Summary of "Aspects of the English-speaking world" (Cult+Lit 1.1)
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Course
Culture and Literature 1.1 (ENSC1B01X)
Institution
Hogeschool Rotterdam (HR)
Book
Aspects of the English-speaking World
Summary of David Marler's book “Aspects of the English-speaking World”, all chapters. The book “Cal” and a number of films from the course will also be discussed.
Part 1 (45 points): 45 multiple choice questions
Know and understand all of the key terms (at the end of every chapter)
Be able to answer all of the questions in the book
Part 2 (10 points): Geography
The capitals of all of the five countries in the anglosphere (including the five
countries in the united kingdom)
London, Washington D.C, Ottawa, Canberra, Wellington.
UK: Edinburgh (Scotland), London (England), Dublin (Ireland), Cardiff (Wales)
and Belfast (northern Ireland).
The five largest cities of the united kingdom
London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle
The three largest cities of the republic of Ireland
Dublin, Belfast, Cork
The two largest cities of northern Ireland
Belfast, Derry
The five most populous states and cities in the United States
California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix
Canada’s 10 provinces and the five most populous cities
Provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario,
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and
Saskatchewan.
Most populous cities: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Emonton
Australia’s five most populous cities
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide
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,Summary
Chapter 1: The English speaking world
Lesson about chapter 1 in the coursebook
English is a language that is spoken in nearly every place in the world. It is one of
the most learned foreign and second languages (1.39 billion people speak
English).
A language is more than the words, grammar, syntax, and the pronunciation that
make up the language. All languages reflect the cultures of the people that speak
them. Languages consist of words, expressions and even grammar that reflect
their speakers and their cultures.
When we look at the English-speaking world, we have to consider the history, culture,
and change that the English language represents. We will look at countries that speak
English as their first language (L1) and countries that have historically used English.
English is a West Germanic language in the Anglo-Frisian language group and is
most related to Frisian. Germanic tribes brought it to the British Isles in the 5 th century.
First shift: Anglo-Saxon (Angles and Saxons)
The Angles and Saxons came in at the end of the height of the British Empire when
the Romans left. They were primarily looking for new farmland and brought the
Germanic language with them. This is an early version of English which is called
Anglo-Saxon or Old English. The language that was spoken before was a Celtic
one. The Anglo-Saxons dominated the culture, but few words made their way into the
new language.
Second shift: Vikings
In the ninth century the Vikings came from Scandinavia and they spoke a similar
language (Germanic), but northern Scandinavian was still very different. The Old
Norse had a big influence which we can see in: skill, ski, sky, egg (aeg), sale.
Third shift: Norman French
In the 11th century the Normans invaded during the Battle of Hastings (1066). The
French king came and changed British social fabric. Norman French drastically
changed English and the English vocabulary started to expand with thousands of
new vocabulary (animal vs. meat: cow/beef, chicken/poultry, pig/pork). The Anglo-
Saxon words weren’t lost, but English just adopted newer words with a separate
meaning. This English after the Norman conquest is called Middle English.
Nowadays, we speak present-day English which differs greatly from Middle English.
The language that Shakespeare used is called Early Modern English and differs in
words, grammar, and syntactical structures from the language we use now.
English as a world language
English has spread across the world and is now spoken on every continent. By the 19 th
century, English was one of the world’s most used languages for commerce.
There are five main reasons for English’s world dominance:
1. Colonial history
When British colonized the world, the language was taken to every continent and
1/3 op the population spoke English.
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,Summary
2. Economic dominance
With the rise of the US as the dominant world power in the 20 th century, English
was cemented as the language for commerce.
3. Exchange of information (internet)
With the origins of the internet being in the US, there is a world of information that
is centered around the English language.
4. Tourism
English is currently the most used language in international tourism since the 20 th
century. If you are going to travel abroad, English is very important.
5. Popular culture
A large portion of the popular films, music and literature coming from the west is
created and shared in English.
English is not always studied because of an appreciation for the English-speaking
culture, but it is seen as a necessity by many to obtain a good job. This aspect of
language learning changes the way we teach English in the Netherlands and has led to
new types of English teaching such as: ESP (English for Special Purposes) and EOP
(English for Occupational Purposes)
Where English is spoken
While English has 1.39 billion speakers in total, only 480 million of those people are L1
speakers. This means that English is not the most spoken language in the world, but
rather the third or fourth. The countries where the 480 million L1 speakers live is often
called the Anglosphere (a group of English-speaking countries that share common roots
in British culture and history).
A majority of the L1 speakers of English live in the United States. With 325 million
people it is by far the largest English-speaking country.
The country with the second largest number is the United Kingdom, where the
language originated. It is also the place that is norm-setting for the language.
Canada is the third largest English-speaking country. About 19.1 million people
speak English as their mother tongue according to the government.
Fourth place is Australia and paired with New-Zealand, it represents the farthest
outreach of the English-speaking world.
Followed by Australia is Ireland, which ironically has Irish Gaelic as its L1. Still, a
majority of the people speak English, making it the most important language.
The term Anglosphere with regards to English language usage is problematic. There are
countries where English is spoken by the majority of people which are not categorized as
part of the Anglosphere. Terms like this can be interpreted in different ways.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a set of former British colonies which still hold close
ties toe the United Kingdom. While these countries are totally independent, many in the
Commonwealth (Canada, Australia) still have the British Monarch as their head of state.
Many countries who fought wars of independence with Britain are not part of the
Commonwealth, for example Ireland and the United States.
The first dispersal of English
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, Summary
Refers to the British people that left the UK between the 17 th and 19th century to
move to North America and Oceania to start new lives and they took the English
language with them.
The second dispersal of English
Refers to the English colonizers who brought English later. This English was not
accompanied by large numbers of British people who moved to these countries to
start new lives, but rather for economic colonization. In places like India, Nigeria,
and Malaysia, English was used by the colonizers.
Kachru’s circles and Globish
Professor Braj Kachru placed speaker of English into three main categories which he
drew in three circles (Kachru’s circles).
The inner circle
This circle represented the native speakers, or those born in countries where
English is the only language of the majority of the population. These countries are
called norm setting countries (they set the grammatical, phonetic and lexical
norms).
Countries are USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New
Zealand.
The outer circle
This circle has nations that use English as an administrative language (English as
lingua franca, common language) and are norm promoting countries because
their numbers ensure that English stays important. Examples of countries in this
circle are India and South Africa.
The expanding circle
This circle consists of norm dependent speakers, speakers who rely on the native
speakers to set the rules for their language learning. These countries use English
as an EFL (English as a foreign language) for commercial, economic or social
purposes. Think of countries like China and the Netherlands.
Kachru’s circles has come under some criticism because he believes that
English is pluricentric, that it has different identities and norms. This
would mean that Indian English, which differs greatly from British and
American English, is correct. This idea of multiple Englishes was a
shockwave for the EFL and ESL (English as a second language). Kachru
reinvented his circles in ‘04 to make the role of country and ethnicity less
important. There were just two circles this time: one for the most proficient
speakers and one for the less proficient speakers.
The fact is that many learners of English will not be communicating with
natives, or people who were raised speaking English as their L1, but with
other EFL speakers. The Frenchman Nerrière promoted the idea of Globish
(global English, which consist of a few words and which is primarily used for
international communication.
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