Native English, or international English -
English Today (an Cambridge journal) 21/2 (2005) contains a number of articles over this debate.
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Globalism and the universal language
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Abdulla Al-Dabbagh a1
a1 Professor of English and co-ordinator of the English Literature Programme at United Arab Emirates University.
Abstract
Like so many other innovations, the idea of one common language for all mankind appeared for the first time, in European thought, during the Renaissance. It has been estimated that since then nearly ‘seven hundred such artificial languages’ have been tried. Undoubtedly, this had to do with the collapse of Latin as the common language of education, soon to be replaced by the various, rising national languages. Europe's great expansion overseas, in this epoch, also created the need for a unified vehicle of communication.
In many ways, the world, and not just Europe, is now facing a similar challenge. While English has become the Latin of the contemporary world, such a position, one can say in the light of historical experience, has always been precarious. Whether English will be unanimously accepted as the one unifying, international language of the globe, whether it will share this role with one or more other languages, or whether an artificial language will be adopted for that purpose is the question that sooner or later we will all be facing.
The case against the ‘native speaker’
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Carmen Acevedo Butcher a1
a1 Fulbright Lecturer at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea
Abstract
Do we need fairer names for speakers of English? A discussion of current popular early 3rd-millennium definitions attached to the phrase native speaker (meaning ‘someone born and raised speaking correct English’), including an examination of global changes which suggest that a profoundly changed and changing world requires radically new linguistic terms.
Kachru's circles and the growth of professionalism in TESOL
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James E. Alatis a1
a1 Professor of linguistics and modern Greek, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Abstract
[The text of a plenary paper presented as Distinguished Speaker at the conference Globalization and World Englishes: Identity and Creativity, convened by the International Association of World Englishes (IAWE) at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA, 16C18 July 2004.]
I MUST START with two disclaimers: First, my name is not James E. Alatis. It is Demetrious Efstathiou Alatis. In the early days of the 20th century, when many Greeks emigrated to the United States, the immigration authorities were troubled with the polysyllabic Greek names. They proceeded therefore to shorten them or otherwise change them to fit the American assimilationist mold. This was done either by transliteration, phonetic respelling, translation, or shortening: that is to say, initial, medial, or final clipping. The Greeks, of course, had a word for each of these processes: procope, syncope, and apocope. Thus, Papatriandaphilopoulos, became Papas or Poulos or Triandaphilos or Triandos or even just Tree. I knew a man whose name was Constantinous Papatriandaphilopoulos who had his name changed to Gus Rose. My own name, Demetrious, was shortened to Dim, and the closest thing to Dim was Jim. Most Demetriouses in those days became Jims.
Global English: gift or curse?
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Ross Smith a1
a1 Manager in charge of the translation service at PricewaterhouseCoopers Spain, ross.smith@es.pwc.com
Abstract
The status of the English language as the lingua franca of the global information society is beyond dispute, but what is not so clear is whether it is capable of fulfilling that role efficiently. In the following article Ross Smith responds to the supporters of Global English by examining the qualities that an ideal international auxiliary language would possess and then discussing the extent to which those qualities are to be found in modern English.
English Today (an Cambridge journal) 21/2 (2005) contains a number of articles over this debate.
++++++++++++
Globalism and the universal language
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abdulla Al-Dabbagh a1
a1 Professor of English and co-ordinator of the English Literature Programme at United Arab Emirates University.
Abstract
Like so many other innovations, the idea of one common language for all mankind appeared for the first time, in European thought, during the Renaissance. It has been estimated that since then nearly ‘seven hundred such artificial languages’ have been tried. Undoubtedly, this had to do with the collapse of Latin as the common language of education, soon to be replaced by the various, rising national languages. Europe's great expansion overseas, in this epoch, also created the need for a unified vehicle of communication.
In many ways, the world, and not just Europe, is now facing a similar challenge. While English has become the Latin of the contemporary world, such a position, one can say in the light of historical experience, has always been precarious. Whether English will be unanimously accepted as the one unifying, international language of the globe, whether it will share this role with one or more other languages, or whether an artificial language will be adopted for that purpose is the question that sooner or later we will all be facing.
The case against the ‘native speaker’
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carmen Acevedo Butcher a1
a1 Fulbright Lecturer at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea
Abstract
Do we need fairer names for speakers of English? A discussion of current popular early 3rd-millennium definitions attached to the phrase native speaker (meaning ‘someone born and raised speaking correct English’), including an examination of global changes which suggest that a profoundly changed and changing world requires radically new linguistic terms.
Kachru's circles and the growth of professionalism in TESOL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James E. Alatis a1
a1 Professor of linguistics and modern Greek, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Abstract
[The text of a plenary paper presented as Distinguished Speaker at the conference Globalization and World Englishes: Identity and Creativity, convened by the International Association of World Englishes (IAWE) at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA, 16C18 July 2004.]
I MUST START with two disclaimers: First, my name is not James E. Alatis. It is Demetrious Efstathiou Alatis. In the early days of the 20th century, when many Greeks emigrated to the United States, the immigration authorities were troubled with the polysyllabic Greek names. They proceeded therefore to shorten them or otherwise change them to fit the American assimilationist mold. This was done either by transliteration, phonetic respelling, translation, or shortening: that is to say, initial, medial, or final clipping. The Greeks, of course, had a word for each of these processes: procope, syncope, and apocope. Thus, Papatriandaphilopoulos, became Papas or Poulos or Triandaphilos or Triandos or even just Tree. I knew a man whose name was Constantinous Papatriandaphilopoulos who had his name changed to Gus Rose. My own name, Demetrious, was shortened to Dim, and the closest thing to Dim was Jim. Most Demetriouses in those days became Jims.
Global English: gift or curse?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross Smith a1
a1 Manager in charge of the translation service at PricewaterhouseCoopers Spain, ross.smith@es.pwc.com
Abstract
The status of the English language as the lingua franca of the global information society is beyond dispute, but what is not so clear is whether it is capable of fulfilling that role efficiently. In the following article Ross Smith responds to the supporters of Global English by examining the qualities that an ideal international auxiliary language would possess and then discussing the extent to which those qualities are to be found in modern English.