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INTRODUCTION
T(caps)he English language continued to grow during the modern period both in the enlargement of its vocabulary and in its spread. The first signs of the progress of English as a world language began to manifest towards the latter part of the 16th century. At that time, the number of mother-tongue English speakers in the world was estimated at between five and seven million, all living within Great Britain. In the period between the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1603) and the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1950), the number of English speakers rose to between one and half billion to two billion, spread throughout almost all the countries of the world. Presently there are approximately 75 territories where English is spoken either as the first language, L1 (mother-tongue) or as an official language, L2 (second language). Countries where English is spoken as a native language (first language) are mainly the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
The dispersals (or diasporas) of English are of two types; the first is the first Diaspora involving the migration of about 25,000 people from the South and East of England to America and Australia, resulting in new mother tongue varieties of English. The second Diaspora, involving the colonization of Africa and Asia, led to the development of a number of second language varieties, often referred to as “New Englishes”. A table of statistics on world English usage and the country population figures is given in Unit 2 of Module 4. In this unit, we shall be considering varieties of English in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Asia.
3.1 English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa
(a) English in Australia
You were told in the introduction to this Unit that English came to Australia when some English immigrants landed in Australia and America in the 18th century. The first presence of Britain in Australia was in 1770 when James Cook visited the territory. In 1788 the first fleet of British settlers, including about 130,020 prisoners, settled in Sydney, Australia. From then on, immigrants increased rapidly. By 1850, the population of Australia had risen to about 400,000 and by 1900, nearly 4 million. As of 2001, the population stood at 19 million. Britain has the highest number of settlers in Australia, that is why they have the greater influence on the language than any other. Many of the convicts or prisoners transported to Australia were from London and Ireland.
English in Australia is not only characterized by differences in vocabulary but also in pronunciation, with features of Cockney and Irish English. In fact, many of the words in Australian English may not be understood in England or America today. Some are old words that have acquired new meanings in a new environment. The Australian Kangaroo and boomerang, for example, have become general English words but not Wombat which is an Australian animal. The American ranch (where cattle are reared) is the Australian station. The term robin in Australia applies to some birds that are unknown in Europe and not just a particular bird as we know it here. Several words, however, that are thought to be Australian actually started in Britain, and may still be heard in local British dialects. Australian accent, as we said earlier, sounds very much like one of the British dialects known as Cockney, especially in the quality of the vowels and diphthongs. A word pronounced as hay in Australian English may sound as high to an American, or basin as bison (Baugh & Cable 2002).
(b) English in New Zealand
New Zealand and Australia are neighbours. The New Zealand natives are called the Maori. With the British presence in Australia in 1770, European traders began to settle in New Zealand in the 1790s. Christian missionary work began among the Maori from 1814. But official British occupation was in 1840 following the treaty of Waitangi between the Maori chiefs and the British crown. European immigration grew from 2000 in 1840 to 25,000 by 1850. And by 1900, it had risen to about 750,000. The total population as at 2001 was 3.8 million. Three factors in the New Zealand social history have had some linguistic consequences in New Zealand English in the 20th century. First is that New Zealand has had a stronger sense of historical relationship with Britain compared to Australia. They had imbibed more of British cultures and values, including the British accent. Secondly, New Zealand had developed a deep sense of national identity which had motivated a distinctive New Zealand vocabulary, and thirdly, there has been an increase awareness and use of Maori words in New Zealand English arising from the need to recognize the rights of Maori people who constitute about 13% of the entire population.
Studies in New Zealand English show that the British Received Pronunciation (RP) is still the most highly rated in education while the local accent is more preferred in social communication and solidarity.
(c) South African English
South Africa was colonized by the Dutch in the 1650s but the British arrived in the country at about 1795 when they colonized the Cape coast, and did not begin to settle in large numbers until 1820. The majority of the Cape settlers came from Southern England, though there were some sizeable number from Ireland and Scotland. In the 1850s, further settlements occurred in the Natal region, from Yorkshire and Lancaster, still in Britain. From 1822 when English was declared the official language, it was also learnt as a second language by the black natives. The native language is called Afrikaans. The English language vocabulary has got some elements from Afrikaans and Dutch influences which are passed to general use today. For example, apartheid, commando, commandeer, and trek are used today in such a way that one hardly recognizes their South African origin. As in Australian English, a number of English words are used in new senses. The history of apartheid in South Africa has given new meanings to location (where black Africans were required to live), lands (those locations required for farming alone), divide (watershed) up country etc. In pronunciation, South African English has been much influenced by the pronunciation of Afrikaans, where we have ‘pen’ for pin or ‘ceb’ for cab. The South African shares with the American English in some general ways especially with pronunciation of /r/. The mainstream South African English, however, does not have /r/ after vowels but this consonant is often pronounced by speakers with an Afrikaans background. The South African variety of English refers to English used by those who speak English as their mother tongue.
SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
1. Distinguish between Australian English and New Zealand English.
2. Describe some features of South African English.
3.2 East and West Africa
(a) English in East Africa
East African countries were colonized by the British from the 1850s, following the expeditions of British explorers such as David Livingstone and Richard Burton. English was the language of administration, education, and law. Most of the countries gained independence from the early 1960s but English remained the official language in Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya, although Swahili was used as a lingua franca in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Because of the large numbers of British emigrants that settled in these areas, British English model was introduced early in schools, reinforcing the Standard English brought by the missionaries. The result was a mother-tongue variety which was similar to the Australian or South-African English. The influence of British English in East African countries gave them a strong model to learn a second language. Secondly, there was little motivation for the development of pidgin varieties following the widespread use of Standard English. It may be difficult to discuss some distinct features of the varieties of English that may have emerged in these countries over the years in this short sub-heading. But Baugh and Cable (2002) have observed certain general features of lexis and grammar in some of these East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, and Ethiopia which are quite noticeable. For example, some phrasal verbs in British lose their adverbial particles; pick up for instance is simply ‘pick’, drop off is used as ‘drop’, while crop up is simply ‘crop’. Some nouns in Kenyan and Tanzanian colloquial speech have some plural forms that are treated as Singulars; e.g. behaviours, minds, laps, noses, and popcorns.
(b) English in West Africa
English in West Africa is linked with colonization and the development of pidgin and Creole languages. From the late 15th century upwards British traders had visited various coastal areas in West Africa including Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon. There were no strong British settlements in these territories, but with British colonial administration, English became the lingua franca (or the official language) in these countries. Pidgin and creoles which developed from English contact were now spoken by many people along with hundreds of local languages. Right now, the English spoken by many of these countries has developed certain features which make it possible to identify such varieties of Nigerian English, Ghanaian English, or Gambian English. However, it is difficult to say whether some features that are distinct to some countries are also available in others. But one thing is clear; distinct features of these varieties can be found mainly on the amount of loan-words from local languages and some coinages that identify national institutions and practices. But in many cases, standard West African English varieties are similar to British Standard English especially in grammar and speech sounds. And standard is also to be found in the lexicon except in cases where English words assume new meanings to reflect the local context. Interestingly, some words are used in two or three countries mentioned above, with exactly the same form and meaning examples are ‘chop’, meaning food in Sierra Leone, Ghana, and The Gambia. In the Nigerian pidgin it is also used as eat (verb). Kola is used as fruit for stimulant, traditional symbol of unity, and bribery, especially in Ghana and Nigeria. Stranger is used for guest in Sierra Leone and in non-standard Nigeria English. Aunty (aunt) is used to address any woman older than you are, or a friend of your parent in Nigeria. Danfo (minibus), globe (bulb), machine/okada (motor-cycle), yellow-fever (traffic warden) cash-madam (wealthy woman), area-boys (street urchins), go-slow (traffic jam) in Nigeria; rentage (rent) in Sierra Leone; slowly-slowly in Ghana etc. All these comparisons show us that countries have developed full-fledged varieties that explain the influence of the environment and culture on the language. However, it will be difficult to identify particular West African standard varieties since varieties differ from country to country. We shall look more closely at the Nigerian English in Unit 5 of Module 4.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
1. Describe the differences between East African English and West African English.
2. Do you agree that there is a West African Variety of English?
3.3 English in South-East Asia and the Pacific
Countries in this region include Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. But we shall briefly look at some varieties of English in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Hong Kong.
(a) English in Singapore
Singapore was a part of Malaysia which was a British colony from the early 19th century until 1957 when it gained its independence. Singapore became a separate state two years later and has experienced some economic and social growth during the 20th century. English was an important language of government business and education. It was in the 1950s that a bilingual educational system was introduced and English was used as a neutral, unifying language alongside local languages such as Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and Mandarin. Since 1975 the use of English in Singapore has increased steadily among the general population. However, key government bodies, including the founder of the independent state of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, had expressed concern over the loss of Asian cultures and values and had begun to promote the use of local languages, especially Mandarin, a popular local language. The majority of the Singaporean population is Chinese while Malays are their natural neighbors. This different cultural setting no doubt affected the history of English in the region. Due to the widespread interest in the English language, it may not be surprising that a local variety, which may be called Singaporean English, has emerged. According to Baugh and Cable (2002), some specific features of English in Singapore and Malaysia resemble some English-based Creole or vernacular in other parts of the word. For example, the omission of be as an operator e.g. ‘the man-healthy,’ omitting is or as an auxiliary (the work - going on fine; instead of ‘the work is going on fine’). No doubt lexical items that do not have direct English equivalents would have found their way into Singaporean English; there may also have been some direct borrowings from the local languages.
(b) English in Malaysia
The situation is different in Malaysia following the Malaysian independence in 1957. The local language Bahasa Malaysia was adopted as the national language and the use of English declined. By the middle of the 1980s, the local national language had helped in unifying the different ethnic populations but it had also restricted many Malaysians from reading English or scientific publications. There are about 80 languages spoken in Malaysia. English is still being offered at school and the traditional prestige attached to it still exists, but its use is more
for international purpose rather than national. The users are mainly the educated elite who often code-switch between English and Malay. The presence of the vocabulary of Malay in English is gradually becoming a feature of Malaysian English. Like the Singaporean English, Malaysian English grammar is slightly different from that of Standard English. A Malaysian would say: may I know how do I get there? Rather than May I know how to get there; or May I ask where does the cab stop? Than May I ask where the cab stops etc.
(c) Hong Kong English
We are singling out Hong Kong from among its East Asian neighbors like China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan because it is a country where English is an official language due to its colonial history. Chinese is the mother-tongue of over 98% of the population. In recent years, however, say 1992, it was estimated that about a quarter of the population speaks English. English and Chinese have joint official status, but Chinese predominates in most speech situations, often with code-switching. During the British colonial administrations, from 1847 till 1997, British and Chinese communities led separate lives due to language barriers, racial prejudice, and cultural differences. When they made business contacts, communications were mainly in Pidgin English. During this period, English was largely restricted to colonial use as the language of government, law, and education. But during the 20th century, Western-educated Chinese elite began to get involved in business and the professions, and English ceased to be colonial language to a language of wider communication in Hong Kong regions.
However, Hong Kong English has not yet been accepted as an autonomous variety of English. Its existence is acknowledged but it is not a variety that Hong Kong English speakers will aspire to. As a result, the majority of speakers, including English teachers, still recommend British English as the Standard in terms of grammar. Like other varieties of modern English, Hong Kong English has its peculiar accent and lexicon. Bolton (2000), for example, provides some Hong Kong English items such as abbreviations; English words with new meaning and borrowed words from Chinese. ABC, for instance, stands for (Australian/American-born-Chinese); canto-speak (speaker of the Cantonese language), astronaut (a senior public servant), bo lei (a variety of strong black tea), big brother an eldest male sibling in a family); chit (bill) etc. (See Jenkins, 2003).
(d) English in The Philippines
The Philippines gained political independence from the United States in 1946 and has retained a strong influence of American English. English is the second language of the Philippines, while Filipino is the official Lingua Franca. Both English and Filipino are the language of education, but English serves as the language of wider communication.
The Philippines English variety has been identified since the late 1980s, with its peculiar pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. A considerable difference also exists between the English of the older and younger generations, along with variations in use among proficient English users ranging from informal usage to standard Philippines English for speech and writing (with code-switching). Code-switching is when a speaker switches between two languages at once. About 37 million people in the Philippines speak English with the same reasonable level of competence.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3
1. Describe some general features of English in South-East Asia.
2. Compare and contrast English in Malaysia with English in Singapore.
3. Identify some features of Hong Kong English.
4.0 CONCLUSION
The spread of English as a result of the migration of native speakers of English from England to Australia and the New World (USA) gave rise to the emergence of new mother-tongue varieties of English. While the British colonization of Asia and Africa resulted in the growth of new modern Englishes. In South East Asia and Africa, English has assumed the status of the second language with a considerable number of the population having recognizable skills in spoken and written English. English in these countries has since developed native varieties which form the world Englishes.
SUMMARY
The growth of English as a world language can be seen from the rapidly growing varieties of English across the world, with the number of speakers having reached over 2 billion in the 20th century. Countries where Ethe number of speakers having reached over 2 billion in the 20th century. Countries where English is spoken as a first language, as well as those where it serves as a second language, have developed unique varieties influenced by historical, cultural, and social factors.
In South-East Asia, countries like Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong have embraced English alongside their native languages. Each of these regions has its distinct variety of English, shaped by its colonial past, cultural diversity, and socioeconomic factors. For example, Singapore's bilingual educational system and multicultural society have led to the emergence of Singaporean English, which incorporates elements from various linguistic backgrounds. Similarly, Malaysia's history of British colonization and subsequent emphasis on Bahasa Malaysia as the national language have influenced the development of Malaysian English, characterized by its unique grammar and vocabulary.
In the Philippines, American influence and the status of English as a second language have resulted in the growth of Philippine English, which exhibits differences in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary compared to other varieties. Hong Kong, as a former British colony with a predominantly Chinese-speaking population, has its own version of English, influenced by Cantonese and Mandarin languages, as well as Western culture.
Overall, the spread of English across the globe has led to the development of diverse varieties, each reflecting the unique linguistic and cultural contexts in which it is used. As English continues to evolve and adapt in different regions, the study of these varieties provides valuable insights into the dynamic nature of language and its role in shaping identity and communication on a global scale.
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