Ｔｈｅ Ｃｏｎｃｅｐｔ ｏｆ“Ｗｏｒｌｄ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ”ａｎｄ ｉｔｓ Ｉｍｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎｓ ｆｏｒ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ Ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ

葛　莉

【Abstract】Based on the study of the theories of "World English", this essay makes research on the global diversification and development of English as an international language. It points out that World English has been adapting to the multicultural and multi-linguistic contexts in different regions and different nations and have evolved into a diversity of language varieties with multiple regional colors. Language learners should know the situation of World English, and know for sure that World English belongs to all users who have different linguistic cultural background.

【Key words】World English; multicultural contexts; English Language Learning

1. Introduction

English has broken the traditional "standard English" model due to its worldwide spread. English of each country shows various value orientations. Englishes, which emerge on newspaper and radio station at home and abroad, refer to the English variants used in every country and area over the world. This phenomenon of social language changes is not only to reflect its own language varieties, but also to reflect the trend of social culture, global economy and international politics, which is also the multicultural expression of world culture. As Kachru put it, "once English is adopted in some areas, whether in science, technology, culture, or fame, it would experience the regeneration of language, and at the same time, the regeneration of culture."(Kachru, 1992) Language and culture may be inextricably connected together; however, no one language is inseparably tied to any one culture (Smith, 1983). English, as an international language, is mainly for the purpose of intercultural/cross-cultural communication. That is, English should be the carrier of different cultures, and should achieve successful communication among these cultures.

2. Theoretical background

In the world of English language teaching and learning, EIL (English as an international language), was first proposed by Smith (1983), instead of the traditional ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign language). This term has been preferred by many other American scholars. They believe that today the English language not only belongs to Britain, America, and Australia, where it is spoken as a native language, but to countries like India, Philippine, and Singapore, etc., where English has been adopted as necessary communication tool among people. So English should no longer be considered with sense of colonialism and imperialism, but only a neutral communication tool.

2.1The Model of Three Con-centric Circles

Kachru divided English into three concentric circles, Inner circle, Outer circle and Expanding circle.

The inner circle refers to countries of ENL settings, where English is used as the native language, including USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand. Other languages are also used in these areas, but English is the dominant language.

Outer circle countries refer to territories in Asia and Africa to which English was first transported in colonial contexts and where it has since existed alongside very different local languages. Outer circle includes India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore and so on. These countries didn't take British English or America English as standard, but at the same time, they emphasize English is their second language. Therefore, a new variant emerges. This kind of variant has the same or similar core character with inner English variant. However, it has its unique vocabulary.

Expanding Circle countries refer to territories in which English has become or is becoming the most important foreign language. These territories include China, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Poland and Russia. Naturally, to have a picture of the total numbers of people who speak English as a foreign language, we would also need to take into account those countries in which English has been taught as the main foreign language for a longer time, such as Germany, France and Mexico. The number of people who have acquired some competence in English in the Expanding Circle has already overtaken the number of people that speak it in the Outer Circle.

2.2The Theory of the Centripetal Circles of English

With regard to the deficiency of the theory of three con-centric circles raised by Kachru, Modiano proposes the theory of the Centripetal Circles of English.

The people in the inner circle are proficient in using EIL (English as International language). That is to say that people can use English effectively to make a cross-cultural communication in the world. The second circle includes the people who take English as the second language or some dialects of English as native language, the people who can not make cross-cultural communication unsuccessfully because of pronounced accent and the various users who can not make international communication effectively using the English variety-"Creole". The third circle includes the people who are learning English. In this theory, he put the practiced users of EIL (skilled in listening and speaking) into the inner circle. It seems unlikely that those people use EIL as the native language or the first language. Conversely, for the people who regard English as the first language, if they couldn't make internationally cross-cultural communication owing to their dialect or accent of English, they do not belong to the inner circle.

Another feature of this theory is to embody the dynamic feature. Owing to the driving of the requirement of international communication, the English users in the second circle and extended circle have to adjust and change their own language to carry out the international communication successfully. The improvement from the model of Three Concentric Circles to the centripetal circles of English shows that: after English become international language,the cross-cultural ability is the standard to judge the degree. Namely, whether the varieties of English owned by users are successfully applied to cross-cultural communication all over the world.

3.The Concept of “World English”

What we are interested in at the moment is WE, not the English language as it is spoken in English-speaking households, or the Houses of Parliament in Britain. WE is a language spoken across the world - routinely at the check-in desks and in the corridors during multi-national business encounters, periodically during the Olympics or World Cup Football seasons, international trade fairs, academic conferences, and so on. And those who speak WE are already legion, and their numbers are currently growing exponentially.

3.1The Definition of World English

The term "World English" may sound unusual to many readers. However, when one turns on a TV and listens to interviews with people from India, Mexico, China, Russia, and Nigeria, he will probably understand the concept. Indeed, the colonial and postcolonial spread of English worldwide has made the English language plural in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, and rhetorical styles. The concept of "World English (WE)" indicates linguistic diversity around the world.

World English is the concept of the English language as a global means of communication in numerous dialects, and the movement towards an international standard for the language. Sometimes these terms refer simply to the array of varieties of English spoken throughout the world; sometimes they refer to a desired standardization. However, consensus on the terminology and path to standardization has not been reached.

3.2The Uniqueness of World English

3.2.1Universality and Flexibility

As a language owned not just by native speakers, but by all those who come to use it, world English sometimes refers to English as it is actually being used and developed in the world. Basically, it covers the English language at large, often implicitly seen as standard. It is certainly also commonly used in connection with the acquisition use, and study of English as the world's lingua Franca, and especially when the language is considered as a whole in contrast with American English, British English and South African English.

3.2.2Neutrality

World English reached towards cultural neutrality. This has a practical use: "What could be better than a type of English that saves you from having to reedit publications for individual regional markets! Teachers and learners of English as a second language also find it an attractive idea-both often concerned that their English should be neutral, without British or American or Canadian or Australian coloring. Any regional variety of English has a set of political, social and cultural connotations attached to it, even the so called 'standard' forms."

4. The Implications of World English for EFL Learning

4.1 The Acceptance of Other Countries' English

First, we should accept the condition that the nowadays world English is numerous and complicated, and the standard is ambiguous. That is to say that the English we read and hear is not just like American English and British English, but also Indian English, German English, Spanish English and so on. In this situation, we should have an attitude of accepting opposition and taking understanding as principle. We should improve the ability of distinguishing of English and avoid discrimination of language. Meanwhile, when learning English, we should treat the standard of English strictly. That is the advantage about learning English. The standard of English should be based on the British English and American English. However, we shouldn't imitate the dialectal slang of America rigidly to avoid putting on airs.

4.2Native Vs Non-native

In the big environment of emphasizing English, we should give more attentions to native language, Chinese learning and improvement. We should doubt the word or the assumption of language imperialism; however, there is a contradiction between the development of English and the development of native language. Firstly, Chinese is our native language and the embodiment of our culture. Learning our language well and we can understand our own culture well. Secondly, the native language restricts the development of a foreign language. The understanding of cultural connotation is the important foundation of establishing own cultural status. Thus, for Chinese, English should be emphasized as well.

4.3Developing Learners' Tolerance of Language Varieties

It is estimated that the number of English using people has already covered 1/4 of world population, and the number of learners is countless. The people whose mother tongue is not English speak English, as a language. The quantity of those people is more than the quantity of English-speaking people. In this situation, the people who are engaged in English education and learning should sufficiently consider that the aim of English learning is not just confined to communicate with the English-speaking people from Britain, America, Canada and so on, but also to communicate to the people from different cultural background. I feel that two important ramifications of this trend are as follows:

(1) Teachers need to evaluate just how important learning“standard”or idiomatic usage is for their students.

(2) Native speakers need to become more tolerant and perceptive when communicating with non-native speakers of English.

5. Conclusion

English had changed greatly for 1500 years. Today, it has always been changing. It is undoubted that the varieties of English possess a main position in the big English family, and it has its specific standard of vocabulary, semantics and pragmatics. Thus, while international communication gives prominence to the importance of English, it also impresses the requirement for English. It requires that the varieties of English should have universally accepted standard and comprehension.

WE is a linguistic phenomenon the like of which we have never seen before. Many of its long-term implications still evade our imagination, but if our initial speculations are in the right direction, they may turn out to be even more staggering than any we have so far encountered.

References

[1] Kachru, B. The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures[M]. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1992

[2]Kachru,B. English in the World[M].Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1985

[3]Kachru,B. World English and English -Using Communities. In Annual Review of Applied Linguistics17, 1997:66-87

[4]Smith, L.E., Readings in English as an International Language [M]. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1983

[4]乐黛云.全球化趋势下的多元文化[J].深圳大学学报(文社会科学版),2000,(1).

收稿日期:2009-07-11