English in a Global Context PDF

1.1 Introduction to Key Theoretical Concepts CONTENTS: WHAT IS A LANGUAGE? LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES STANDARDS AND STANDARDIZATION LANGUAGE VARIATION VARIETY, DIALECT AND ACCENT REGISTER AND STYLE THE NATIVE SPEAKER What is a language? A sociolinguistic perspec...

1.1 Introduction to Key Theoretical Concepts CONTENTS: WHAT IS A LANGUAGE? LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES STANDARDS AND STANDARDIZATION LANGUAGE VARIATION VARIETY, DIALECT AND ACCENT REGISTER AND STYLE THE NATIVE SPEAKER What is a language? A sociolinguistic perspective We tend to think of languages as: “Bounded objects” that can be counted. But that is the product of: → Standardization and schooling - Codification – dictionaries - Perscription →Nation-building - Separate peoples, diff lang. A heterogeneous set of communicative resources (including lexical and grammatical resources) that historically and politically have been constructed as a ‘named language’ (English, Dutch, Swahili, etc.) – a countable entity usually associated with a nation or group of people. A tool that people employ to do things in specific contexts. Not fixed, but constantly evolving. language ideologies Ideologies About Language, not political, religious or other form of ideology encoded in language. Concept coined by linguistic anthropologists(= American sociocultural linguists) in the late 1980s. Intellectual project: →Understand language-based social inequalities  - How come that certain speakers do better in life? - What meditates between language use adn social structure? Three key names: Susan Gal, Kathryn Woolard and jacqueline Urla. →Interested in linguistic minorities (pitted against state languages) →ideas about what laguage was/should be in such contexts. The concept of language ideology allowed them to capture the complex interplay between how language was viewed, how it was used and the hierarchies it constructed. They may refer to different named languages, different varieties of the same language, diff accents… - Value-laden: always imply a hierarchistation of ways of speaking: better, more refined, more educated, more prestigious, more “beautiful”. This has consequences for speakers. - Examining language ideologies in a way of understanding how system of power are organized in a given society. They may occur as mental constructs (=beliefs, attitudes) in verbalizations (=discoruses) but also in language use. Language distinctions classifications are ideological– soicopolitically constructed but naturalised. → Dialects of same language or different languages? → Selection of one dialect as the standard? Properties of ideologies: –They obscure constructed, power-influenced and historical nature of ideas about language. -De- historize and de-contextualize ideas about language. -Bordieu (1991) calls this misrecognition (by which subordinate speakers accept linguistic structures of domination) –They circulate socially and are widely accepted “encatment of collected order”. –They are never questioned, but assumed as objective (often scientific) truths about language) –They are naturalized, normalized often seen as a matter of commonsense. – Extremely difficult to unpack and challenge. An example is when someone accidentally switches to another language. Standards and standardization Complex definition of standard: Language described as a standard is the form of that language that is considered acceptable and correct by most educated users of it.The form of that language taught in schools and used in the media. Can be written or oral but it is modelled on the written language. (full sentences, correct grammar….) The standard comes to represent that language. - Strong unifying force for a nation– unifies communities under one single language (Anderson 1984, imagined communities) and marker of difference. Standard has no real existence – it is an idealization an idea in the mind rather than a reality a set of abstract norms to which actual usage may conform to a greater or lesser extent. The standard is more than an abstraction. Lippi- Green describes as a myth: A popular belief about language which is embedded in culture and has a long history. Magical and powerful construct that motivate social behaviour and actions which would otherwise to be contrary to logic or reason. The language is constructed as the unmarked form of the language-it justifies and naturalizes hierarchisation speaker and the marginalisation of those who do not speak. Its Corollary: the myth of non-accent. A language standard is the outcome of a deliberate process of standadrdization. four stages in standards: Selection of a variety– Often one whose speakers have economic and political power. (seomtimes the standard is constructed with features from several varieties) Codification– Fixing of the variety chosen in grammar books and diccionaries so that standard froms are made available for learning. Elaboration of function– Development of standard to be able to fulfill a wide variety of functions and domains. (eg new lexical items added) Implementation – Imposition/perscription in formal domains (most notably schools media…) Language Variation Variation is routine, not exceptional; useful (functional), not useless, an intrinsic and inseparable feature of the spoken language. Variation is not about language but about the speaking person. That is why socially-structured variation is the focus of study of sociolinguistics. To understand language change (and its diffusion) – how it works and what the factors might be. To identify the uses, meanings and values of variation and ultimately, processes of inequality and discrimination. It can be: Geographic Social Age Gender Sexuality Socioeconomic class Ethnicity Religion Other social groupings Temporal (over time) Contextual (register and style). Everyone has an accent, even if its the normative standard one it still is. Dialects, Variety and Accent Variety: Any distinct form of a language usually associated wiht speicfic states. →Australian English, Hong Kong English. More neutral term than dialect or accent, preferred nowadays because it does not have the negative connotations that “dialect” has. Dialect: A language variety in which aspects of the vocab, syntax and grammar indicate aperson’s regional or social background or both. Usually within one single state. Negative connotations standard (correct, normative, neutral from nowhere) vs dialect (incorrect, local, emplaced). Geordie, Cockney are dialects of British English. Dialects do not change suddenly from area to are but gradually vary the further one travels away from them “A language is a dialect with an army and a navy” Accent: It specifically refers to differences in pronunciation. loose bundles of prosodic and segmental features distributed over geographic and/or social space. - Segmental features: individual sounds of a language - Prosodic (or suprasegmental) features: stress patterns, tempo of speaking, intonation contours. - Not isophomorphic relationship btw variety and accent. However, differences btw these three concepts are not clear-cut. Variety vs dialect: distinct, autonomous communities vs a part of a wider (national) community. The notion of dialect evokes hierarchies of value, adqeuacy and correctness in a way that the concept of variety does not. Lay speech → Accents are “what other people have” “He has such a thick accent” Everyone has an accent no matter how unmarked that person’s accent may sound it is impossible to speak without an accent. Register, style and stylization Register and style to variation due to the social situation of use (within the speech of an individual rather than among individuals) People are far more aware of dialectal differences than of differences due to register and style, and yet corpus linguistics have shown the latter to be more frequent than the former. Register: Ling concept- usually associated with different level of formality but it is a much more complex concept. (eg. academic) Registers differ in the type of features involved: lexemes grammar… They are identifiable, functional and socially distributed. Professional registers (aka as jargon) Not only word choices but also grammatical structures use of passive voice or impersonal sentences Style: Bundle of features beyond language – in relation of language: ways of speaking, dessing, moving and acting linked to types of social personae. Stylization: Are moments of speech where speakers product “specially marked and often exaggerated representations of languages, dialects and styles that lie outside their own habitual repertoire”, usually for mocking purposes. The native speaker Problematic concept in socio-educational approaches to language (vs eg. second language acquisition).Ns as a “myth”. Acquisition of LI during childhood often in a monolingual homogeneous environment associated to a given geographical space. Usually equated with language proficiency and certain intuitions about the language (in terms of acceptability and productiveness). Language expertise conflated with nativness (ideology that assumes the superiority of NS in language matters). However, assumed advantages of Ns’s are more to do with sustained and rich language exposure than with childhoo LI socialization. Uneducated NS are less proficient than expert NNS (expert writer/teacher vs ns). Expertise can be acquires, it nis not innate. So, what underlies the idea of ns is: →Nativeness= nationality. Ns embodies the nation. →Immobility, monolingualism and monoculturalism as default situations as default situations vs real-life truncated repertoires. →Racial/ethnic categories: white, middle class. Example ELT teachers in China, Saudi Arabia… 1.2 Conceptualizing and retionalizing the global hold of English –The metaphors of english: “Metaphors we live by” → Metaphors as cognitive devices that we use all the time to make sense of the world. –Metaphors allow us to construe complex aspects of human experience as if they were physical objects, substances or people. (living organism for instance endangered languages// plant such as “language tree” or families for ex parent language) Examples of metaphors to discuss the nature and extension of English: →Eng as a movable object: English has always been a highly mobile language, beginning with its arrival in the British isles from Europe around the fifth century. →English as a plant: English…grows from many roots. →The spread of english. Positive and negative views. Dissemination (info) or killer disease. Why bother with metaphors? They are highly ideological as they take for granted and naturalise a particular view of reality, as well as needing to be unpacked to complexify the concept at hand and understand what underlies such metaphorical representations. Metaphors naturalise how english is a global language. Discrouses around the spread of English Main ideas in the discourse of English as international/global language: natural neutral and beneficial Natural: The result of inevitable global forces Neutral: Once expanded outside UK and US (original cultural conexts) it is seen as non-partisan medium of communication. Beneficial: Enhance and facilitate global communication Important for wold peace and understanding, global security and sustainability. Numerous advantages for individual speakers and and societies. Pennycook argues that there is a clear thread that connects current discourses on English with the discourse of English during colonialism. →Colonialism as cultural, discursive and ideological project. MACULAYS MINUTE: (a) how is the teaching of English being justified, that is, on what grounds, and how that relates to the colonization of the mind that we were discussing today. (b) what the ultimate goal of such policy might be. The text talks about a legislative act that established Englis as the language of instruction and it lead to becoming one of the languages of India. The ultimate goals seems to be “improvement”. In the text it is mentioned how the native dialects of india do not contain literary or scientific information. This is related to colonization because of the hierarchy that classified languages with a supposed professionality. It can be seen how the ideology of spreading english globally was already spread. Discursive strategies→ Exaggerating (hyperbole), comparison. Duty&Desire (ruler vs ruled) What was the main objective of English education in India? →Language ideologiesmoral quality represents may things in colonization. English and Colonialism English colonialism was built on two seemingly opposing ideological and discursive formations, which nevertheless worked in conjunction. - “two sides of the colonial coin” Discourse of Orientalism (18thC): India should be rules according to its costums and laws to minimize revolt and discontent. (oddicial policly) - Famous orientalism: William Jones - scholar of Sanskrit lang and lit. Fascination w oriental cultures– idea of the noble savage untouched by civilization. - Education in native lang, most notably sanskrit but also Arabic and Persian. - It’s important to note that although orientalism was about scholarly interest in the Orient it also enabled the accumulation of a body of knowledge that facilitated the colonial rule. Discourse of Anglicism (19thC): India should be ruled according to British customs and law. (Maculay’s ideology) Anglicist rhetoric (19thC): Linked to Darwinism and cultural evolutionism. –Cultures placed on a developmental scale. British culture more evolved than others. This justified colonialism. The moral duty of the colonizers was to civilize the indigenous populations (whites mans burden), and bring culture and education to them. -Based on ideas about the” other”-- Uncivilized, backward, lazy, uneducated, feminine (vs Western “Self”) – rational, modern, industrious, make Context: Victorian confidence in the Empire, in the pre-eminence of britain as an econ. power. Education in India was not predominantly in English during Eng colonialism. Colonialism needed a docile body of workers. They were better taught in their own vernacular languages according to their own traditions and beliefs – form of colonial governance. English coil be a “dangerous weapon, an unsage thing too much of which could lead to a discontented class of people who were not prepared toa abide by the colonial system” English education was reserved for the Indian elite “English was withheld as much as it was promoted” What this specific lang policy did was not to produce widespread teaching of Eng but to construct and cement the value of Eng – a superior language, with clear benefits and particular associations (education, prestige, elite statues..) a coveted and unattainable language. The Brit people langauge and culture were superior to all others. This superiority was reflected in the English lang. Close connection posited btw ppl and their lang. Massive expansion of studies on English which came from the needs of Empire, first courses on Eng lit taught in Indian schools – development of the Eng literary canon. Continuity of discourses →Celebratory discourses on the spread of English, presented as natural/Superior qualities Similarities w prev disc.: English speakers: Ablest, most expressive and most creative writers thanks to the language. “Better than” discourses.  Number of borrowed words in English reflect the openness and democratic nature of the British people. Utopian view of colonial relations 1.3.Politicizing the spread of english- Linguistic Imperialism Are people empowered or disempowered when they choose to learn and use English? Have you suffered language-based discrimination involving English in your life? Do you think that the hegemony of English today is linked to some form of cultural hegemony? A conceptual clarification- Hegemony A concept that comes from Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci, who was interested in understanding the survival of capitalism in advanced Western societies. Gramsci argued that domination can be achieved in basically two ways: through force/coertion and through consent. He argued that the power of the ruling classes (bourgeoisie) was not simply economic (as Marxists had claimed) or based on the control over the deployment of force. Instead, he argued that the perpetuation of class domination was achieved through largely consensual means, that is, through cultural, moral and intellectual leadership over subaltern groups. Today, hegemony is used to denote the dominant position of a particular set of ideas, which are perceived as commonsensical and intuitive, thereby inhibiting contestation or the articulation of alternative ideas. →Linguistic imperialism is a term first coined by Robert Philipson in his 1992 publication to investigate the relationship between language policies and different empires (Greek, Roman, Spanish British…) We will focus on his analysis of the expansion of English. Critical stance towards the spread of Eng. Reaction against: Sanitizing/hygienising/apolitical views of the spread of English (Crystal, Graddol, etc.). The English language has found itself “in the right place at the right time” (Crystal 2003, pp. 77-78) Extremely influential concept. It has stirred an impressive volume of energetic debate on English, its role in the world, and the world of ELT and its cultural and political agenda. Philipson’s main claim is that the expansion of English cannot be detached from the imperial project (Empire, old and new) We should not forget that English did not spread or expand but was taken to different parts of the world as the language of colonization, military domination and multiple forms of exploitation. Old vs New empire Old: Military domination of a territory. British coloinization of large parts of Asia and Africa American 19th and 20th C imperialism New Empire: Economic and cultural domination American influence in the world after WW2 Other forms of exploitation and expansion - Us based corporations.Neocolonialism English as beneficial for some (core countries) and harmful to others (peripheral countries) Philipson sees substantial continuity in the way in which imperialism old and new, has both capitalized on english and imposed it as a global ling capital. “linguistic imperialism dovetails with political and military subordination” This has two effects: Marginalisation and eventually death of other languages. English as a killer language. Linguistic genocide (Skuttnab-Kangas 2000). Process of homogeneization of the world, both linguistically and ideologically/politically. The English language as ”the key medium for the process of Americanization” or “Westernization” (1992, p. 59). In recent decades, he has emphasized the role of English in ‘imposing’ a neoliberal agenda. “global English is the capitalist neoimperial language that serves the interests of the corporate world and the governments that it influences so as to consolidate state and empire worldwide” (2008, p. 84) Linguicism: Language-based- racism- using the languages of different groups as defining criteria and as the basis for hierarchization Eg. Academic papers, doctoral dissertations…conducted in English assumed to be better Eg. NSs being ranked higher( eg professionally.) The role of ELT?  After WWII, British and American concerted efforts to use ELT as part of their foreign policy – ‘soft power’, cultural diplomacy to aid in maintaining British influence around the world. US – make American hegemony more ‘palatable’. British Council created in 1940. United States Information Agency (USIA) – State Dept, in coordination with many US foundations – Rockefeller, Ford, Fulbright. Complicit with the imperial project, ideologically and materially. Exposing the darker side of ELT. Textbooks as cultural tools (‘British’ values). Teachers as cultural vehicles Most ELT teachers unaware of the ideological grounding of their job. Holborrow (1999)- Philipson bolstered at the classic right-wing agenda of promoting nationalism as an antidote to foreign influences. Denying agency to subjects. Passive victims. Canagarajh (1999) –Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching. Philipsons response: There is never such a thing as free personal choice. They are always constrained by larger mechanisms such as language policies in education the sturcture of the labour market. 1.4. The scientific politics of english- The brith of applied linguistics →English as an asset in post-war britain. Promoting the expansion of English as a way of continuing Britain’s influence, particularly in Asia. Churchill battles in the post-war era are to be fought over people’s minds →The Birth of the British council Officially created in 1934 with the name British Committee for Relations with Other Countries. In 1940 it became The British Council (an independent body) and received a royal charter which defined its mission as:”promoting a wider knowledge of the UK and the English language abroad and developing closer cultural relations between the UK and the other countries.” 1950s→ Key policy documents to expand BC in the ELT sector. Dramatic increase. “Drogheda report”→ 1954. Importance of Eng to expand brit influence globally. →The expansion of elt under british auspices 1956: Official committee on the Teaching of English Overseas–first committee to focus specifically or ELT. Increse supply of teachers overseas (evident shortage) who could act as cultural ambassadors. Concern about the teaching of English in communist countries where: “Books that misrepresent British history dissort the facts” Improve conditions for employment abroad for Brit teachers of Eng. “the white man’s burden had been metamorphosed into the British native-speaking teacher’s burden” (Phillipson 1992, p. 179) Another issue of concern is textbooks overseas. The us was seen as more advanced than the UK in this, therefore brit publishers were pushed to improve their books. Training and research: Creation of ELT/EFL/AL departments (only one enlisted at the time–London university) → American promotion of Eng The US took action more quickly than the British in the areas of: Textbooks, esp in latin America and scholarships for international students in the US. Fulbright program, created in 1946, to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.Language was important for the US during the Cold war for military and intelligence purposes. United States Information Agency= American agenc. whose mission was to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest broaden relations abroad. The role of private foundations is key in the US. ELT bound up with developmental aid/discourse. Closer collaboration in the US between modern language teaching as a profession and ESL research and training. → Creating ELT as a profession ELT as a profession emerged in the 1950s. Teaching experience but lacking in theory and reference works to ground practice scientifically. Need to create university infrastructure (1957, establishment of the school applied linguistics at edinburgh univ.) “The aim of the school is to provide a theoretical basis for the teaching of Eng as a foreign language” Establishment of an architecture of unequal centre-periphery relations of legitimacy, authority and professionalism. Brit unis would train Brit ELT teachers to work abroad as well as foreign ELT professionals. → The rise of applied linguistics Goal of L- Developing as an autonomous science. Control of/authority over teaching theory moved away from teachers and into the hands of linguistics and applied linguistics. Highly positivist and percriptivist discipline (eg concept of method).As a formal, named discipline, it emerged after WWII. The name appeared first in 1948 in the subtitle of the journal.Origins of AL have to be traced back to the 19thC Henry Sweet- dedicated to the development of a scientifically trained body of teachers who could help spread perfectly enunciated English (“Standard spoken eng”) –Parodied in shaw’s pygmalion. Al focused on implementation of new standards and development of scientific methods. Importance of Phonetics as a core discipline at the beginning of AL, the first discipline that attempted to form teachers of english scientifically. → Key tentets/Fallacies for ELT. (based on philipson) Commonwealth conference on the Teaching of English. 5 key tenets for ELT- Philipsons 5 fallacies. English is best taught monolingually→monolingual fallacy. An exclusive use of English will maximize the learning of the language, irrespective of whatever other languages the learner may know (resource to the mother only very exceptionally and only to check understanding). Belief that learners operate two distinct systems that needs to be kept separate (false, L2 learning benefits from cognitive development in L1). Monolingualism in English teaching was the expression of power relations in the colonial periond.Other languages were transitional or functionally restricted. Support with physical and psychological sanctions (alientation of learners, esp children). Eurocentric idea of monolingualism as the norm linked to construction of European nation-states  The ideal teacher of English is a native speaker → native speaker fallacy. Core assumption: NSs as best embodiment of target norms for learners. Context: it derives from importance of spoken language in AL./ Lg teaching as indistinguishable form culture teaching. Criticism: teachers are made rather than born: insights into the language teaching process, and their capacity to analyse and explain language is acquired through training. The earlier English is taught, the better the results → early start fallacy. The more English is taught, the better the results → the maximum exposure fallacy. If other languages are used much, standards of English will drop → the subtractive fallacy. 2.1.New Englishes Kachru’s model, the three circles of English. He proposed a model to conceptualize not only the spread of English but also its varying status and use in different parts of the world. His main objectives were to deproblemize second language and non-native varieties of English, question native speakers’ ownership of english and propose a pluricentric and plurlalistic view of English. The ultimate goal: liberate English from its colonial heritage with its unequal power relations. Plurality as a way of questioning inequality among users. The circles represent: Froms of spread Patterns of acquisition Functional domains in which English is used Forms of spread: linked to forms of colonization: →Settler colonizatioon –first diaspora →Exploitation colonization– Second diaspora His model which was initially called the three circles of english eventually became world englishes WE. It is now a huge area of research. Patterns of acquisition and functional domains: depth and range of use IC: Traditional bases of English linked to first diaspora: English is primary language spoen by the majority of people from all social classes in all domains (public and private). ENL countries. Norm providing varieties–Historically taken as models, native speakers OC: English arrived there asa result of the second diaspora- unequal class distribution (uperclasses vs lower- levels of education) official and formal situations vs informal and private. Often additional or second language. ESL countries– Norm-developing varieties–localized norm has a well-established idenitity (despite inconsistency of attitudes) Ec: no historical presence of English- used for international and intercultural communication- Presence not due to colonization but to globalization. Unequal class distribution. EFL countries. –Norm-dependent varieties- No local norm exists. Speakers rely on IC varieties for models. Performance varieties. Quirk vs Kachru: Kachru’s approach to english as a global language Kachru’s goal was to legitimise the “new” Englishes not only as legitimate varieties of the language but, also as deserving of scholarly attention. Equal validity and dignity- egalitarian matrix of WE. He defended that: a) Formal differences observable in postcolonial, ‘new’ Englishes (“Third World varieties”) were not the result of imperfect acquisition but had come about due to the different context-specific functions that the language play in those contexts, the multilingual societies in which they are used and their distinctive evolution. b) Such localized varieties were capable of expressing different cultures and identities. c) They deserved the same degree of appreciation as those in the “developed” world. Two positions were contrasted: Singularity vs plurality Conservative/Homogeneizing position: existence of too many varieties was disadvantageous for the language (risking disaggregation). Promotion of one standard. Plurality as a defining characteristic of English (related to its wordliness) to be embraced. Monochrome vs polychrome English / Monocentrism vs pluricentrism Monocentrism: One English with all its geographical and social varieties. Multiple Englishes deserving consideration and recognition as a autonomous or smiautonomous varieties of the language (multiple standards) Describing WE Importance of describing systematically the characteristics of the different Englishes. Distinctive elements= FEATURES, motivated by contact with other languages. Distinguishes between mistakes and deviations form the norm(=features) Criteria: acceptability and systemacity NEW ENGLISHES (BASED ON JENKINS TEXT) Defining a new English: new Englishes vs New Englishes First diaspora vs second diaspora. LI vs L2/3/4 acquisition and use (though this is dynamically evolving case, of singapore) Inner circle vs outer circle varieties -New englishes: Developed mostly through education system Coexists with other languages on same territory Used for intranational communication– formal situations; public domains It has become nativized and localized Distinctive features in pronunciation: →Consonantal variation →Vocalic variation Distinctive grammatical features- Nominal system Lack of plural marking Lack of distinction between he/she Different forms of quantifiers Specific/non specific instead of definite/indefinite distinction Limited marking of 3rd person sg Limited marking of past tense Continuous tenses with static vebrs Distinctive vocabulary/idioms New coinages Compounds Translations from indigenous idioms Variations on IC english idioms. Distinctive discourse style Usually more formall, pompous and deferantial style More complex sentences Different greeting and leave-taking formulae CRITICISM OF KACHRU’S MODEL → Approach is descriptive but not explanatory. → Too much emphasis on description of geographical varieties →Nationalist perspective → Oversimplification of the sociolingusitic situation in the outer circle. Model is based on geography and genetics rather than on the way speakers identify with the use of English. Some English users in the OC use English as their only LI. Difference between IC and OC? Eg. Malaysia and Singapore, common colonial history but different language policies adopted. “More” english in Singapore than in M. English promoted as de facto national language in singapore as de facto national language in singapore and its the medium of instruction at all educational levels. Outer circle vs expanding the circle? Uses of English for social and intranational communication. Many countries transitioning from EFL to ESL. IC as the core? LIMITATIONS OF KACHRUS MODEL Politically naïve: diversity/difference= equality? Hierarchy of Englishes, some which are more equal than others. Emphasis on difference necessitates a benchmark for comparison. Different from what? Equality argument is difficult to sustain Methodologically in-built deficit approach Emphasis on difference overlooks similarities. Biased picture of world Englishes. How much difference is allowed? → Paradox: Difference is fundamental in the definition of world Englishes, but too much difference can cause unintelligibility, and consequently lead a variety to be classified as non- english In certain sociolinguistic milieus, eng boradens existing semiotic resources and may seamlessly amalgamate within local reprertoires. The notion of a discreet, separate variety becomes problematic. Kachru-inspired world Englishes have focused on the Outer Circle and little on the expanding circle.--> ELF