1. English as an International Language
23 and 24 August 2017
Sigrid Brevik Wangsness

2. «How the English Language Became the World’s Language»
Statement of fact
«Globish»
«... some kind of English»
«Crazy English»
English as Lingua Franca

3. The history of the English nation and language
Linguistic and cultural influences on the English language:
The Celts (around year 0)
The Roman empire (AD43-428)
Angles and Saxons =
Germanic tribes:5th & 6th cent.
The Vikings
The Norman Conquest (1066)

4. How did the English language spread across the world?
The British Empire
A colonial power: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria…
The Industrial Revolution: Britain = the manufacturer of the world
Britain dominated world trade
The City of London as the financial centre of the world

5. How did the English language spread across the world?
The USA as a world power in the 20th century
Took over as the world’s dominant economic and military superpower
Globalization
American «soft power»:
business, commerce, science, technology,
IT innovation ( literature, music,
entertainment…

6. The English language as independent of its British and American roots
The 1990s: End of the Cold War and the Internet took off
The world’s English – «Globish» - has gradually become independent of its linguistic past, in both syntax and vocabulary
So many different varieties of English: Konglish, Manglish,
Bollywood English, Singlish…

7. Global English/«Globish»
«Globish» is an international communication tool: «the worldwide dialect of the third millennium»
It is a highly simplified form of English – without grammar and structure
It has a utilitarian vocabulary (some words) designed for use by non-native English speakers

8. Global English/«Globish»
«Non-native English speakers in Asia communicated more successfully in English with their Korean and Japanese clients than competing British or American executives did»
Global English is an interactive language expressing a global English culture in a changing world

9. How is English unique? Adaptable and efficient:
Blogs
The World Wide Web
Google
Online dictionaries
Popularization and modernization of the English-speaking world
The world’s English has become a medium of global interconnectedness

10. «The English empire»: Corporate English
Examples:
China: Lenovo
Germany: Audi
Singapore, Norway, Switzerland
Japan: Rakuten, Uniqlo
China: Huawei

11. Why do multinational companies want a lingua franca?
Arguments in favour:
Arguments against:
Problems:

12. «Britain is leaving the EU, but its language will stay»
Explain the chart showing the foreign languages studied in the EU at lower- secondary level.
Will this change
when Britain
leaves the EU?
Why/ why not?