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Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2014. № 4
ТЕОРИЯ ЯЗЫКА И РЕЧИ
Nelli Avetisyan, Sirush Voskanyan
LANGUAGE VARIATION IN TERMS OF TEACHING ENGLISH
The choice of a variety of English to be taught at schools and universities is not easy since there are several established standards from which one may select. Why certain varieties are preferred, as opposed to others, depends on historical, cultural, geographical, attitudinal consideration. The choice of the variety of English to be taught has also been challenged by many distinctive forms of new Englishes that have come into existence as a result of language contact and language interference.
Key words: language variation, regional varieties, language contacts, language interference, teaching English.
Выбор определенного варианта английского языка для преподавания в школах и университетах — задача сложная, поскольку существует несколько установленных стандартов. Причина, по которой отдается предпочтение одному варианту из многих, кроется в исторических, культурных, географических, ментальных факторах. Выбор регионального варианта для образовательных целей осложняется еще и многими индивидуальными формами новых "английских", которые зародились в результате языковых контактов и языковой интерференции.
Ключевые слова: языковая вариативность, региональные варианты, языковые контакты, языковая интерференция, преподавание английского языка.
Because of huge waves of immigration, ease of communications and the development of high technologies, language interference due to language contact is ever-increasing today. Radio, television, the Internet, traveling, mobility contribute to languages influencing each other and hence new regional varieties are emerging in the world today. The spread of English around the world has already demonstrated this. Many distinctive forms of new Englishes have come into existence. This is inevitable because the contact and hence the interference (a mother tongue and an acquired language, English in this case) will result in a new variety.
The amount of multilingualism in Britain, for example, has rocketed. "In 1999 there was a survey of the mother tongues of 850 000 children in London schools. It found over 300 languages in use. The most common
Avetisyan Nelli — Associate Professor, PhD, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies; e-mail: [email protected]
Voskanyan Sirush — Associate Professor, PhD, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies; e-mail: [email protected]
was English, of course. Next were several languages of people who came from South Asia — Bengali, Panjabi, Gujarati, Hindu, Urdu. Then came two languages from around the Mediterranean — Turkish and Arabic. Then came two languages from Africa — Yoruba (which is spoken in Nigeria) and Somali. Next came one of the languages of China — Cantonese."1
The UK is special but not alone. Bilingualism is a big issue in places like the USA and Western Europe. Immigrants do not drop their old languages and learn a new one when they travel to a new part of the world. Many actually make every effort to keep their first language alive, speaking it whenever they can, forming local communities where it is used and teaching it to their children. And the welcoming country often makes every effort to foster multilingualism too, providing services in as many languages as it can afford. That is why people get very upset when their language is rubbished, or ignored, or — in the worst case — banned. Even these days we read in the newspapers and the Internet of people in a country going on a march to support their language. There may even be riots and hunger strikes. It has happened in Quebec, where the French speakers want their language to be given a greater public presence. It is happening in Belgium, where those who speak French and those who speak Flemish are often in conflict. It has happened in Wales and India and several other countries. It is happening today in post — Soviet states.
Why do these things occur? It is because the people feel quite strongly about the importance of their language and their identity. They are prepared to go to any lengths to preserve it. But at the same time they cannot avoid learning the language of a host country.
In this connection it would be reasonable to refer to the US linguist Braj Kachru who has suggested that we think of the spread of English around the world as three connecting circles, representing different ways in which the language has been acquired and currently used.2
The inner circle refers to the traditional basis of English, where it is the primary language: it includes the USA, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The outer or extended circle involves the earlier phases of the spread of English in non-native settings, where the language has become part of a country's chief institutions and plays an important "second language" role in a multilingual setting: it includes Singapore, India, Malawi and over fifty other territories.
The expanding or extending circle involves those nations which recognize the importance of English as an international language, though they do not have a history of colonization by members of the inner circle, nor have they given English any special administrative status. It includes
1 Crystal D. A little Book of Language. Yale University Press, 2010. P. 80.
2 Kachru B. The Sacred Cows of English // English Today. 1988. Vol. 4. N 4. P. 3—8.
China, Japan, Greece, Poland and (as the name of this circle suggests) a steadily increasing number of other states. In these areas, English is taught as a foreign language. (The term "expanding" reflects its origins in the 1990s: today, with English recognized virtually everywhere, a tense change to expanded circle would better reflect the contemporary scene.)
Among the countries of the outer and expanding circles not only are new varieties emerging, but they are becoming more distinct.
Mixed varieties involving English are now found everywhere. However, many people believe that those speaking these varieties (both within the English-speaking and other countries) actually are not speaking "varieties" of English. They are speaking English incorrectly. The so-called Japlish, Singlish, Spanglish, Chinglish, Angleutsch, Franglais, Tex-Mex, Russlish and so on cannot be considered as varieties, by definition. The opponents of a mere idea of "mixed varieties" due to contact between and interference of languages argue that the users of those varieties are without a language, being able to speak neither of them with successful fluency. But some linguists, notably David Crystal, claim that "general attitudes towards these phenomena are slowly changing (though still receiving much establishment opposition). Formerly, the nicknames were only ever used as scornful appellations by the general public. People would sneer at Tex-Mex and say it was neither one language nor the other, or refer to it as "gutter-speak" used by people who had not learned to talk properly. But we can hardly call a variety like Taglish gutter-speak when it is being used in writing by a major banking corporation. And when these "mixed" languages are analysed, it is found that they are full of great complexity and subtlety of expressions — as we would expect, if people have the resources of two languages to draw upon, rather than one."3 Moreover, many linguists, both Russian and foreign tend to consider Spanglish, for example, as 'code switching' from English into Spanish and the other way round.4
Some linguists recognize the existence of new Englishes and consider them as marked varieties. As far as English is continuing to spread around the world and adjusting to local needs, it will fragment and become a family of languages as Latin did a thousand years ago. Fragmentation is already happening; at a business meeting with Indians and Mexicans or in a shop in the Philippines, for example, people speak a variety of English that has distinct features because of the Hindi, Spanish or Tagalog influence.
Those who are skeptical about the fragmentation of English point out that when Latin was a dominant language there was no radio, no televi-
3 Crystal D. English as a Global Language. Cambridge University Press, 2004. P. 165.
4 Солженицына М.В. Социолингвистические особенности феномена "Spanglish" // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2012. № 3. С. 28.
sion, no widely circulated newspapers or books, no mass literacy and no mass travel. These are a very powerful influence in preventing the fragmentation of English into different languages to the extent that Latin did. As mass communication and global media homogenize different varieties, English will become more standardized and mainstream international English will persist, especially for those who still want to communicate clearly and intelligibly, especially internationally.
Thus, English as the prevailing language of international communication is developing along two tracks. New varieties that express local attitudes which people feel very strongly about continue to appear; yet, despite the influence of mother tongue it is very important that there is full international intelligibility.
The users of English who speak it as their second language or as a foreign language generally tend to have as a model one of the native varieties of English. The choice of a variety is not easy since there are several established standards from which one may select, for example, British, American, or Australian. Why certain varieties are preferred, as opposed to others, depends on historical, cultural, geographical, attitudinal and particularly cultural considerations. Interestingly, different countries choose different varieties. Also a very important point to be made in this respect is the idea that "learning a second language is not a simple duplication of learning the first language. The mind has already developed a set of values, patterns and habits of the culture that accompanied the first language. Learning a second language is more than simply translating words from one language to another. Successfully learning a second language essentially means creating a new cultural universe within the mind."5 For example, in India the preferred standard is British English, in Mexico the people are much more likely to come into contact with Americans, in such countries as Holland or Sweden people are closer to Britain than the United States, whereas in Italy the amount of contact with speakers of American English is surprisingly great. In the Soviet Union it was definitely British English that was taught as a foreign language, but the younger generation prefers American English in present-day Russia for the reasons outlined below.
Learners of English as a foreign language in various countries throughout the world are aware of differences between the forms of the language which may be encountered in the United States and that which is used in England. At one time this caused relatively little difficulty. British English was accepted as the form to be taught within most school systems and that put an end to the matter.
5 Walsh K. Notes on Teaching English by an American in Russia // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2005. № 1. С. 57.
Over the past thirty or thirty-five years (fifteen to twenty in Russia) the situation has changed. As a result of globalization "the English language coming to forth as a major foreign language has taken place in all countries. In Russia this change has been particularly dynamic, the deregulation of the existing quotas for learning foreign languages among other factors (cf.: 50% — English, 25% — German, 20% — French, 5% — other languages)."6 The greater involvement of the United States in the international scene, the presence of larger numbers of Americans in foreign countries, the improved ease and speed of travel have made for a much wider dissemination of American English than was formerly the case. More residents of foreign countries are hearing American English; more of them find it necessary to communicate with Americans. American English is slowly becoming today's world language, and its impact is all-pervasive on the English-speaking world. This new trend may therefore influence the choice of a model. What actually happens is that language and power go together. American English is accepted for the power and superiority which America as a nation has acquired in the areas of science, technology, commerce, military affairs, and politics. The USA has become the center of Western political, economic, and technological innovations and activities. Therefore, it is not surprising that even the speakers of English in Britain have become tolerant of the encroachment of American English into their English, as have the Australians who earlier took British English as the model. One notices this slow but definite encroachment in several semantic areas in British English, such as film, television, theatre, and advertising as typical examples, the area of film being perhaps the most powerful means of linguistic influence which has brought transatlantic speech not only to the British Isles but also to the whole world. In advertising and salesmanship, Americans certainly are leaders. The area of mass media is opening up to American innovations as well. This intrusion of American English into British English, or for that matter into Australian and Canadian English, is slow but perceptible. True, British films and TV programmes are seen sufficiently often in the USA to mean that a growth in awareness of UK vocabulary should not be discounted. But the reverse pattern is less obvious. What were originally clear patterns of lexical differentiation have been obscured by borrowing on a world-wide scale.
In France, Spain, Germany, and Russia, for instance — in spite of resistance to the American influence — one notices an intrusion of Americanisms in the press, at social gatherings, and on the radio and television. Also, the ubiquitous American tourist has contributed toward
6 См.: Загрязкина Т.Ю. Речь о французском языке и проблемах языкового многообразия // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2013. № 3. С. 56.
the spread of American English as much as Hollywood films and student and faculty training programmes. The difference in speech and use of American English is associated with a linguistic attitude towards this variety in the new generation. Therefore, it is natural that one should correlate generational differences with the use of the American standard. The changing British attitude (and not only British for that matter) and its acceptance of Americanisms cannot be possibly ignored. As a consequence, the previously held assumption that the British variety of English is necessarily the one to be taught in the schools has been challenged upon more than one occasion. Some teachers have recommended a shift from British to American English; others, feeling that the form of the language as it occurs in the country of its origin is somehow more correct or more eloquent, have resisted change.
In terms of teaching English as a second or foreign language in the world today, we get a strong impression that there is a World Standard English (WSE), acting as a strongly unifying force among the vast range of variation which exists. There is a great deal of evidence to support this impression: the newspapers or the newscasters around the English-speaking world, the leading international institutions, the English commonly heard in the corridors of power of the European Union, and called "Euro-English". But this impression could be misleading in some respects. "A totally uniform, regionally neutral, and unarguably prestigious variety does not yet exist worldwide,"7 and the mixture of influences is unavoidable. In this connection the following criterion for approaching the question of which kind of English to teach may not be unwelcome. It is the cultural aspects of British and American life which the students in question are likely to encounter, and this places social utility in the foreground. "The pressure for international intelligibility is very strong, and may by now be unstoppable. International travel, satellite broadcasting, world press and television, world stock markets, multinational corporations, intergovernmental agencies, and many other institutions have guaranteed a situation of daily contact for hundreds of millions of English speakers who together represent every major variety. Historical loyalties (e.g. to Britain) have been largely replaced by pragmatic, utilitarian reasoning. Any notion of the supposed superiority of one type of English over the other is absolutely irrelevant, because one kind of life, or one chain of historical development and hence, language development cannot be superior to the other. Actually each country where English is a first language is aware of its linguistic identity and is anxious to preserve it from the influence of others. All other countries can be grouped into those which follow American English, those which follow British English, and those (e.g. Canada) where there is a mixture
7 Quirk R. More Than Just Talking Proper // The Independent. 1993. 18 April.
of influences. If using British English can sell goods and services, then let British English be used. If it needs American English, then so be it. And let either or others be employed as occasion demands."8
Decisions about such an issue as which English is more preferable are made in innumerable contexts every day. There is no single easy answer to this question, nor will the answer necessarily be the same for all of the countries in which it is now an issue. "It will take time before the world sees a consensus, and only time will tell whether this consensus will display the domination of a present-day variety of English or the development of a new, composite variety."9
References
Crystal D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995. Crystal D. English as a Global Language. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Crystal D. A Little Book of Language. Yale University Press, 2010. Kachru B. The Sacred Cows of English // English Today. 1988. Vol. 4. N 4. QuirkR. More Than Just Talking Proper // The Independent. 1993. 18 April. Walsh K. Notes on Teaching English by an American in Russia // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2005. № 1.
Загрязкина Т.Ю. Речь о французском языке и проблемах языкового многообразия // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2013. № 3. Солженицына М.В. Социолингвистические особенности феномена "Spanglish" // Вестн. Моск. ун-та. Сер. 19. Лингвистика и межкультурная коммуникация. 2012. № 3.
8 Crystal D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995. P. 113.
9 Quirk R. Op. cit.
