INTRODUCTION
This unit will introduce you to the world-wide spread of English. One of the factors that determine the status and importance of a language is its spread. It can also be said the other way round that the status and importance of a language determine or influence its spread. There is no gainsaying the fact that today the English language is globally spread. It is spoken in almost every part of the world. It is no longer the language of only the Germanic groups of Angle Saxons, but also of the whole world. In other words, the fact cannot be denied that English is now a global language. Many factors such as historical, political, economic, cultural, educational, technological and so no contribute to the world- wide currency of the English language.
3.1 Language Spread
Simply put, by language spread we refer to the dispersal of language; that is, the geographical coverage of its use. People are scattered all over the surface of the earth and they speak one language or another. All the known languages of the world do not enjoy the same geographical spread. This is not because of the linguistic facilities of the languages. Factors of history, politics, economy, culture, education, and technology, among others, can facilitate or hinder language spread. All these factors favour the world-wide spread of the English language. According to Broughton, G et al (1978 :1), English is by far the most widely used of all the living languages. And as Crystal, D (1997:3) says, English is “the most widely taught foreign language in over 100 countries such as China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Egypt and Brazil …”
But the fact that English is the most widely used language does not mean that everybody in the world speaks the language. And neither does it mean that every country of the world adopts the language as an official language. The fact of the matter is that English is assigned some special role in almost every country of the world.
In all the places where English is used, we can identify two broad groups of users of English: users of English as first language or mother tongue and users of English as a second language (This is not to forget those we can regard as users of English as a foreign language). As a mother tongue, according to Broughton, G (et al), English ranks second to Chinese. But Chinese comprises six mutually unintelligible dialects little spoken outside China itself. Unlike Chinese, the speakers of English are widely distributed throughout the world.
Self-Assessment Exercise
1. What language do you speak as your first language or mother tongue?
2. Describe the geographical spread of the language within your local government area, state and country.
3.2 Spread of English as First Language (L1) or Mother Tongue (MT)
Originally, the English language was the language of three Germanic groups of people: the Angles, the Jutes and the Saxons who invaded Britain so many years ago. The language was initially part of the West Germanic, which also belonged to the Indo-European group of languages.
As we have repeatedly emphasized in this unit, today English enjoys a wide geographical coverage. Large numbers of people speak English as first language or mother tongue in USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, South Africa as well as many Caribbean countries (Crystal 1997:3). Initially, the language was the mother tongue of only the people living in the British Isles, numbering between 5 and 7 million, as crystal (1997) puts it. But the speech community of English as mother tongue expanded rapidly between the end of the reign of Elizabeth I (Elizabeth the first), and the beginning of that of Elizabeth II (Elizabeth the second). This was between 1588 and 1952. The expansion which increased the numbers of the speakers of English as mother tongue to about 250 million around this time, took the language outside the British Isles. The introduction of English to the New World (USA) was a landmark in the history of the language. You may recall that the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus opened the way for the rush into the “new world” by the British who then introduced English to the Americans.
What follows here is a list of some places where English is used as first language or mother tongue. The list is adopted from Crystal (1997:57- 60). The places are American Samoa, Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Ireland, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States
Self-Assessment Exercise
1. Study the map of the world and locate as many of the places mentioned above as possible.
Spread of English as a Second Language
Do you remember what a second language is? It is sequentially the second language of a bilingual or multilingual person used for wide purposes. The second language is used to ‘complement’ the first language or mother tongue.
In many places in the world, English is used as a second language. This is the situation in places like Nigeria, Ghana, India, Singapore, Vanuatu, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Pakistan, Rwanda etc.
It should be noted that it is possible for a language to exist both as a first language and a second language in the same place. This is possible when a number of people in a place speak the language as their mother tongue while some other people in the same place speak the same language as a second language. This is the position of English in some parts of the world such as American Samoa, Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, Gibraltar, Guyana, Ireland, India, Jamaica, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa (among others). Basically, it is historical factors that can be responsible for this development.
Self-Assessment Exercise
1. Take amap of the world and locate as many of the places mentioned above as possible:
2. Where English is used as a second language;
3. Where English exists as both, first language and second language.
3.4 Effects of the World-Wide Spread of English
Expectedly, there are many implications of the world-wide spread of English. In the first place, we can talk of many world varieties of English such as British English, American English, Canadian English, Australian English, Indian English, Nigerian English, Ghanaian English, and South African English to mention just a few. Thus, while English remains one language, it has developed many geographical varieties or dialects.
Language generally is sensitive to its environment. So, with the English Language leaving its native home, it has to take on some other characteristics peculiar to its new environments. These characteristics reflect mostly in vocabulary and pronunciation. In terms of vocabulary, words are borrowed from the indigenous languages e.g. the word “bungalow” taken from the Hindi word “bungali”; the word “Oba” (king) borrowed from the Yoruba language; “canoe”, “squash” borrowed from Indian languages etc. Another common development is the use of existing English words in a different way. An example is “corn” in American English to mean “maize” (corn in British English refers to wheat, barley, oats etc.). Thus, “maize” entered British English to refer to what Americans call “corn”. In addition, new words and expressions are coined to express new realities. Examples are “chewing stick”, “bush–meat”, been-tos”, “long-leg” etc. in Nigerian English.
In terms of pronunciation, peculiar characteristics can also be observed. For example, in American English there is the retention of final and/or pre-consonantal /r/ as in “farmer”, “car” .
In Nigerian English, the influence of the mother tongue is notable in the aspect of pronunciation, particularly in the treatment of those vowels which are absent in indigenous Nigerian languages. In such a situation, there is the phenomenon of sound substitution. For example, many Yoruba speakers of English will realize “come”/k ^ m/ as /kɔm/. Also, variations are notable in prosodic units e.g. stress, rhythm and intonation.
Self-Assessment Exercise
1. There are some words which will be spelled differently in British English and American English. With the use of a good dictionary, identify 10 of such words.
4.0 CONCLUSION
One indication of the popularity of a language is its geographical spread. Languages differ in terms of their patterns of geographical distribution. Many factors, which relate to history, politics, religion, economy, education, science and technology can hinder or facilitate the spread of a language. In the case of the English language, the factors have proved instrumental to the global spread of the language. When a language enjoys wide spread, it will definitely manifest many different characteristics that are indications of the peculiarities of the places where it is used.
5.0 SUMMARY
The English language as, we have shown in this unit, is widely distributed throughout the world. In some places, it is used as a first language or mother tongue; in some other places, it serves as a second language while in some other places still, it is used as a foreign language. It is also interesting to note that in some parts of the world, English exists as both a mother tongue and a second language. Generally speaking, developments which relate to wars and conquests, immigration and emigration, colonialism, missionary activities, trades, education and so on have aided the world-wide spread of English.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS
1. What factors can beheld responsible for the world-wide spread of English?
2. Identify 5 places where English is used as a first language and
5 places where it is used as a second language.
3. In view of its geographical spread, will you regard English as a global language?
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Broughton, G et al (1978) Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Second Edition). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Crystal, D (1997) English as a Global Language: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Francis, W (1967) The English Language: An Introduction. London: The English Universities Press Limited.
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