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The historical context (continued). South Africa  1652 Dutch colonists  1795 British involvement (Napoleonic Wars)  1822 English as the official language.

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Presentation on theme: "The historical context (continued). South Africa  1652 Dutch colonists  1795 British involvement (Napoleonic Wars)  1822 English as the official language."— Presentation transcript:

1 The historical context (continued)

2 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

3 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

4  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

5 Apartheid (laws > 1948-1994)  www.sahistory.org.za www.sahistory.org.za  http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1071886.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1071886.stm  “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

6 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

7 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)

8 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

9  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)

10 India  http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/indi an_rebellion_01.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/indi an_rebellion_01.shtml  http://video.google.it/videoplay?docid=716 8944543630219386&ei=7Y_lSayTHI782wK u8aWbCA&q=history+of+india&hl=it&client =firefox-a http://video.google.it/videoplay?docid=716 8944543630219386&ei=7Y_lSayTHI782wK u8aWbCA&q=history+of+india&hl=it&client =firefox-a  http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/ http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/

11 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

12 English in West Africa  commerce  anti-slave-trade activities (mid 1800s) > English-based pidgins and creoles  Liberia > American colonization See p. 51-52

13 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

14 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

15 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)  http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/1/newsid_2656000/2656973.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/1/newsid_2656000/2656973.stm

16 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. 57-59  Tok Pisin http://video.google.it/videosearch?q=tok%20pisin&oe=utf- 8&rls=org.mozilla:it:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=it&tab=wv#

17 Homework  Read p. 43-59  Surf the websites reported here.


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