choose a variety from each of kachru

8/6/2019 Choose a Variety From Each of Kachru

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Choose a variety from each of Kachrus Circles of English: Inner, Outer,

and Expanding. Describe the context in which English arose in these

varieties and how this affects their grammar, phonology and lexis.

The English language, throughout history, has influenced many other languages

over the world to different extents. We can use Kachrus Circles of English to define

these, and by choosing a variety of English from each one and looking at the history

of it, explore each variety and see how each fit s into the circle it has been assigned.

Kachrus Circles of English is a model portrayed graphically as three partially

overlapping ovals (Bolton & Kachru, 2006) where each oval represents a variety of

English. The Inner Circle broadly represents English as a first language; and so the

Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle represent English as a second and as a

foreign language respectively. For example, Scottish English would be assigned to

the Inner Circle, English in Singapore would fit into the Outer Circle and a learner of

English in Italy would be said to fit into the Expanding circle. By looking at specific

varieties, we can see how context affects their various aspects.

The variety of English that appears in the Inner circle that is often forgotten about is

the one spoken in South Africa. It does not have as rich a history as perhaps North

America, or Australia or indeed English English but it is interesting nonetheless.

Another difference to these varieties is that the proportion of native English

speakers to the original inhabitants in North America and Australia is huge, but

English users in South Africa have always been vastly outnumbered by speakers of

Afrikaans and various indigenous languages. Up until 1795, the country was left

relatively untouched except by the Dutch, but after that the occupation of South

Africa by the British and the cultural prestige of English began, and continued

unbroken. Due to this, social variations in South African English (SAfE) have very

few regional differences (Schnell, 2009, p. 3). However, due to the large number of

various British settlements and influx of many immigrants of other nationalities, the

languages history has many strands (Crystal, English as a Global Language, 2003,

p. 43). The language is characterised by many loan words; in part due to the

multilingualism of the country the Constitution of South Africa recognises eleven

official languages. For example, mamazala is a Zulu word for mother-in-law

(Crystal, By Hook or By Crook: A Journey In Search Of English, 2007) . In terms of

grammar, SAfE naturally follows English than American practices. Having been sothoroughly under the thumb of the English, SAfE hasnt any particular distinctions

from English English grammar. Similarly, due to the deeply hierarchal history of

South Africa, the most prestigious accent throughout much of the history of SAfE

was Received Pronunciation (Watts & Peter, 2001); this means that much of the

phonology is similar to modern-day English English. However, it does have some

defining characteristics. For example, the vowel in kitis split between a close front


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[] and a more central []; and the vowel in bathbecomes more open and back

(Schneider & al., 2004, p. 935) the most well-known example of this is that South

Africa sounds more like South Efrica. Overall, however, SAfE is fairly similar to

English English; with the most obvious difference being that of lexis due to the

influences from the indigenous langu ages of South Africa.

The history of English spoken in India is long the formation of the East India

Trading Company was in 1600, and from 1747 to 1947, India was under British rule.

(Crystal, English as a Global Language, 2003). The English language gradually

became the language of government and teaching (especially in the establishment

of the Universities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta); and even though Hindi was

declared the national language on India gaining their indepe ndence in 1947 and

efforts were made to phase out English, it is still an associate official language. The

vast majority of people in India can speak some form of English, even if they cannot

use it beyond their field of work (Schneider & al., 2004). However, despite the

historical context and the record of opposition to English, it seems to be the view of

many Indians that English is useful and doesnt interfere with most peoples social

life (Baldridge, 1996). Indeed, its viewed as a link language between the

educated (Crystal, English as a Global Language, 2003). Since, therefore, it is spoken

by so many people of different cultures and native languages, Indian English has far

less in common with English English than SAfE. Despite this, however, the number

of loanwords is comparatively low; and is restricted mainly to concepts associated

with Indian culture (food, music, religion, etc) (Sedlatschek, 2009); for example:

mridangam, a long drum made of wood or clay, but also chalu, cunning. A

characteristic feature of IndE lexis is that of the word only often used at the end

of sentences to mean at all; for example, The lig ht bulb didnt work only (Sailaja,

2009). IndE has many different grammar forms to English English. For example, they

often misuse or omit definite articles Where is watch? This often follows the

article use in native varieties in India (Sailaja, 2009). They also tend to over-

generalise the progressive tense I am having three books with me (Sailaja, 2009).

Finally, in a complex sentence, tenses tend not to match: He thought he will

[would] pass. It is hard to write about the phonology of IndE given the huge variety

over the country. There are, however, a few generalisations one can make. For

example, the vowel in dress is often realised as a further back [e] s ound. An

interesting pronunciation is that the vowel in bath is realised as [] (Schneider &al., 2004), which follows the southern side of the trap/bath split in England. This is

traditionally associated with more educated or posh accents; this pronunciation of

bath with the long a could stem from a wish in India to sound more educated

during the period of British rule. Overall, IndE has a rich and varied history and it

shows through the interesting differences in gramm ar and phonology.


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There is a fairly strong culture of English speaking in Germany. English is taught in

schools as part of the main curriculum from an early age. However, since it was

never colonised by the English, it has a weaker history than varieties in the Inner

and Outer circles. English in Germany, therefore, is, or at least should be, the same

as English English. Indeed, German speakers of English are perceived to speak

correctly compared to other non-native speakers (Jenkins, 2007). However, there

are some aspects of the English language that they can find difficult. German

grammar does not have a present continuous tense, leading to exchanges such as

What is she doing? She reads the book. Alternatively, it is over-applied: I am not

understanding. Non-native speakers in general (indeed some native speakers)

seem to find the subjunctive mood difficult and particularly Germans, since it is

formed very differently in German; mixing I will go... and If I were to go... In

terms of phonology, German can sound very similar to English; perhaps because of

the closeness of the languages history. However, due to the nature of the German

language there are a few defining characteristics of German pronunciation. For

example, [w] in the German alphabet is pronounced as [v]; giving the stereotypical

Vat can ve do? [What can we do?]. Another difference is [v] itself, which in

German is said [f] the German word bevor means in English before and

pronounced the same. However, the most obvious difference between the

languages is that German has no [] sound at all, and thus most Germans tend

towards using [z] instead. Lexis, as one would assume for a taught subject, is usually

correct. However, the influence of people speaking English throughout Germany

has led to many English loanwords to the German language such as the verb

babysitten, the noun der Kicker [footballer], and the adjective live (as in live

music) often pronounced life, as before. To summarise, English as spoken byGermans is usually particularly correct.

Overall, Kachrus circles of English prove to be a remarkable and useful way to

define varieties of English. Surprisingly, the variety in the Outer circle proves to be

the variety with the least in common with English English. It would be interesting to

see if this is the norm, or whether this is an anomaly. However, overall, the

investigating done here is enough to show that historical context can massively

affect the grammar, phonology and lexis in different varieties of the English

language.


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BibliographyBaldridge, J. (1996, August). Reconciling Linguistic Diversity: The Historyand the Futureof

Language Policyin India.Retrieved March 16, 2011, from

http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~jason2/papers/natlang.htm

Bolton, K., & Kachru, B. B. (2006). World Englishes: CriticalConcepts in Linguistics (Vol. I).

London, New York: Routledge.

Crystal, D. (2007). ByHookorByCrook: A JourneyIn Search Of English. London:

HarperCollins.

Crystal, D. (2003). English asa GlobalLanguage (2nd Edition ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Jenkins, J. (2007). English asa Lingua Franca: Attitudeand Identity.Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Sailaja, P. (2009). Indian English (Dialectsof English). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Schneider, E. W., & al., e. (2004). A Handbookof Varietiesof English:a multimedia

reference tool(Vols. I - Phonology). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyer.

Schnell, H. (2009). English in South Africa: Focusingon Linguistic featuresofBlack South

African English. GRIN Verlag.

Sedlatschek, A. (2009). ContemporaryIndian English: Variationand Change.Amsterdam:

John Benjamins.

Watts, R. J., & Peter, T. (2001).Alternative Historiesof English. London, New York:

Routledge.

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