Purposive Communication

VARIETIES OF
ENGLISH
Written Report

Submitted to
Ms. Jaze Marco

Submitted by
GROUP 4 DOMT 1-3

Leader: Morales, Annjell Era

Abarracoso, Catelene
Benedicto, Ellyssa
Bulanhagui, Dolly
Calle, Gladdie
Dalida, Leomark
Labasan, Allana
Manalang, Angelo
Mangaya, Nicole
Nacionales, Joan
 VARIETIES OF ENGLISH

Variety is the state of being distinct or different, while language is defined as the method
of human communication. In sociolinguistic, language variety is a general term for any
distinctive form of a language. When we say variety of English, it is the distinction of the
English language as used in different countries around the world.
To understand the meaning of English varieties, it's important to consider how dialects
differ from Standard English. Standard English is a debated term for a form of the English
language that is written and spoken by educated users. For some linguists, Standard English is an
alternative word or term for good and correct English usage. You may have encountered the
term, “World Englishes”. These are the diverse dialects of English spoken in different parts of
the world. There are many varieties of English spoken all around the world. The oldest one is the
British English, which is spoken in the United Kingdom. Nearly 60 million people are native
British English speaker. Although the British English is the oldest, the variety of English with
the largest number of native speakers is American English. It has 225 million native speakers.
Apart from British and American, the other major varieties of this language are Canadian
English, New Zealand English, Australian English, South African English, and Indian English.
All of these varieties share the same basic tenets of the language, but then, some words or
phrases may differ from each other. An example for that is that in British English one may say he
is going to the cinema, in American English one says he is going to the movies, and in South
African English, they use the term, “going to the bioscope”. Despite of the differences, English
speakers in the world may still communicate with each other, but with some occasional gaps in
understanding.
In the Asian context, the concept of varieties of English in three categories was
introduced by Braj Kachru. He made the famous “Three Circles of Asian Englishes”—called as
Three Concentric Circles of English today. This shows the illustration of native and non-native
English speakers around the world. According to Bautista and Gonzales (2006), these new
varieties differ in the structural characteristics. This structure includes the inner circle, the outer
circle, and the expanding circle.
 According to Kachru, the inner circle includes the native or first English speakers. This
circle refers to historical, traditional, and sociolinguistic origins of English. This includes Britain,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. This inner circle is also known as the
ENL (English as Native Language) Countries. The people in this category are called the native
speaker of English. They are the people who has learned and used English from early childhood.
Nevertheless, it does not necessarily mean that English is the speaker’s only language. Being a
native English speaker means that this language is and has been the primary means of concept
formation as well as communication. These people also have lived in a truly English-speaking
culture during their formative years making them absorb English effortlessly.

An example of Inner Circle countries is Australia. Some elements of Aboriginal

languages have been adopted by Australian English—mainly as names for places, flora and
fauna (for example dingo) and local culture. A lot of linguistic words, phrases, and expressions
were localized and do not form part of General Australian use. However, others such as
boomerang, kangaroo, wallaby, and so on have become popular and used international. Other
examples are cooee, and hard yakka. Cooee is a term used for distance. For instance, they say,
“If he is within cooee, we will spot him”. While Hard yakka means hard work. It is derived from
the word yakka from Jagera language. Another one is the word bung, which means “dead”. Last
example is the capital Canberra, which is named after a local language word meaning “meeting
place”.

Next one is the outer circle. This embraces countries that are colonized by Britain and the
United States. In these countries, English is spoken as a second language and it plays a very
important historical and also governmental role in multilingual settings. The outer circle is also
known as the ESL (English as Second Language) countries—including Philippines, Singapore,
South Africa, India, Malaysia, etc. In this circle, we can see that people have different linguistic
and cultural backgrounds. This makes intercultural communication a significant variable in
communication. English as a Second Language is a term traditionally used for the study of the
English language by non-native speakers. This also refers to specialized approaches to language
teaching, which is designed for those people whose primary language is not English.

One example is of course, Philippines. Our country is recognized globally because of

Filipinos’ fluency in speaking English. The Philippines is recognized as a large English-speaking
nation. Proficiency in this language is one of the country’s strength since it is spoken by almost
14 million Filipinos. English is also the country’s language of commerce and law. Aside from
that, English is used as a primary means of teaching. It also has its own subject during the
primary grade until the College year level. In the Philippines, there is a great imperative to
further build on the English skills of the labor force, especially of those in the BPO sector or
Business Process Outsourcing.

On the other hand is the expanding circle. This includes the countries that represent the
importance of English for people in order to communicate worldwide. These countries have no
history of colonization and English is just another way for them to communicate to other people
especially to the foreigners. In the expanding circle, English has no special administrative status
in each country. Example countries in this category are Japan, China, Poland, and an expanding
and growing number of other states. These countries use English as a foreign language. Hence,
the expanding circle is the one that is most sensitive to the global status of English language.
These countries use English in terms of business, scientific, political, legal, and academic
communities.
 An example for expanding circle is South Korea. Over the last century, English has had a
variety of functions. Its development since the Korean War has been mainly the result of
international trade with the United States. As a result, it has been given special highlighting due
to the use of English as a foreign language. But still, the actual use of English by the majority of
Korean reveals clear and regular deviations. Many people in Korea learn English for specific
reasons or purposes like for business, academic, and trade. However, few interact with native
speakers. Throughout the whole history of the use of English in Korea, there have been
conflicted associations with the language revolving around this dichotomy.

These varieties of English are influenced by the local languages in several areas of their
grammars and shows specific phonological, lexical, and discoursal characteristics. For instances
here are some English varieties in Southeast Asia:

1. Singaporean English—the variety of English language spoken in Singapore. In this variety,

there are two main forms—the Standard Singapore English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial
English (also known as Singlish).

In Singlish, they: generalize “is it” question tag (“You are coming today, is it?”); use particles
like ah; lah, ("My handwriting no good, lah”)

Actsy Show off

Missy Nurse
Chop Rubber Stamp
Marina kids Youngsters who spend their leisure time at Marina Square—a shopping centre
Graduate- Well-educated married women, encouraged to have more children and accorded
mothers certain privileges in Singapore (as compared to non-graduate)

2. Malaysian English—a form of English spoken in Malaysia. This variety of English is formally
known as Malaysian Standard English or MySE. Aside from that, some consider it distinct from
colloquial form normally called Manglish.

Antilog A male hated by a girl

Popcorn A loquacious person
Kachang Peanuts, easy
Slambar Relax
Red spot, open shelf Girls who are popular, and those who are not
Day bugs Those who come to attend school but do not live in residence halls

3. Philippine English—the variety of English used in the Philippines

I’ll go ahead “I’ll be going now”

CR Comfort Room (Wash room)
G.R.O. Prostitute (Female host)
Tomboy Lesbian (a girl who enjoys male activities)
Jeep Jeepney
For a while Just a short while (In other countries this means longer time)
Mamser Combination of Ma’am and Sir
Nose bleed Metaphorical term used as a joke when someone is speaking English
Salvage To kill extra judicially (To save)
Ref Refrigerator
Traffic Is it traffic? (Instead of How’s the traffic?)
High blood Used to describe someone who is getting angry
Napkin Sanitary pad (UK: Table napkin; US: Piece of clothing used to wipe mouth)
Stick Cigarette
Blow out Treating someone with a snack or meal

Is English proficiency the basis of one’s skills and a country’s success?

English proficiency is not the basis of one’s skills nor a country’s success. First, English
proficiency is just one of many skills that a person could have. It doesn't measure how skillful a
person is in general. Yes, being proficient in English can give you a higher employability rate.
However, there's a lot of people who may not be good in speaking English, but have so much
knowledge and skills to offer. Another thing, English is not the basis of a country's success. One
example is Japan. According to a survey conducted by the Swiss international education
company in 2019, Japan has been categorized as being in the low proficiency band. Despite of
having low English proficiency, Japan is still in the peak of success having a place in the 1st
world countries.
Being proficient in English can be one's skill, but it shouldn't be a basis of what one is
capable of. There are a lot of successful countries who are neither fluent nor proficient in using
the English language that shows eminency. English is only use to communicate to other people
not to access one's skill and country's success. A country’s success is solely dependent on its
capability of having a high stability of economy.

English as the International Language

In terms of English being used internationally and as a medium of communication with

different nationalities, we think it is okay. Since many countries are using English as their first
language then it could be a lot easier for others to adapt it. It was also used in some transactions
and travelling. In addition to that the English language may become the peace maker to
comprehend the conflict and hindrances of ones country to conveniently connected to each other.
However, it should not be limited to American English. In terms of being a language that will
culturally imperialize other countries, we disagree. English should not be the international
language. In fact, there is no superior language in the world, neither the Spanish, French, etc.
Every country has its own language, and being said so, they have their own identity, own culture,
own way of communication. English became a widely-used language because it is very
convenient and easy to learn. However, that doesn’t make it superior to others.
The only purpose of using English internationally is to make it easier and more
convenient to many people all around the world. This should be used as a platform for
communication and understanding.
Reference:

http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/courses/eng6365-flattery.htm

https://manualofstyleandusage.blogspot.com/2008/05/kachrus-three-concentric-circles.html

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/14582/meaning-of-native-speaker-of-english

https://www.collinsdictionary.com

https://www.thoughtco.com/english-as-a-second-language-esl-1690599

www.asian-efl-journal.com

https://grammarist.com/varieties-of-english/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language/Varieties-of-English

https://matadornetwork.com/bnt/should-english-be-the-worlds-international-language/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language/Varieties-of-English

blog.cudoo.com/different-varieties-of-english-language

uni-due.de/SVE/VARS_Intro.htm

https://www.thoughtco.com/language-variety-sociolinguistics-1691100

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/world-englishes

https://www.thoughtco.com/english-as-a-native-language-enl-1690598

https://www.thoughtco.com/english-as-a-second-language-esl-1690599

https://www.thoughtco.com/english-as-a-foreign-language-efl-1690597

https://opinion.inquirer.net/90293/state-of-english-in-ph-should-we-be-concerned