Lingua inglese

THE CHANGING NATURE OF ENGLISH

“The status of the native speaker as the model condemns all learners to ultimate failure”

(Cook, 1999) –

Circles of English Krachu

Which circle contains the majority of interaction?

The total number of English speakers in the inner circle is up to 380 million. The total number of

English speakers in the outer circle is estimated to range from 150 million to 300 million. The total

–

in the expanding circle is the most difficult to estimate estimated around one billion, difficult to

measure.

What does the “circles” model tell us?

Native speakers are the minority of English speakers worldwide. Sill represent “gold standard”

creator of norms for outer circle.

What is ELF?

Lingua francas

They’re not new… th th

A variety spoken along the south-eastern coast of the Mediterranean from the 15 to 19 centuries.

First explicitly named “lingua franca” was a pidgin language based initially on certain Italian

dialects. Included elements of Arabic, French, Greek, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.

So ELF is… “ELF is by definition intercultural communication”. Why’s that, do

English as a Lingua Franca.

you think?

Context or purpose of use “ELF is a “contact language”

Seidlholfer (2004, pg. 211): between persons who share neither a

common native tongue nor a common (national) culture, and for whom English is the chosen

foreign language of communication(FIRTH, 1996, pg. 240).

ELF interactions are defined as: interactions between members of two or more different

linguacultural in English, for none of whom English is the mother tongue. (HOUSE,1999, pg. 74)

ELF…

Is the language used between two speakers whose first language isn’t English. So two different

Also known as “international English” or EIL (English as an international language). Also

cultures.

“BELF” the business English variant.

ELF can be difficult analyzed

It’s very fluid.

What it is not…

Simplified English: 800 words, 1 meaning per word.

Globish: pragmatic form developed by Jean-Paul Nerriere, ex vice-president of IBM. Globish

glossary of 1500 words, keep it short, avoid metaphors, avoid all humor.

Simple English: uses only basic words, 1000 words, simple grammar, simple English version of

Wikipedia available.

Basic English by Charles Ogden, basic 850 word vocabulary, used for teaching in Asia.

Shift from EFT to ELF

EFL= English as a foreign language based on standard English, learner’s English is “defective form”

compared to native speakers (NS). In EFL native speaker norms and idioms are the reference for

speaking well and/or correctly. ELF- centers around actual use by non-native speakers, not a

deficient/defective form.

ELF features found in research

Grammar:

 –s

Non-use of third person

 Omission of definite and indefinite articles…

 Putting them in where they do not occur in native speaker English

 Treating “who” and “which” as interchangeable.

 Using “isn’t it” or “no?” as universal tag.

 Inserting “redundant” prepositions, as in we have to study about.. discuss about..

 “Overusing” certain verbs of high semantic generality, such as do, have, make, put, take.

 “Replacing” infinitive constructions with that-clauses, as in “I want that we go swimming”

instead of “…us to go swimming”.

 “Overdoing” saying “black color” rather than just “black”.

explicitness, e.g.

Tongue twisters

I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought.

1.

2. Three thin thieves thought a thousand thoughts. Now if three thin thieves thought a thousand

thoughts, how many thoughts did each thief think?

3. The 33 thankful thieves thought that they thanked the other 33 thankful thieves throughout

Thursday. –

4. Father, mother, sister, brother hand in hand with one another.

5. They threw three thick things.

6. Thirty thousand thoughtless boys thought they would make a thundering noise.

7. So the thirty thousand thumbs thumbed on the thirty thousand drums.

8. Is this the thing?- Yes, this is the thing.

Specific ELF pronunciation features found:

all consonant sounds important, except for “th”. Vowel length contrasts:

Crucial for intelligibility:

live/leave, sheet…etc. Tonic (nuclear) stress: I come from France, where are you from?

vowel sounds /a:/ etc, “typical rhythm” of British

Non-crucial: word stress, specific English.

Elision (putting sounds together and weak forms) actually detracted from ELF communication.

So in ELF communication

“What really matters in that we are sort of basically understood…”

Seidlhofer et al 2006:

In that case, anything goes, right?

Not really…

CEFR

Common European Framework of Reference.

B1/B2.

B2

Can sustain relationships with native speakers without unintentionally amusing or irritating them or

requiring them to behave other that they would with a native speaker.

Mistakes, errors

Is there a difference between the two or are they interchangeable?

an error reflects user’s current language level i.e. use of an unknown form or one

For the CEFR:

that hasn’t been mastered. A mistake occurs when a learner doesn’t bring his or her competences

into action.

Mistake in ELF

Learners may be producing forms characteristic of their own variety of English, which reflect the

sociolinguistic reality of their English use, whatever their circle, far better than either British or

American norms are able to do. (JENKINS, 2006: 168)

Mistakes or acceptable

1. My luggage got lost during the flight.

2. Her decision to leave him involve several factors.

– my hand’s ringing.

3. Excuse me a moment

4. Could we discuss about my essay?

There’s about five minutes

5. left.

An example

Dear Ms X

I try to call you, but the line is always busy. You asked me about the customs charge for the parcel

delivered by DHL. I have no idea about this charge. All the books in those parcels are donated by

the Sichuan university of China, including some books for my teaching. They are not for my

personal use, so I will not pay.

Best regards

Xui Ying

So…

Is the term “Englishes” grammatically correct? Yes, absolutely. “World Englishes” a very relevant

topic.

English and intercultural communication

 Language is the prime semiotic system for enacting and creating culture (Geertz, 1973;

Halliday, 1979; Vygotsky, 1962)

 –

Problematic with global languages such as English what is the culture that English creates

or enacts?

 Is English used as a lingua franca (ELF) culturally and identity neutral? (Kirkpatrick 2007;

House 2002; Meierkord 2002)

 ELF approaches reject simplistic correlation between language, culture and nation- cannot

–

speak of a culture and a language. (English UK/US)

 “Cultural frames of reference […] made use of in hybrid, manner, drawing on and moving

between global, national, local and individual orientations” (Baker, 2009: 567)

 National frames of reference are still present- constant tension between fluidity and fixity.

(Pennycook, 2007; Holliday, 2011)

Prodromou

Rather than set up a “code” which all users of ELF have to follow, it’s surely time that we

recognized the diversity among users and the multiplicity of uses to which English is put worldwide

and think in terms of varied processes of interaction rather than a single prescriptive mode. (2007)

Sky news reports

The British Council has said that UK has an alarming shortage of people who are able to speak what

it regards as the 10 most important languages. They are Spanish, Arabic, French, Mandarin Chinese,

German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Turkish and Japanese.

So…

Clear need for multilingual speakers with good intercultural skills.

MODULE 2 LESSON 1

POLITENESS IN INTERCULTURAL ENCOUNTERS

first, let’s do a sum up:

But

Culturehow do you think it can be best defined? How can it be represented? Is it wrong to think

of culture as a thing, something “identifiable”?

Cultural orientationswhat were some of the basic cultural dimensions that Hall, Hofstede and

Trompenaars proposed in their research? Why are some people critical of these?

are common stereotypes about your “national” culture? What are

Stereotypeswhat

“essentializing” and “othering” and why are they relevant to intercultural communication?

ELFWhat is ELF and why is it important to intercultural communication?

Communication

Cannot not communicate. Communication involves information exchange but above all: definese

and re-affirms our identity. Identity conditions the way we say and do things.

So what is politeness exactly?

Politeness is a desire to be treated politely and to be esteemed polite oneself. (Francois de La

Rochefoucauld 1630-1680)

Ceremonies are different in every country, but true politeness is everywhere the same. (Oliver

Goldsmith 1726-1774)

Different definitions of politeness to “social cohesion”.

But all agree on one thing: politeness is central

Brown and Levinson

British sociologists. Every human guided by positive self-image. On grounds of which he/she

wished to be regarded by others. This concept is also known as: face. Face can be lost or saved, but

not gained.

Face…

Face-saving means establishing and maintaining positive relationships with others (especially when

there may be a risk to it). Face-threatening acts refer to the opposite. However, both face-saving

and threatening acts may differ between cultures.

“default settings” on politeness

Culture-bound

What is considered “normal” in interaction. Normally explicit. “Veuillez,

not cher Monsieur,

salutations distinguées”. “Would you please, dear Sir, accept my most distinguished

agréèrmes

greetings?”. You’re kidding me right? “Best regards”.

Impolite

Not saying hello to someone you cross on an isolated road. Using informal address forms to

someone you don’t know so well. Calling your boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s parents by their first name.

Arriving 10 minutes late for a work appointment. Arriving 10 minutes late for a meeting with

friends. Cutting the grass at 2 in the afternoon. Talking loudly in a public place. Having a mobile

phone conversation on train. Smoking at the entrance to a public place. Blowing your nose in public.

Not queueing in a crowded shop. Saying nothing after someone says thank you. Walking out of a