The historical context (continued)
South Africa 1652 Dutch colonists 1795 British involvement (Napoleonic Wars) 1822 English as the official language (law, education, most aspects of public life) 1870s half a million immigrants (many of them English-speaking) in search of gold and diamond
South African English Accent that shares many similarities with that of Australia 2002 (Crystal, 2003) >3.7 million speakers of English out of 43.5 million people English is a minority language in South Africa
1925 >Afrikaans as the official language spoken by the majority of whites (Afrikaner) and the first language of the coloured population > SYMBOL OF IDENTITY English was spoken by the rest of whites (British) and by 70% of the coloured population
Apartheid (laws > ) “Apartheid” means separation in Afrikaans Afrikaans: perceived as the language of repression by the black majority English: language of self-determination > a means of achieving an international voice > uniting with other black communities
A complex situation BUT English is important for white authorities too > complexity 1993: eleven South African official languages (including Afrikaans and English) It’s difficult to manage this multilingual policy 1994: 87% of all Parliament speeches are in English
South Asia or Indian subcontinent 1999: in India 3-5% of the population speaks English > between 40 and 50 million people radical revision of estimates in recent years due to the flexible notion of fluency (30 million to over 330 million for comprehension) English is also spoken in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal (map p. 48)
India 1612: British East India Company London merchants who were granted a trading monopoly 1765: British sovereignty (the Raj) 1858: after the Indian Mutiny the BEIC was abolished and its powers handed over to the crown
1947: independence of India > English: the medium of administration and education (Medium of instruction since 1857 > universities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras) 1960: ‘three language formula’ > English: associate official language > Hindi (north) > local languages (south)
India an_rebellion_01.shtml an_rebellion_01.shtml &ei=7Y_lSayTHI782wK u8aWbCA&q=history+of+india&hl=it&client =firefox-a &ei=7Y_lSayTHI782wK u8aWbCA&q=history+of+india&hl=it&client =firefox-a
Former colonial Africa or West Africa 1914: colonial ambitions on the part of Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Belgium (except from Liberia and Ethiopia) 1950s: territories were confiscated to Germany and Italy most West African countries achieved independence in the early 1960s
English in West Africa commerce anti-slave-trade activities (mid 1800s) > English-based pidgins and creoles Liberia > American colonization See p
East vs. West Africa East: English emigrants and African-born whites (West less hospitable) British English played a major role East: English variety closer to South African English or Australian English
South-East Asia and the South Pacific mixture of American and British English 1898: Spanish American War > US: Guam, the Philippines, and Hawaii 1940s: United Nations Trust Territories > US invasion of Japanese- held Pacific Islands 1946: independence of the Philippines > strong American influence 1996: 70 million people
British influence 1770s Captain Cook expeditions 1820s: London Missionary Society (LMS) 1842: Treaty of Nanking (end of the Opium War) > Hong Kong ceded to Britain (from 1898 for 99 years)
No “South-east Asian English” English used in law and administration British educational system English as the chief literary language English as a prestige lingua franca See p Tok Pisin 8&rls=org.mozilla:it:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=it&tab=wv#
Homework Read p Surf the websites reported here.