Introduction to Linguistics 10 The Future of English Prof. Jo Lewkowicz

Languages of the world The number of languages used around the world at present is around 4,000. Exact number of languages cannot be determined as some languages ‘die’ while others ‘are born’. It is also difficult to determine exactly what constitutes a language.

How widely is English used? English is the 3rd most commonly used first language - L1- (after Chinese & Hindi/Urdu) English is the most commonly learned second language At present the number of ESL/EFL speakers of English surpasses that of NSs English is a lingua franca facilitating communication in numerous situations around the world Language of academic publications Language of business negotiations Language of entertainment Language of technology

Users of English Over 360 million users of English Who are these users? Native speakers (UK, USA, Australia, etc) Speakers of English as a second / additional language (e.g. in Asia, Africa & the Caribbean) Users of English as a foreign language (e.g. Europe, South America, etc.) Do they /should they be using the same language in order to communicate effectively?

Is English the ‘world language’? There is disagreement among linguists whether English is the dominant language of the world. Crystal argues that it is. Linguistic shift has determined that English is now used in all walks of life. 50 years ago no one would have predicted the spread of English to such an extent. Not all agree with Crystal, e.g. Barbara Wallraff who has pointed out that the number of English speakers in the U.S. is shrinking, not rising.

Krachu’s concentric circles Inner circle: NSs Outer circle: EAL Expanding circle: EFL

Whose English? Does English belong to the British? Does English belong to the Americans? Does English belong to, Australinans/New Zealanders? Need to recognise that language have no borders. Need to accept that English is spreading not only in terms of the number of speakers, but also in terms of being incorporated into other languages? In the past, ‘foreign words’ were absorbed into English – nowadays English words are being rapidly absorbed by other languages.

‘Foreign’ words Make a list of 10 words in English that originate from other language such as German, French or Latin. Now make a list of 10 words in Polish that are of English origin. Do you think that the use of English words in Polish is a good thing? Do you think that linguistic purity can/should be maintained?

Is the spread/dominance of English a good thing? Spread of language is inevitable and cannot be stopped (even though some governments may try to intervene to preserve the purity of their language). Therefore not useful to judge it in terms of being good or bad. Dominance of English is seen by some (e.g. Robert Phillipson) as a form of imperialism, termed linguistic imperialism (implying subjugation and exploitation). economically & politically stronger powers have encouraged the spread of English to enhance their own position in the world this is leading to the death of minority languages

Language variation As languages spread, so does diversity, e.g. British and American English Languages may diversify to such an extent that they are no longer mutually intelligible among different communities Diversification can lead to the development of: pidgins: hybrid languages used for communication between people who do not share a common language creoles: a pidgin that has evolved into a language of its own right – has become the L1 of a particular speech community (e.g. Tok Pisin in New Guinea)

Do NSs speak the same language? Within Britain there is linguistic variation according to: Geographical location Education Class Across the world English varies in terms of: Pronunciation Vocabulary Spelling

Language death Of the existing 4,000 – 6,000 languages currently in use, only 300 of these are spoken by more than 1 million people. Smaller languages are being ‘gobbled up’ by the dominant languages, especially English? Why should we be concerned about the disappearance of the minority languages? Each time a language dies, so does a culture More awareness now about preserving languages e.g. Welsh, Gaelic etc.

Future of English? Unknown Little evidence that its influence will diminish within the next 50 years because it is the language of: Science Technology Business Tourism Entertainment But in a longer time scale the varieties of English that emerge may become no longer intelligible, i.e. undergo pidginization/creolization.