bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a decolonized English: South Asian creativity in fiction
Authors: DISSANAYAKE WIMAL
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: English is increasingly being used in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka not only for purposes of higher education and national administration but also for creative purposes. The objective of this paper is to investigate briefly how some South Asian novelists who used English as their chosen instrument of communication are seeking, in the memorable phrase of Salman Rushdie, to ‘decolonize English’ so as to capture the deep structures and lineaments of national cultures and make English a more authentic vehicle of expression of the sensibility and the consciousness of the people. One can identify two categories of writers in South Asia who are using English for creative purposes. First, writers like R. K. Narayan, Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai and Ahamad Ali who wish to dilate the English language so that it can creatively accommodate South Asian experiences and modes of feeling. Here, the language is extended, expanded, but no structural change is being effected. Second, writers like Raja Rao, G. V. Desani and Salman Rushdie are involved in a process of nativization of English. In them we notice a more conscious linguistic experimentation at several levels. The outcome of this collective effort, it is contended, will lead to a ‘decolonization of English.’ This decolonization of the language goes hand in hand with a desire to make it a more penetrating tool of artistic exploration. It is argued here that in the long run ‘decolonization’ of the language will prove to be its greatest boon.
International intelligibility of English: directions and resources
Authors: SMITH LARRY E. , NELSON CECIL L.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This is a summary of the state‐of‐the‐art research in international intelligibility with emphasis on English. It also suggests some directions for future research. It is argued that in future research it would be desirable to make distinctions between three key concepts: intelligibility, comprehensibility and interpretability. The selected bibliography of 163 items has been assembled to give the reader an indication of how widespread this literature is, and at the same time to indicate its limitations. The sources searched include publications across various disciplines. This indicates that intelligibility can be approached from a variety of points of view and interests. Since intelligibility depends upon so many factors of different types involved in a given speech event, it is difficult to find ways of integrating approaches and parameters. That is a challenge for future research.
The English of adolescent and young adult Vietnamese refugees in the United States
Authors: WOLFRAM WALT , CHRISTIAN DONNA , HATFIELD DEBORAH
Published: February 2007

Abstract: Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, significant numbers of Vietnamese refugees have been arriving in the United States. The current situation gives rise to unique laboratory for observing the development of a variety of English, given the social circumstances that led to the abrupt influx of refugees. Based on sociolinguistic interviews with over 90 subjects in Northern Virginia, Christian et al. (1983) have described the ethnographic aspects of language usage and maintenance and the development of particular phonological amd grammatical features of English among four different age groups (10–12, 15–18, 20–25 and 35–55), and two different lengths of residency groups (1–3 and 4–7 years of residency) of Vietnamese immigrants. Language values and attitudes encourage both the use and maintenance of Vietnamese in some situations as well as the development of English proficiency. The specific investigation of English structures such as plural, third person singular absence, multiple negation, and unmarked tense indicates that the emerging variety is resisting diffusion from the nonstandard dialects of English while perpetuating some modification of English structures that may give rise to a unique ethnic variety of English.
The power and politics of English
Authors: KACHRU BRAJ B.
Published: February 2007

Abstract:The issues related to power and politics of the English language are presented specifically in relation to the unprecedented global spread of the language. Several perspectives—linguistic and non‐linguistic—used to conceptualize the relationship between language and power are considered, particularly that of Michel Foucault. The power‐related issues, and their manifestations and implications, are seen in terms of various control‐acquiring strategies resulting in political manipulations and language conflicts. The interplay of power and politics within the three Concentric Circles of English (Kachru, 1985a) is shown in issues related to sociolinguistics, linguistic innovations and language pedagogy. It is claimed that the most vital power is that of the ‘ideological change’ which has been attributed to the knowledge of the English language and literature in the Outer and Expanding Circles. The paper aims at providing a blueprint for the study and conceptualization of selected issues related to the power and politics of an international language.
COMPUTERS AND ELT
Authors: Kaufman Dorit
Published: February 2007

Computers in English Language Teaching: A View from the Classroom. Christopher Brumfit, Martin Phillips and Peter Skehan
The two faces of English in China: Englishization of Chinese and nativization of English
Authors: PEI ZHOU ZHI , CHI FENG WEN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: China has had a long history of contact with speakers of English, beginning in the seventeenth century. Since 1974, English has become the most widely studied language in China. With language contact comes linguistic interinfluence. Two manifestations of English–Chinese interinfluence are the Englishization of Chinese and the nativization of English, which can both be perceived at the phonological, morphological, semantic and syntactic levels. It is important to note that the Englishization of Chinese seems most evident at the phonological and semantic levels, and that it also occurs, to an extent, at the syntactic level. In addition, the nativization of English appears to be most evident at the phonological level; however, the various accents and dialects of Chinese make this a difficult generalization to support. Therefore, this article will discuss primarily the nativization of English and the Englishization of Chinese with regard to the morphological, semantic and syntactic levels.
THE SPREAD OF ENGLISH
Authors: Fishman Joshua A.
Published: February 2007

The Alchemy of English: The Spread, Functions and Models of Non‐native Englishes. By Braj B. Kachru.
ANALYZING CONVERSATION
Authors: Dumas Bethany K.
Published: February 2007

Conversational Style: Analyzing Talk among Friends. By Deborah Tannen.
What is an ‘ideal’ pedagogical grammar?
Authors: NADKARNI MANGESH V.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: ‘Revolutions in grammar’ tend to occur with a periodic regularity and in each revolution is seen the promise of a better pedagogical grammar. It is well known that the major stimulant for these upheavals comes from the upheavals in linguistic theory, the assumption being that the adequacy or the success of a pedagogical grammar is the function of the linguistic theory it embodies. One inevitable consequence of this is that just as the search for the best linguistic theory continues, so does the search for the best ideal pedagogical grammar. There is an important consideration which is generally ignored by the theoreticians of language learning, namely, the pragmatics of language teaching, which includes, among other things, the environment in which the teaching takes place, and partially the competence of the language teacher. This paper will question the twin assumptions behind this search for the best pedagogical grammar: (a) that there is one ideal pedagogical grammar, and (b) that the success of a pedagogical grammar depends primarily on the linguistic theoretical assumptions incorporated in it.
Infinitival verb complementation: theory and usage as a basis for pedagogy
Authors: MILLS DOUGLAS G.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The goal of this study is to develop a set of pedagogical priorities for the teaching of infinitival verb complementation to nonnative speakers of English. In the literature review, the foundation for this goal is laid through the development of a classification system for infinitival verb complementation. The next two sections of this paper detail a corpus study and its results, and in so doing provide the basis for a pedagogical adaptation of the previously developed taxonomy. The discussion section of this paper deals with two issues left from the literature review to be handled in the light of the results of the corpus study. The final two sections of this paper present a set of pedagogical priorities for teaching infinitival verb complementation and suggest some areas for further research in this regard.
Testing grammatical competence: English examinations in an Indian university
Authors: KRISHNAKUMAR K.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper considers the nature and types of questions that are asked on English grammar in various undergraduate examinations of an Indian university. On the basis of data drawn from 28 question papers, it is shown that a large number of questions are vague, ambiguous, ineffective, and are occasionally couched in ungrammatical language. They thus defeat the very objective of the tests.
ANGLO‐INDIAN ENGLISH
Authors: D'SOUZA JEAN
Published: February 2007

A Sociolinguistic Investigation of the English Spoken by the Anglo‐Indians in Mysore City. By Jennifer Marie Bayer.
Interactional strategies in South Asian languages: their implications for teaching English internationally
Authors: D'SOUZA JEAN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines interactional strategies in several South Asian languages and shows that the norms that effect politeness in South Asian languages are very different from those that operate in native English. The implications of these differences for the teaching of English in South Asia are explored in the context of the relationship between language and ‘grammar of culture.’ It is claimed that communicative competence can only be achieved when there is a fit between language and grammar of culture. This must be kept in mind when English is taught internationally because in countries in which English has been institutionalized speakers have adapted English to fit in with their grammar of culture. These speakers of English have communicative competence in their variety of English, and the need for them to develop native‐like competence is debatable.
Discourse communities, genres and English as an international language
Authors: SWALES JOHN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT:The concept of discourse community is proposed as a more functional and goal‐directed grouping than either speech community or speech fellowship. Six criteria for the existence of a discourse community are outlined and then exemplified. Two claims are advanced: (1) genres are properties of discourse communities, and (2) strong levels of interpersonal relationship are not criterial for the creation of a discourse community. The second half of this paper examines, by way of application of the theoretical discussion, the genre of the reprint request, and discusses the discourse communities that either do or do not participate in the genre. It is argued that the reprint request possesses the full range of genre characteristics, and that the particular source of reprint request cards provides a different kind of evidence about the current status of English as as international language. Finally, the paucity of requests from the Third World is noted, and suggestions made with regard to consequences and remedies.
Pragmatics, lexicography and dictionaries of English
Authors: ZGUSTA LADISLAV
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper treats the influence of pragmatics on lexicography, with illustrations from several dictionaries of English as well as from other mono‐ and bilingual dictionaries. In Section 2, the history of the term pragmatics is discussed, and the emergence of pragmatics as a discipline is described as having origins in transformational grammar and in the study of speech acts. Section 3 contains a general discussion of more and less common pragmatic aspects of the dictionary, such as indexicality (deixis). Section 4 focuses on three pragmatic aspects of dictionaries: the cultural setting, equivalence in bilingual dictionaries with English, and the lexicographic definition. It is shown that the cultural setting can influence the choice of pictorial illustrations or of words to be included in the dictionary. Equivalence is a lexicographic problem due to the lack of one‐to‐one meaning correspondences between words in different languages; finding appropriate translational equivalents is a difficult task for makers of bilingual dictionaries, since they often face situations in which only a partial equivalence exists between words or in which there is no equivalent for a given word due to cultural and other differences between languages. The lexicographic definition, or explanation of meaning, presents three difficulties to lexicographers: circularity, explaining obscurum per obscurius, and hyperonymic regression. The Collins COBUILD is given as example of a monolingual English dictionary that avoids the problems of explanation of meaning in an original way. This paper concludes with observations on how pragmatic competence, as one part of linguistic competence, must be used in the interpretation of dictionary definitions, especially of the type of Collins COBUILD: a comparison is made between dictionaries that rely heavily on human pragmatic knowledge, and those constructed for computational use that must make their pragmatic component explicit.
Simultaneous talk—from the perspective of floor management of English and Japanese speakers
Authors: HAYASHI REIKO
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper reports on a comparative study of the use of simultaneous talk or ‘sync talk’ by Japanese and English speakers. The analysis is based on a concept of floor derived in part from Edelsky [Language in Society, 10, 383–421 (1981)], but adapted and developed for the purposes of the present study. Analysis of tape‐recorded and videotaped conversations among Japanese speakers (speaking Japanese) and among American speakers (speaking English) shows that, while both groups use sync talk, it is used with much greater frequency by the Japanese speakers. This can be shown by quantitative analysis. Furthermore, in addition to verbal simultaneous talk, Japanese speakers were found to engage in more nonverbal interactive behavior during conversation than their American counterparts. The final section of this paper discusses the implications of these findings for cross‐cultural communication and language learning.
English in Fiji
Authors: SIEGEL JEFF
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: English is the home language of only 3% of the population in Fiji, but plays an important role in interethnic communication, and as a language of wider communication with the outside world. This article traces the history of English in Fiji, especially in relation to education. The features of Fiji English, a local language variety, are also described.
Sociolinguistic analysis of a register: birthday notices in Papua New Guinea Post Courier
Authors: HOLZKNECHT SUSANNE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the birthday notices which appear in the Classified Advertisements section of the Papua New Guinea Post Courier newspaper. The texts of these notices are analysed from a sociolinguistic perspective, and their context is considered in this paper to be a register of the variety of English which has become known as Papua New Guinea English. The birthday notices, which began to appear regularly from late 1984 onwards, have changed in frequency, nature and linguistic character since their first appearance. Socially, they provide one indicator of the existence of a self‐conscious urban elite in Papua New Guinea which is prosperous, literate, and is developing its own institutions and idioms for expressing these institutions. Linguistically, these notices indicate an awareness and manipulation of the Papua New Guinean variety of English which is the communicative lingua franca of this elite.
Models, standards, targets/goals and norms in pronunciation teaching
Authors: BROWN ADAM
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The four terms models, standards, targets/goals and norms are used widely in English language teaching, but without agreed definitions. This article investigates the usefulness of these terms for pronunciation teaching. Standard and norm do not seem very useful, and model and target/goal reflect a distinction which, it is argued, ought not to exist. That is, pronunciation models should not be unattainable ideals, but rather realistic targets for the particular group of learners. Proposed features of pronunciation models are examined critically. Four are considered of major importance—intelligibility, conveyance of identity, ease of learning, and facilitation of spelling. It is noted that currently used models such as Received Pronunciation fail to fulfil these criteria. A polymodel approach is recommended, where a different pronunciation model is appropriate for each ELT situation, since each situation differs in its linguistic background, the desires and needs of its speakers, etc.
Prepositions in American and British English
Authors: MINDT DIETER , WEBER CHRISTEL
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to compare the distribution of prepositions in American and British English. Two machine‐readable 1 million word corpora, the BROWN Corpus of American English and the LOB Corpus of British English are used as a basis of comparison. The prepositions that occur in both American and British English account for more than 99% of all the occurrences of prepositions in both corpora. Moreover, the distribution of the six most commonly used prepositions (representing more than 70% of all the occurrences of prepositions in both corpora) is almost identical in American and British English. As far as prepositions are concerned, there is on the whole a very close distributional correspondence between British and American English.
Are there syntactic constraints on code‐mixing?
Authors: BOKAMBA EYAMBA G.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study provides a critical review of the syntactic study of code‐mixing with particular reference to the syntactic constraints paradigm. It examines seven major surface constraints deemed to have universal applicability and shows on the basis of cross‐linguistic data that none of them is universal. It is argued in the light of this finding that the postulation of universal syntactic constraints on code‐mixing may be premature and that the constraint‐oriented theory to the study of this phenomenon is descriptively inadequate because it fails to explicate its socio‐psycholinguistics. The study maintains that factors such as degree of multilinguality, who speaks what variety of language to whom, when, and for what reason are crucial parameters in the formulation of an adequate theory of code‐switching and code‐mixing. To achieve this objective, it is suggested that researchers integrate in their analysis three different but interrelated types of data: structural, psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic.
Code‐switching: a natural phenomenon vs language ‘deficiency’
Authors: CHENG LI‐RONG , BUTLER KATHARINE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Code‐switching is a very important aspect of bilingualism, and is a natural occurrence when two bilingual speakers engage in discourse. For the most part, such individuals are not consciously aware that they are code‐switching. Nonetheless, it serves an important social function. Whenever there is more than one language spoken in a community, its population will code‐switch. The purpose of this paper is to first examine the types of code‐switches that bilingual speakers use and listener attitudes toward this behavior. Some linguists view code‐switching as inevitable, and feel that it helps to express meanings more precisely, while others believe that code‐switching can serve to pollute a language, rather than enhance the communication between bilingual individuals. Professionals in speech‐language pathology have viewed the use of the amount and types of code‐switching as indicators for relative language proficiency or, on occasion, as the lack thereof. Some practitioners view code‐switching as a symptom of language deficiency. However, the authors contend that when code‐switching is used to maximize communication and to strengthen not only the content but the essence of the message, it can be considered an asset, not a deficiency. However when used in great abundance, and to the degree that it interferes with communication, it can be considered a deficit. Second, this paper discusses the importance of collecting data based on the ethnographic approach in order to gain more insight into this phenomenon. Such data need to be analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The authors propose a framework for in‐depth studies, i.e. cumulative studies of code‐switching under various contexts. The following analyses of each instance of code‐switching may then assist researchers to obtain a holistic and qualitative understanding of such behaviors.
Codeswitching with English: types of switching, types of communities
Authors: MYERS‐SCOTTON CAROL
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Types of codeswitching are defined, according to their social functions, with switching ‘as an unmarked choice’ receiving special attention. This type of switching occurs when bilingual peers make relevant their dual and simultaneous membership in the two groups symbolized by the two different linguistic varieties involved in the switching pattern. Structural constraints on switching are discussed across codeswitching types. Finally, it is argued that the types of codeswitching characterizing a community become predictors of the functional allocation of linguistic varieties and of intergroup competition in that community.
Distinguishing language contact phenomena: evidence from Finnish‐English bilingualism
Authors: POPLACK SHANA , WHEELER SUSAN , WESTWOOD ANNELI
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Using a variationist, i.e. accountable, approach to the study of code‐switching, this paper attempts to validate the equivalence contraint on intrasentential code‐switching on the basis of natural speech data from two typologically different languages, Finnish and English. Though the data include many apparent exceptions to the constraint, the authors show how these are resolved by distinguishing on the one hand between code‐switching and borrowing, and on the other between the different functions code‐switching fulfills in the discourse.
Code switching and code mixing as a communicative strategy in multilingual discourse
Authors: TAY MARY W. J.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: While the formal characteristics of codes switching and mixing, such as free morpheme constraints and equivalence constraints, have been well documented accross aa varity of languages, relatively little is known about how codw switching and mixing are used as communicative strategies in a multilingual community. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap. It examines various spoken texts which involve code switching and mixing between some of the main languages spoken in Singapore, such as English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Toechew. The analysis demonstrates how code switching and mixing are used as a communicative strategy, as a device for elucidation and interpretation, to establish solidarity and rapport in multilingual discourse. Despite differences in the formal characteristics of the languages concerned, common communicative strategies have evolved as a results of languages in contact. This paper also discusses the linguistic, psychological and sociolinguistic implications of studies on code mixing and switching. It argues that such studies help us to better understand the functions and forms of language used in a dynamic, multilingual community. This paper concludes with a plea to look at languages in multilingual communities as independent systems instead of as merely deviant or different forms of native English.
Plus ca change, plus c'est la même chose: attitudes towards English language learning in Hong Kong—Frederick Stewart's evidence
Authors: BICKLEY GILLIAN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The reported situation with reference to the motivation of Hong Kong people in learning the English language, at an early period of British Hong Kong, is considered, and comparisons made with today. It is suggested that the attitudes of the Hong Kong people towards learning English, between then and now, are very similar; and that these attitudes are thus deeply entrenched. It is also suggested that, although methodology and ideas about methodology may have changed, some native teachers of English show over time a consistently different understanding of the purposes of learning English—and indeed, of the purposes of education in general—than that held by their pupils and students, and by Hong Kong society as a whole. It is argued that the increasing emigration of Hong Kong people from Hong Kong, mainly to Anglophone countries, as 1997—the year of the return to Chinese sovereignty—approaches, makes it important for there to be an international understanding of the attitude of Hong Kong people towards learning the English language. The major sources are contemporary and nineteenth‐century Government Reports and newspapers.
International English: towards an acceptable, teachable target variety
Authors: JOHNSON ROBERT KEITH
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT:This paper offers a ‘first‐approximation’ description of International English (IE). This variety, it is claimed, can be differentiated systematically from other varieties in terms of its content, domains of use, communicative functions, discourse and linguistic features and teaching and learning situation. The picture of IE which emerges is impressionistic rather than definitive, but seems coherent and in accordance with the facts, so far as these have been established, and with the intuitions of those who have had experience in the use of English in international contexts. This paper begins with a review of recent literature on the role(s) of English in the modern world. It proceeds to a feature analysis of IE, and concludes with an outline of the components of an IE curriculum. IE as described appears to be capable of meeting the primary communicative needs of a large and growing number of people who use English for international purposes, and to be teachable in situations where any particular intranational variety would be inappropriate as a target, and unteachable or prohibitively costly given the constraints on the IE teaching and learning situations.
The English in Japanese university entrance examinations: a sociocultural analysis
Authors: LOCASTRO VIRGINIA
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the English in Japanese university entrance examinations within a sociocultural and historical context. The values and world view of the Japanese are reflected in their educational system, in the methodology for language teaching and teacher training, in the materials and curriculum, and in the methods of evaluation. The kind of English used in the examinations both mirrors and reinforces general attitudes about language, language learning, and national interests, resulting in a closed system highly resistant to change. Advocates for change must engage all levels of the educational system while addressing the needs of government and the private sector.
The tone system of West African Coastal English
Authors: GRIPER‐FRIEDMAN LINDSAY
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: An outline is given of the tone system common to all varieties of anglophone West African Coastal English. These varieties are identified on two axes: a regional axis corresponding to geographical location and mother tongue, and a socio‐linguistic axis relating to social acceptability, international intelligibility and closeness to native English. On this second axis a typology of three is set up. The features of the tone system are: syllable tone, word accent, word classes, downdrift, and two tone groups. These are described in detail and exemplified from type II Ghanaian English. An indication of how there may be slightly different regional realisations of the system is exemplified from Yoruba English. This highly predictable tone system as a characteristic of all varieties of West African Coastal English, with only minor regional differences, gives rise to some interesting linguistic, pedagogical and socio‐linguistic questions.
The lexical style of Indian English newspapers
Authors: DUBEY VINOD S.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines from a functional perspective some aspects of the lexical style of Indian newspaper English, which approximates normal Indian English (1E) communication, and explores the dynamics of nativization of the English language in India. This is done in terms of the nodal concept of ‘contraints’–socio‐cultural and linguistic–under which the language functions, and indeed gains its functional viability in IE communication. Significantly, this study of the strategies commonly used to overcome these ‘constraints’–borrowings of native lexical items and replenishment of the lexis of the language through semantic shifts–not only brings out their relative functional value that essentially characterizes IE, but also shows how their distinctive choice pattern underlies the crucial efficacy of the nativized language (IE). A close analysis of IE yields, just as a native language would, an objective view of the sotio‐cultural‐aesthetic ethos of the modern Indian society.
Englishization of Yoruba phonology
Authors: UFOMATA TITILAYO
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper is based on a doctoral thesis, The phonological influence of English upon Yoruba, prepared at the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College London. Extensive fieldwork was carried out in Nigeria and London, at the end of which a large corpus of English loanwords was compiled. Subjects for the investigation were carefully selected to include a monolingual control group whose usage of loans cannot be attributed to code‐switching. The limits of the areas of phonological influence of English on Yoruba are shown, and these influences, how they were introduced into the language, and their subsequent diffusion into the phonological system, are described. For each influence, an attempt is made to detail phonetic/linguistic motivations where they exist. Finally, theoretical statements are made about phonological systems in contact, especially where the languages are non‐contiguous.
English as an additional language in Indonesia
Authors: LOWENBERG PETER H.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the forms and functions of English as a ‘foreign language’ in Indonesia. A brief survey of the historical and current status of English in Indonesia reveals that English has few intranational functions as a dominant code of discourse. However, analysis of data from several sources demonstrates that English is nonetheless having a significant impact on language use in Indonesia, particularly through lexico‐semantic and pragmatic contributions to Bahasa Indonesia, the widely spoken national and official language. In complementary distribution with borrowings from other foreign languages, especially Sanskrit, English lexical items are officially or ‘spontaneously’ borrowed for use in specific domains. These borrowings are often semantically extended, restricted, or totally shifted to provide new registers for Bahasa Indonesia, to foreground a modern identity for educated urbanites and for those who aspire to be like them, and to express or neutralize new values and behavior patterns in Indonesia's rapidly modernizing society. This paper concludes that these functions of English in the linguistic repertoires of many Indonesians warrant its classification in Indonesia as an ‘additional’ rather than merely a ‘foreign’ language.
When paradigms clash: the role of institutionalized varieties in language teacher education
Authors: VAVRUS FRANCES K.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study explores the relationship between the theoretical study of institutionalized varieties of English (IVEs) and their application in teacher‐training programs. The first section of this paper applies concepts from the work of Michel Foucault and Clifford Geertz to the study of world Englishes. The second section reports on a survey of the curricula at 10 universities offering MATESL/MATEFL degrees. Finally, the paper describes a study comparing the attitudes of American MATESL students and African university students toward non‐native written discourse. The results of this study indicate that, while there is a nascent awareness of IVEs, a monomodel paradigm based on native‐speaker norms remains firmly entrenched in most teacher‐training programs and in the minds of many teachers themselves.
Sociolinguistics and the teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990s
Authors: BERNS MARGIE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the need for awareness among English language teaching professionals in Europe of the social and cultural factors influencing the use and spread of English in the European context. It argues that this awareness can be achieved by extending the view of sociolinguistics in language preparation programs beyond concern with identification of what kind of language is appropriate in interpersonal encounters to recognition of language as a social institution which influences attitudes and behaviors. Sociolinguistic profiles are illustrated as a framework for identifying the features of the uses and users of English in Europe. The framework serves as a means for teacher education programs to prepare future teachers for the challenges of developing learners’ communicative competence in English for communication within and outside Europe in 1992 and beyond.
Cross‐currents in teaching English in Singapore
Authors: KWAN‐TERRY ANNA
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the political, sociocultural and economic factors governing the teaching of English in Singapore. It reviews the changes which took place in the last ten years, showing how these changes were brought about through deliberate measures on the part of the government in conjunction with the free choice of the people themselves. Special attention is given to the ambivalent attitude of both the government and its people towards the increasing dominance of English in the island state. Whilst the government is anxious to promote the use of English to support commercial and technological developments for economic success, it is at the same time concerned about the effects of Westernization which may ultimately undermine the country's economic growth. Similarly whilst the people have, for pragmatic reasons, chosen English education for their children, they are concerned about the falling standard of Chinese in the society. This paper also studies the effects of the bilingual or bi‐literacy policy in Singapore's education system and its impact on inculcating Asian cultural values.
Testing across cultures: an historical perspective
Authors: SPOLSKY BERNARD
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: While there have been minor but bitterly debated issues connected with variety choice in international teaching and testing of English, an equally pervasive cultural clash has been initiated through the encounter between the traditional and modern approaches to testing. The classical colonial diffusion of the British examination system (with its notion of prescribed curriculum and the judgement by examiners of written or spoken performance) has come into unfruitful rivalry with the neo‐colonialist American objective test (with its deification of reliability and the unquestionable expertise of psychometrists); at the same time, the prodicious power of the tests has supported the imperialism of the competing normative varieties of English they revere and disseminate.
Issues of validity in tests of English as a world language: whose standards?
Authors: LOWENBERG PETER H.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Despite the current extensive research on many variables associated with English language testing, little attention has been focused on the inherent variability in the linguistic ‘norms’ for Standard English that are generally tested. This paper examines data from domains of Standard English in several native‐speaker (e.g. British) and non‐native (e.g. Malaysian) varieties of English, focusing on linguistic and attitudinal factors leading to changes in these norms. It then discusses implications of these changes for test construction aimed at assessing proficiency in English as a global language, particularly through such standardized instruments as the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).
The power of English in Pakistan
Authors: ABBAS SHEMEEM
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT:Sociopolitical and socio‐economic dimensions of control are implemented through language hegemony in countries of the Third World. Edward Said and Antonio Gramsci's models are used to describe the English language situation in Pakistan, especially during the period of the Afghan war (1977–88), when the country was the recipient of massive foreign aid. The role of the ‘foreign funding agencies’ in the expansion of ELT programs is a significant aspect of ‘linguistic imperialism’. A theory of education and materials design is proposed using the indigenous, grassroots literary and oral tradition.
Language, power, and emancipation in South Africa
Authors: DE KADT ELIZABETH
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Against the background of the widely divergent perspectives on language and power of the last decade, this paper seeks to develop a more general model of the ‘power of language’. A first section considers various explanations of the concept of ‘power’ as developed in the political sciences. Certain of these insights are then applied to the phrase ‘the power of language’, and a model is developed, differentiating between, on the one hand, overt pragmatic and symbolic power, and on the other, covert signitive power. This model is then used to analyse aspects of the power of English in South Africa; in particular, possible unforeseen consequences of instituting English as a lingua franca are considered. The question is posed as to whether it might be possible to escape from this discourse of power and become, in some degree, emancipated: it is suggested that an emancipatory language policy can make a substantial contribution to this. Against this background a final section considers possible roles of the indigenous languages at the English‐medium universities in South Africa.
French attitudes toward the ideology of English as an international language
Authors: FLAITZ JEFFRA
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the French perceptions of the relationship between the English language as an international lingua franca and American culture and ideology. In recent years it has been claimed (e.g. by Joshua Fishman) that English is becoming ideologically neutral, that it functions as a ‘medium pure and simple rather than as either a symbol or message’. My aim, then, is to use France as a case study to examine this claim. The paper uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The questionnaire included measures of various attitudes toward American and British English. The study also attempts to seek answers to the following questions: What effect do demographic variables have on French attitudes toward American and British ideology, culture, speakers, and language? What effects do variables such as knowledge of English and degree of proficiency of English have on French attitudes toward English? What is the relationship between motivation to study English and attitudes toward English? And, does public opinion with respect to attitudes toward English differ from official or academic response?
Standards and pedagogical norms for teaching English in Malaysia
Authors: GILL SARAN KAUR
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study argues a case for the necessity of maintaining acceptable standards of English, appropriate for learners of English as an international language, in Malaysia. This will have direct implications for the formulation of a pedagogical model of speech which provides a norm to aspire to in the teaching and learning of English. These issues will be contextualized by referring to a particular instance of a social reaction to the development of the different varieties of English in Malaysia. In addition, research that has been conducted at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, regarding the issue of the acceptability of the different varieties of English, will be discussed. These findings will provide support for the recommendation that basic formal features of a Malaysian pedagogical model of speech be developed in order to facilitate international and intranational communication.
English and Chinese in Hong Kong: pre‐1997 language attitudes
Authors: PENNINGTON MARTHA C. , YUE FRANCIS
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study assesses the attitudes towards English and Chinese existing among secondary students in Hong Kong at the present time, with a view towards the imminent change in government which will take place in 1997. Using the same survey instrument as employed in an earlier study (Pierson et al., 1980), the authors surveyed 285 students in lower and upper secondary classes at selected public schools throughout the territory. The results indicate a strong motivation to learn English and tolerance towards the use of English in Hong Kong. As contrasted with the earlier study, secondary students in the present investigation did not associate the use of English with implicit threats to their Chinese identity, nor did they feel that it should be abandoned as a medium of instruction. These differences in response pattern may be due to methodological differences in the two surveys, or they may represent a change in language attitudes related to the changes which have taken place in Hong Kong over the last decade in anticipation of the takeover of the British territory by the Chinese government.
Englishization and language change in modern Chinese in Taiwan
Authors: HSU JIA‐LING
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper is a study of the impact of English on modern Chinese morphology and syntax in Taiwan. This process, termed ‘Englishization’(Kachru, 1989), was initiated by the translation of Western literary works, mainly from English, into written Chinese. First, the historical background of this process in modern Chinese will be briefly addressed. Second, the morphological and syntactic features of Chinese that have been influenced by English, and the mechanism by which these features have been brought about, will be discussed.

This study has two purposes: to describe the Englishized features based primarily on previous observations of other scholars, and to present new observations of the recent developments in this process. The evidence comes from limited empirical data collected from newspapers, magazines, and creative literary texts.

This research has confirmed that translation is an initiator of syntactic change and provides the mechanism through which such a process takes place. The results of the study indicate that the Englishization of modern Chinese, initiated by translation, has developed further with time and has become an inevitable trend.
Englishized Korean: structure, status, and attitudes
Authors: SHIM ROSA JINYOUNG
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: English as a world language in Korea has played an important role in changing the Korean language. Among the most noticeable changes are that the Koreal lexis is undergoing a shift from the previous dependence on Chinese‐character words to English loanwords; Korean phonology has acquired new phonemes and phonological rules associated with the pronunciation of English loanwords; and extensive English code‐mixing and switching can be found in both formal and informal discourse in Korean. These changes are reflections of the increased importance and utility of English in Korea, favorable attitudes of Koreans toward the use of English, and above all, an increase in the number of Korean‐English bilinguals in Korea. In addition to the fact that English has gained power in Korea, a factor that contributes to increased use of English is the relative decrease in the use of Chinese‐character words that were once the symbol of education and sophistication. Moreover, linguists, educators and the mass media all seem to work together to propagate the use of English in everyday speech.
PHONOLOGICAL DESCRIPTIONS
Authors: Bamgbose Ayo
Published: February 2007

Aspects of Cameroon English Phonology. Augustin Simo‐Bobda.
LANGUAGE POLICIES FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES
Authors: Deneire Marc G.
Published: February 2007

Linguistic Minorities in Multilingual Settings: Implications for Language Policies. Christina Bratt Paulston.
The Japanese media and English
Authors: TANAKA SACHIKO ODA
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Japanese contact with the English language was very limited until 1853, when Commodore Perry arrived in Edo (Tokyo) Bay to open diplomatic and commercial relations between the US and Japan. In subsequent years English played a significant role in the transformation of Japan from a feudal, closed country to a modern nation. The aim of this paper is to describe the use of English in the media in Japan today. First, we will look at the role and history of English‐language newspapers. Second, we will look at how much English programs are broadcast on radio and television. Finally, we will see that more than half of the movies shown in the theaters in the Tokyo area in February, 1994 were in English. We will conclude this survey by a short discussion of some of the implications these findings have regarding the use of English in Japan in the coming years.
English in a Japanese company: The case of Toshiba
Authors: MORROW PHILLIP R.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the use of English for business purposes in Japan. Using a case‐study method, it describes several aspects of Toshiba's language training program: its curriculum, teachers and learners, administration, and changes and developments in the program. The use of English for business purposes raises issues about the choice of a variety of English, the needs of learners, and the role of cross‐cultural communication training. These general issues are discussed and considered from the standpoint of how they relate to the teaching and use of English for business purposes in the Japanese context. The Toshiba case illustrates some of the problems at a practical level with: the concept of Business English (BE); the distinction between BE and English for Specific Purposes (ESP); assessing and adjusting to the needs of a variety of learners; and incorporating cross‐cultural communication training into language instruction.