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Week 3 The Rise of English

The document discusses the rise of English as a global lingua franca, detailing its evolution from a regional language to an international language and now a global medium of communication. It explores the factors contributing to this rise, including migration, colonization, and the influence of the British Empire, as well as the consequences for linguistic diversity and indigenous languages. Key questions regarding the classification, ownership, and future of English are also posed.

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15 views50 pages

Week 3 The Rise of English

The document discusses the rise of English as a global lingua franca, detailing its evolution from a regional language to an international language and now a global medium of communication. It explores the factors contributing to this rise, including migration, colonization, and the influence of the British Empire, as well as the consequences for linguistic diversity and indigenous languages. Key questions regarding the classification, ownership, and future of English are also posed.

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likkokwok
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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English as a Global Lingua

Franca  
 
Lecture 2

The rise of English

Elaine Espindola
Key terms
• World language: encompasses the entire
globe

• International language: serves groups of


nations

• Lingua franca: provides a mutually


intelligible medium for speakers in
multilingual societies
International languages
The United Nations has six official languages:

• Arabic
• Chinese
• English
• French
• Russian
• Spanish
UN Headquarters: New York

Four of the
UN’s five
main bodies
are located in
New York
City.
ASEAN
English is the
working language
of the Association
of Southeast Asian
Nations
Key questions
• What is a global language and do we need one?
• Why has English rather than another language such as
French or Chinese become the global lingua franca?
• What are the consequences of the spread of English?
• How do we classify the users and uses of English
worldwide?
• What counts as English?
• Which model should be used for teaching and learning
English as a second language?
• Who owns English?
• What does the future hold for English?
Today’s lecture
• The Merger & Acquisition languages: English,
Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch

• The three diasporas of English

• Types of language spread: Migration / people


movement, Diffusion, Infiltration
The changing status of English

Formation (450-1600): regional/national language

Propagation (1600-present):

1600-1950: international language

?1950 / 1990-present: global lingua franca


How to become a ‘big’ language

In his book Empires of the Word (2005), Nicholas


Ostler divides the world’s ‘big’ languages into two
groups:

• Organic Growth

• Merger & Acquisition


Organic Growth
Organic Growth occurs mainly through population increase
in the area of origin, although it can also include
encroachment on neighbouring areas.

Chinese

Hindi / Urdu

Bengali

Japanese
Language spread by land: The Silk Road
Merger & Acquisition
Merger & Acquisition spreads a language to discontinuous
areas of the world, mainly through seaborne invasion and
settlement.

English

French

Spanish

Portuguese
1492
Turning point in the global
history of language spread.

Before: languages mainly spread over land.

After: languages could spread by sea to distant


parts of the globe.

Technological development: the ocean-going


ship, guided by the magnetic compass.
Geography of the Atlantic Ocean
The Spanish Empire
The Portuguese Empire
Macau: Portuguese occupation
(1557)
Admiral Cheng-ho’s naval expeditions to South-east Asia, India,
the Middle East and the east coast of Africa in the early 15th century
pre-dated the Spanish and Portuguese voyages of discovery of
Christopher Columbus (to the Americas) and Vasco da Gama
(who found the sea route to India) in the late 15th century.
The 17th century witnessed the beginnings of the Dutch
Empire in the East Indies (modern Indonesia). Unlike the
other successful European powers, the Dutch left little or no
trace of their language in their eastern colonies.
The progress of French in North America and India was
halted by military defeat at the hands of the British in the
mid-18th century.
The diasporas of English
• The arrival and spread of ‘English’ in the British
Isles

• The spread of English via the large-scale


migration of mother-tongue speakers of English
from the British Isles

• The spread of English to parts of Asia, Africa and


the Pacific in consequence of British and
American colonial expansion
From island tongue to lunar tongue:
A language on the move
Mesthrie (2006: 382): “ … I prefer to characterize England
as one of the many stopping places for a language that
started out in Germanic-speaking parts of continental
Europe and has now spread almost all over the planet. Of
course, this account does not deny that England has been,
and remains, the most significant of these stopping places.”    
The arrival of
‘English’ in
‘England’ (c. 450)
English is classified as
a Germanic
language, but more
than half of its words
are Latin or Romance
in origin.

English is part of the


same family of
languages as German,
Dutch, Danish and
Swedish
“Our English tongue is of small reach – it stretcheth no further
than this island of ours – nay, not there all over.”
Richard Mulcaster (1582)
Welsh
Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru The Welsh Assembly Government

Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru yw The Welsh Assembly Government


llywodraeth ddatganoledig Cymru. is the devolved government for
O dan arweiniad Prif Weinidog Wales. Led by the First Minister, it
Cymru, mae'n gyfrifol am lawer o is responsible for many issues,
feysydd, gan gynnwys iechyd, including health, education,
addysg, datblygu economaidd, economic development, culture,
diwylliant, yr amgylchedd a the environment and transport.
thrafnidiaeth.
Multilingualism in London: 2011 Census
Types of language spread
• Migra&on:  this  entails  speakers  of  a  par0cular  
language  moving  bodily  to  a  new  loca0on.      
 
• Diffusion:  this  entails  people  in  one  community  
learning  the  language  of  another  community  with  
whom  they  are  in  contact.  This  type  of  spread  does  
not  involve  the  movement  or  presence  of  large  
numbers  of  speakers  of  the  language  that  is  being  
acquired.      
 
• Infiltra&on:  this  is  a  mixture  of  migra0on  and  
diffusion    
Types of language spread

• Migration / People movement

• Diffusion

→ Lingua Franca

• Infiltration
Examples of language spread

• Migration: British Isles → Australia


(forcible / voluntary movement of native
speakers)

• Diffusion: Hong Kong

• Infiltration: South Africa


William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)

The first permanent English


settlement in North America
was established at
Jamestown four years before
he retired (1611).

Shakespeare’s pronunciation
was probably closer to
present-day American
English than Received
Pronunciation (BBC
English.)
The changing status of English

Formation (450-1600): regional / national language

Propagation (1600-present):

1600-1950: international language

?1950 / 1990-present: global lingua franca


Early English settlements in America
This map shows territories
colonised or claimed by
European powers in 1750.

Spain occupied/claimed
much of the south and west,
as suggested by place names
such as Los Angeles and
San Francisco, and Florida
in the south-east.

France occupied/claimed
much of the south and mid-
west, as suggested by names
such as Louisiana (after King
Louis XIV) and New Orleans.

Parts of the eastern seaboard


were occupied by the
Netherlands and Sweden for
short periods.
Pre-contact distribution of indigenous languages
in North America
Language death
• Impact of ‘killer’ colonial languages: English,
French, Spanish, Portuguese.

• North America

• Australia

• New Zealand
 
Downward trend in linguistic diversity
European colonisation was a disaster for the languages and cultures
of the indigenous populations of the Americas and Australia.
Activity

Look at Figure 2.

How would you explain the downward trend in


linguistic diversity between 1500 and 2000?

English is sometimes described as a ‘killer


language’. How far has the rise of English as an
international language been responsible for this
trend?

Briefly discuss these questions with the person


sitting next to you.
Decimation of indigenous languages in
North America / Australia

• English as a ‘killer’
language

• Initial contact -
disease / conflict

• Late 19th & early 20th


centuries –
government policies:
boarding schools
Australia – total population
Millions  
25    

20    

15    

10    

5    

0    
1851   1881   1901   1921   1947   1961   1981   2001   2006  
Australia – aboriginal population

500,000    
450,000    
400,000    
350,000    
300,000    
250,000    
200,000    
150,000    
100,000    
50,000    
0    
1788   1861   1881   1901   1921   1947   1961   1986   1996   2006  
Year  
The second and third diasporas of English

Colonisation of Asia, Africa and the Pacific


Development  of  a  number  of  new  second  language  
varie0es  of  English.  
The British Empire
Composition of Hong Kong’s population: 1841-2011
6,800,000

6,400,000

6,000,000

5,600,000

5,200,000

4,800,000

4,400,000

4,000,000

3,600,000
Population

3,200,000

2,800,000

2,400,000

2,000,000

1,600,000

1,200,000

800,000

400,000

Chinese Non-Chinese
Census data on ‘usual’ language
100

90

80

70
Percentage

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1911 1961 1966 1971 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011

Cantonese Other Chinese Dialects English


You  may  like  to  consider  these  
ques0ons  
• Did  the  expansion  of  English-­‐medium  
educa0on  in  Hong  Kong  during  this  period  
reflect  the  colonial  government’s  desire  to  
promote  the  use  of  English  in  the  territory?  
• Or    
• Was  the  government  responding  to  growing  
demand  for  English  in  the  community?  
• Or,  was  it  a  mixture  of  the  two  forces?    
Enrolments in government schools
in Hong Kong (1855-1930)

4500
4000
3500
Enrolments

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1855 1870 1885 1900 1915 1930
Year

English Chinese

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