic qualities?

Here are a few reasons..

1. Young people are attracted by things they can do with English, such as listening to music, watching films and surfing the web

2. Scientists and Academics see English as a necessity forreaching out colleagues around the globe

3. Tourists consider the English language as the most useful tool totravel and communicate

4. Air traffic controllers use English to communicate with pilots

5. Business (China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India)

6. EU working language is English

7. To pursue an international career IN ANY CONTEXT

Last but not least..

8. The UNIQUE history of the English Language

Let's revise it in this 10 minutes video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r9bOkYW9s

Why is English not the easiest language?

Linguists provided scientific evidence

1. Pronunciation corresponding to Spelling

2. Vocabulary: English word stock is vastOxford English Dictionary: 600,000 words

3. Syntax is no less complex than that of other languages

Grammar is less learner-friendly than is generally assumed

Huddlestone and PullumsCambridge Grammar of the English

Language

1.800 pages

Remember: Italian and Spanish, despite having pure vowel sounds, did not achieve

the status of LINGUA FRANCA

English did not become a world language on its linguistic merits!

So,

WHY ENGLISH?

The expansion and influence of British colonial power

The status of the United States of America as the leading economy, military andscientific power in the 20th century

Increasing need of international communication as a result of modern

technology

The Indian-American scholar Braj Kachru has taught us to think of English, as used around the world, in the form of three

concentric areas.

The Inner Circle

ENGLISH AS A FIRST LANGUAGE 8 countries

USUK

CANADAAUSTRALIACARIBBEAN

IRELANDNEW ZEALANDSOUTH AFRICA

On a population of 447 million, 326 million speak

English as their first language

Let's look at them in detail!

UNITED STATES

For 40 million Americans the FIRST language is SpanishHispanics have now replaced African Americans as the largest

minority group

Birth of Spanglish as an English varietyAfro-American varieties

215/278 million people speak English as their first language

CANADA

It is a BILINGUAL COUNTRY

20/32 million people speak English as their first language

Almost a quarter of the population report French to be their mother tongue

Native Canadians speak various Indigenous languages

IRELAND

Two official languages: ENGLISH IRISH/GAELIC ( taught in schools)

4/4 million people speak English as their first language

AUSTRALIA

15 million/19 million speak English as their first language+ Indigenous languages

NEW ZEALAND

Nearly 4/4 million people speak English as their first language

SOUTH AFRICA

4/44 million people speak English as their first languageEnglish is the language most commonly used in Parliament and in

higher education istitutes

However, what many people find surprising is that neither in the United States nor in Britain, has English ever been FORMALLY declared THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE!

Although both of them have fought to impose English for a long time..

Counter effects for Native Speakers:

General lack of enthusiasm for learning other languagesDo not mingle with other cultures and enjoy it

Counter effects for Non-Native Speakers

English is seen as a threat for their cultural and linguistic identity

The Outer Circle

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

English is an official language, widely used in administration, education and the media

Mainly former British colonies:AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania

ASIA: India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore

INDIA

Among the leading English-using nations in the world

More than a BILLION inhabitants and

200 languages

200 million people use English as a second language

The Expanding Circle

ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Is this expansion of English going to reach a SATURATION POINT?

Are we moving towards an “EXPANDED CIRCLE”?

To overcome the confusion of tonguespeople have tried in the past to make up

ARTIFICIAL INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES

EsperantoIdo

VolapukNovial

InterglossaInterlingua

Esperanto was the most successful attempt but

Artificial languages have met with little success

Conclusive remarks

Globalization has fostered our need to have a world language

Non-native speakers of English in the world now outnumber native speakers

The future of English will be more determined by the majority of its users, those in the Outer Circle and the

Expanding/-ed Circle

Further reading:“English as Global Language” - David Crystal

David Crystal Talk at the British Councilhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=5Kvs8SxN8mc

The End

Thank you for you attention!