Riassunto esame Lingua e traduzione inglese 1, docente Christiansen, libro consigliato The future of English, Graddol

It is the period when the nation states of Europe took their modern form (the Elizabethan Era).

The role of the Church and Latin declined. In England, key institutions of science, like the Royal

Society were established. Britain grew commercially and acquired overseas colonies. English was

taken to the Americas and India. Teaching English as a foreign language began in the 16th century,

first in Holland and France.

Modern English (c.1750-1950)

6.

English had become a 'national' language. The industrial revolution made English the international

language of advertising and consumerism. Linking English-speaking communities around the world

and establishing English as the major language for wire services. English-medium education was

introduced in many parts of the world. English emerged as the most popular working language for

transnational institutions.

Late Modern English (c.1950-)

7.

Partially standardised varieties of English have emerged in newly independent countries. ELT has

become a major private-sector industry. In the aftermath of World War II the US became a global

economic and cultural presence with their language. Worldwide English language TV channels

began.

The world of English

400 AD

During the fifth century, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes invaded Britain. Their closely related

Germanic languages formed the basis of English. Much of the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary remains in

use today.

750-1050 AD

In 793 AD started the Norse raids and a mass migrations of Scandinavians, which continued until

1050 AD. By the middle of the ninth century, almost half of country was in the hands of the Norse-

speaking Vikings. It was only the uprising of Alfred, King of Wessex, who used English as a political

tool to weld his forces and kingdom together, that saved the language.

1066

After 1066 for the next 300 years, the luggage of the court, , law, science, religion and literature

was French or Latin. English remained amongst the people.

1337-1454

The period 1337-1454, known as the Hundred Years War between England and France, provided a

major impetus for people to speak English. By the middle of this period, English was being used at

court.

1607

By the end of the eighteenth century, the East India Company controlled virtually all aspects of

Indian administration, and English was the language used on a daily basis. The slave trade led to

the introduction of 'Black English' into the USA. The broken English spoken between the slaves and

their masters became known as 'pidgin English'.

1788

The 'First Fleet' arrived in Port Jackson in Australia in 1788. It consisted of 11 ships which held

about 1000 English people , many of whom were criminals 'transported for life'. Before being

transported, the criminals used a common slang called 'Flash'. South Africa also received an influx

of settlers around the same time trek and veldt into English.

1800-1910

Immigrant is an American word used to describe the huge influx of people to the States between

1800 and 1910. This included five million Germans, four million Irish, and five million Central

Europeans and Italians. Even now, many Americans are bilingual.

1940-1970

The Government encouraged immigration from the Commonwealth countries, especially the

Caribbean and Asia. All these new Britons bought with them distinctive ways of speaking English.

During the 20th century, English has spread from Hong Kong and the USA into the Philippines and

Hawaii as the USA established military bases in these areas.

English in the 20th century

The rise of the US

By the end of the 19th century, communities of English speakers settled around the world. The US

is today the world's third most populous country with around 260 million inhabitants with a lot of

English speakers. For the spread of English, the aftermath of World War II was decisive. American

influence was extended around the world.

World institutions

After the war, several international agencies were established to help manage global

reconstruction and future governance. The key one has proved to be the United Nations and its

subsidiary organisation. In Europe, the hegemony of English is surprisingly high. French is still the

only real rival to English as a working language of world institutions.

Financial institutions

Cultural, economic and technological dependency on America were soon a concern for nations

across the world. As more countries have been rendered "open" to global flows of finance, goods,

knowledge and culture, so the influence of English has spread.

Scientific publishing

English is now the international currency of science and technology. The Renaissance of British

science in the 17th century put English language science publications at the forefront of the world

scientific community. But the position was soon lost to German. The growing role of the US then

ensured that English became, once again, the global language of experiment and discovery.

English is the most popular language of publication.

English in the 21st century

The position of English in the world today is thus the joint outcome of Britain's colonial expansion

and the more recent activity of the US.

Who speaks English?

Three types of English speaker

There are three types of English speaker:

-FIRST LANGUAGE (L1) speakers are the Native one whom English is a first language;

-SECOND LANGUAGE (L2) speakers have English as a second or additional language;

-EFL speakers are English speakers who learn English as a foreign language.

Leith (1996) argues that the first 2 kinds of English community result from different colonial

processes:

-The first type created a diaspora of Native speakers of English with their national variety of

English;

-The second made English an elite second language, frequently required for further education and

government jobs.

The linguistic consequences of the third type were complex, including the creation of new hybrid

varieties of English called creoles. These three groups have become widely known as the "inner

circle", the "outer circle" and the "expanding circle".

The first-language countries

We can find English spoken as a first language in over 30 territories (over 377 million speakers).

The second-language areas

Areas in which English is used extensively as a second language usually develop a distinct variety of

English which reflects other languages used alongside English. These varieties of English have

emerged in South Asia, South-east Asia, Africa and the Caribbean (colonial territories).

The foreign-language areas

The EFL category spans a wide range of competence.

Language shift

In many parts of the world there are ongoing shifts in the status of English. English is thus

acquiring new first-language speakers outside the traditional 'native-speaking' countries.

Language hierarchies

English and other languages

The European concept of bilingualism reflects an idea that each language has a natural

geographical 'home' and that a bilingual speaker is therefore someone who can converse with

monolingual speakers from more than one country. Languages in multilingual areas are often

hierarchically ordered in status. The hierarchy can be thought of as applying to countries as much

as to the repertoire of individual speakers. All speakers can be expected to modify their language

to suit the communicative situation; even monolingual English speaker will accept accent,

vocabulary, grammar and rhetorical form to suit the context.

English and code-switching

Bilingual speakers use code-switching as a communicative resource, varying the mix of the two

languages. English is also steadily 'colonising' lower layers in this hierarchy for many of the world's

speakers, whereas the majority of world's languages are likely to become extinct.

Non-native speaker interactions

English increasingly act as a lingua franca between non-native speakers. Experienced users of

English as a foreign language may acquire communicative skills which are different from those of

native speakers.

The global media

The global presence

Until the 1990s, the BBC World Service was one of the few broadcasting institutions with

worldwide reach. The BBC World Service share is, however, a small part of a massive industry. It is

a business that has been transformed in recent years by the merging of large media groups. Such

global expansion has caused many people to fear the Disnification of world cultures.

Localising the global

Satellite television will create greater linguistic and cultural diversity and be more supportive of

local languages than previously supposed. When global satellite Tv channels were first established,

it was necessary for them to reach an audience spread over a large territory. As the market

developed and new channel capacity became available, Star Tv has promoted local languages. The

word 'localisation is on the lips of nearly every marketing manager in global corporations and the

drive towards greater diversity in provision comes from the need to increase market penetration.

It is well known that advertising needs to adapt to local culture, language and social values.

Linguistic diasporas

Europe may be different from other world regions in the way that satellite TV is encouraging the

use of English. Such widespread take-up of English has given rise to an anxiety about the impact on

other, smaller languages. Yet the growth in satellite TV channels also permits diasporic linguistic

groups to receive programming in their first languages.

Dubbing

One of the oldest forms of media localisation is the dubbing and sub-titling of films. In Britain sub-

titling is preferred to dubbing. There have been many such subtle effects on other languages

which arise from the dubbing of English language films and television programmes. Dubbing also

allows the English language media industry to maximise profits by selling to new audiences. And

English is emerging as a 'relay' language for the marketing of films.

Fragmentation of culture

The global media industry thus has complex effects on languages and cultural identities with its

competing trends towards cultural convergence and diversificatio. Satellite Tv may be

encouraging a cultural fragmentation. In some countries, cable is the most popular way of

receiving satellite transmissions. The transferring of satellite programming to terrestrial cable

systems brings broadcasts under the regulatory control of the state.

This mix of the global and local will provide a somewhat unpredictable context in which English

language programming will operate in the 21st century.

Youth culture

The global teenager

As the west's previous baby boomers have passed through the generations they have required

continual adjustment of public policies and resources relating to education, housing and health

policies. In economic terms, they have influenced manufacturing of clothing, motor vehicles,

leisure