Essay
AQA A Level English Language (Global English)
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- AQA
“Evaluate the idea that a global standard is needed for English all over the world.”
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By: amanisalya • 3 year ago
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Evaluate the idea that a global standard is needed for English all over the world.English began to spread around the world in the 17 th century, mostly driven by colonialism and trade. When the
English arrived in new places, such as America, Australia and India, they often forced the native people to learn
standard British English. In recent years, the English spoken by these people has now deviated from the global
standard and evolved into ‘the Englishes’ and now the debate is as to whether a standard and conventional form is
needed globally.
Kachru’s model describes the spread of English with three concentric circles: inner circle, outer circle and expanding
circle. The inner circle is where English is the native language such as the UK and USA, it is in these countries that the
norms of English originate and some argue that these should form a global standard. The outer circle is where
English has an increasing political role or is historically important, for example India. The expanding circle is where
there has been a recent demand for English and here new norms are developing, for example in China.
The criticism of Kachru’s model is that it places the UK and USA at the heart of the model, suggesting that English still
revolves around them. However this is not the case since, especially in the expanding circle, new norms of English
are being coined. This suggests that a global standard of English is becoming less important because new adaptations
are being developed which are unlike the standard we are used to.
The first permanent speaking English colony was in America and this was also the place where the global standard
began to be changed. The British people forced the Americans learn a standard British English however this was
incredibly unpopular with the Americans because the language they were obliged to learn did not reflect their
culture and couldn’t fully describe the world they live in. in addition Standard English lacked dialect and regular
spellings; this caused with rise of American English. It included vocabulary such as ‘elevator’, ‘sidewalk’ and ‘canoe’
as well as regular spellings such as ‘snowplow’ (as opposed to British English ‘snowplough’). The fact that the
development of American English helped to make English more logical and allow American’s to have some kind of
ownership over their language, rather than feeling ‘owned’ by the English as they spoke their language, suggests that
a global standard is not needed because it can be oppressive and complicated.
One reason many people believe that a global Standard English is necessary is that it can help people access ideas
and opportunities. The Singapore government believe that English can bring economic benefits as its lingua franca
and therefore they have introduced English nationwide to help them develop and to increase the prospects for the
population. The ‘Speak English Movement’ was established 11 years ago to increase the practice of Standard English
and many people in Singapore can now speak a Standard English. This suggests that many people do believe there is
a need for a global Standard English because speaking this world language can facilitate trade, make it easier to
access ideas and indicate a certain level of intelligence.
The English language is open to word play and this makes it flexible to adapt into other varieties such as Hinglish,
Chinglish and Singlish. These new varieties are culturally specific just like many aspects of British English. For
example in British English someone might say ‘it was like Clapham junction in there’ and as Michael Rosen explains,
to understand that reference you need to be able to appreciate the chaos of that station. This suggests that although
the Englishes are adaptations of English, different pragmatic understandings are needed to participate in
conversations using each of them. For example we cannot take part in a Hinglish conversation if we do not ‘get’ the
references. This could provide support for the idea that a global standard of English is needed around the world; it
helps communication and avoids moments of embarrassment where someone can’t participate properly.
An example of a form of English that has evolved from the British standard is Hinglish. It is a crossover of English and
Indian which acknowledges the rich past of its speakers and helps to overcome colonial oppression. During colonial
times, the British forced a standard language on Indian people, forcing them to learn English in English speaking
schools, alongside converting to Christianity and western ways. The notion of a ‘standard English’ is very oppressive
and has been historically linked to trying to flatten out identities that aren’t British or English; suggesting that a
global standard is not needed because it is too restrictive.
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