scholarly journals Rhoticity in Chinese English: An experimental investigation on the realization of the variant (r) in an Expanding Circle variety

2017 ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Zeyu Li ◽  
Barış Kabak
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Production Data ◽  
College English ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Speaker Variability ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Substrate Influence

The realization of postvocalic /r/ has been frequently examined in both diachronic and synchronic research on world Englishes, showing a multitude of linguistic and extra-linguistic factors to modulate the degree of rhoticity. Since rhoticity is one of the most important indices of variation across Englishes, it forms an instructive phonological marker to investigate the dynamics of norm formation in emerging varieties. While the Inner and Outer Circle varieties have been extensively studied, there is fairly little research on the variable realization of postvocalic /r/ in the Expanding Circle Englishes. Here, we fill this gap with a study on the degree of rhoticity by highly proficient users of an EFL variety emerging in China, college English teachers, who are pertinent norm providers for EFL learners. We provide a multivariate analysis of phonological and sociolinguistic factors conditioning the degree of rhoticity in Chinese English on the basis of speech production data from 13 participants. Results show that Chinese English is best categorized as marginally rhotic. Concerning the patterning of phonological variables, it aligns more with Inner Circle than Outer Circle Englishes, albeit with significant inter- and intra-speaker variability. We discuss the competing roles of norm orientation, substrate influence, and other relevant variables therein.

scholarly journals A Comparative study on English language teaching to young learners around the world

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 114-118
Author(s):  
Cansu Orsel ◽  
Fatih Yavuz
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
The World ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Inner Circle

Usage of the English language as Lingua Franca has caused an increasing demand on the English Language Teaching (ELT) in early childhood and according to Braj Kachru’s Three Circles Model of World Englishes as the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle the approaches to the Young Learners dramatically differs. Besides the features of English as a global language and the nature of early language learning, this paper also focuses on the comparison of the three different examples from the Three Circles Model of World Englishes. They are compared in terms of techniques that are used and the approaches to the Young Learners. The examples taken are from the official websites of the three countries from the Inner Circle, Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle; respectively, New Zealand’s Ministry of Education, Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, and the Turkish Board of Education and Instruction. Keywords: Young Learners, The World Englishes, Lingua Franca, Braj Kachru, English Language Teaching (ELT).

scholarly journals THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY AND WORLD ENGLISHES – TREND FOR CULTURAL ENRICHMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-110
Author(s):  
Z.G. Proshina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Oxford English Dictionary ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Loan Words ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Expanding Circle

The article discusses the reflection by the Oxford English Dictionary the cultural and language treasury of world Englishes differentiating the global pluricentric language. Using the classifying conception of the three circles developed by B.B. Kachru, we found out that despite the OED3 editors’ claim that now they avoid the principle of exoticization and they tend to represent the everyday culture of English users, the dictionary marks the lexicon of national and postcolonial varieties only, which is a proof of their status. Meanwhile, Expanding Circle varieties of English, which outnumber those of the Inner and Outer Circle, are not mentioned as varieties of English in the dictionary, and their lexicon is included as loan words from donating languages rather than Englishes.

scholarly journals World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca Approaches in Teaching Saudi EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Amal Alasmari
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Global Spread ◽  
Expanding Circle

This paper aims to explore two approaches to English language: the world Englishes approach and English as a lingua franca approach, focusing on the advantages and limitations of each approach. A brief introduction on the global spread of English language is provided; as well as a thorough examination of the current status of English language in kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The paper also explores the possible future adoption of either World Englishes or English as a Lingua Franca approach in teaching English language to Saudi EFL learners. The examination of the nature of English used by Saudi EFL learners reveals a number of issues. While it is clear that a localized variety is emerging in KSA which is acknowledged by some Saudi researchers, resistance to adopting a Saudi variety in teaching strongly exists among the majority of researchers and decision makers in Saudi Education. The reason behind this reluctance to acknowledge a Saudi variety of English might be the idea that this localized variety of English in KSA is not viewed as equal to varieties of outer circle countries where English language plays far more significant roles than in expanding circle countries. In addition, decisions on adopting one of the two approaches in teaching English language in KSA are not easy; more data must be obtained before making any major pedagogical decisions.

Dutch English: tolerable, taboo, or about time too?

English Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Edwards
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
National Language ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Expanding Circle

On keeping versus ‘correcting’ Dutch flavour in English texts. As early as 1992, Cox and Furlong indicated that some already considered English a national language in the Netherlands given how widely it was understood. Likewise, McArthur announced at a 1993 conference in Amsterdam, ‘English is now simply one of your languages, along with Dutch and Frisian.’ Against this backdrop and the increasing momentum of notions of World Englishes, it is no longer far-fetched to consider seriously the proposition of Dutch English emerging as a legitimate variety of the world's lingua franca. That such varieties have emerged in ESL or ‘outer circle’ countries such as India, Nigeria and Singapore is now well established. More controversial is the idea that so, too, could they emerge from traditionally EFL countries once relegated to Kachru's (1982) ‘norm-dependent’ expanding circle (such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia), which are now seen as transitioning – or indeed having already transitioned – to the ‘norm-developing’ realm of ESL.

scholarly journals Verb Complementation in News Headlines by the Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-59
Author(s):  
Jess Mendoza ◽  
Cecilia Genuino ◽  
Maria Elizabeth De Luna
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Verb Phrases ◽  
The World ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Concentric Circles ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Ditransitive Verbs ◽  
News Headlines

The English language has survived the pangs of giving birth to its variations commonly called as World Englishes. Though there are many “Englishes” in the globe today, they do have similarities and differences which are manifested in the different styles employed by writers around the world. In this regard, the study aimed to analyze the structure of verb phrases in news headlines of the different countries in Kachru’s three concentric circles leading to the identification of types of verbs used. This is done to give fresher ideas into the style of headline writing by understanding what types of verbs are used by the writers from the inner, outer, and expanding circles. Using Brinton, L and Brinton, D’s (2010) structure of verb complementation, the researchers analyzed five news headlines per circle which served as their corpus in identifying the complements present in the verb phrases. This, furthermore, led to the following results: a) inner and outer circles mostly use monotransitive verbs, b) outer circle is characterized by its use of copulative verbs, inner circle by its usage of intransitive verb, and the expanding circle by its usage of prepositional and ditransitive verbs c) expanding and inner circles use diprepositional verbs while outer circle does not, d) the expanding and outer circles both use complex transitive, e) the expanding circle exhibits the characteristics of both inner and outer circles, and f) the circles overlap each other.

scholarly journals Kachru’s Three Concentric Circles Model of English Language: An Overview of Criticism & the Place of Kuwait in it

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Al-Mutairi
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
English Language ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Concentric Circles ◽  
Inner Circle ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

This paper attempts to examine in a descriptive way the pioneering model of “World Englishes” proposed by Kachru in the mid-1980s that allocates the presence of English into three concentric circles: The Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle. The Inner Circle presents the countries where English is used as a native language and as a first language among people. These countries include the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Outer Circle includes countries that have old historical British colonial relations and where English is commonly used in social life or the government sectors. Most of the countries that belong to this circle are former colonies of the British Empire, such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya, and others. The usage of English in these countries is similar to what is known as English as a second language. The third circle, The Expanding Circle, includes countries that introduce English as a foreign language in schools and universities, mostly for communicating in English with the Inner and Outer Circles. Such countries include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, The Emirates, Japan, China, Korea, and others. Since its first introduction in 1985, Kachru's Three Concentric Circles Model of English Language has occasioned a great debate. Many linguists considered it one of the most influential models for understanding the use of English in different countries. Some, on the other hand, including Kachru himself, criticized the model for its oversimplification and the unclear membership to the circles. In addition to an overview of criticism on Kachru's model based on different studies, this paper tries to locate the place of ELT in Kuwait among the three circles.

scholarly journals MOVE STRUCTURES AND THEIR RHETORICAL VERBS OF RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACTS ACROSS ENGLISHES

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Wahid Ibrahim Tocalo
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Structure Abstract ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Language And Education ◽  
To Come

Genre-based studies on the move structure of research article (RA) abstracts have established variations across cultures. However, previous studies included at most two countries for comparisons of abstracts written by native against non-native speakers. With the advent of World Englishes, it is deemed more practical to examine abstracts across Englishes to determine the writing conventions of the L1, L2 and EFL speakers of English. Consequently, the present study is a structural move analysis of RA abstracts focusing on the macro-structural moves across the Englishes and the lexical verbs employed used in each move. It examined 36 RA abstracts from linguistics and language and education fields, consisting of 12 abstracts each from the Inner, Outer and Expanding Circles of English by Kachru (1992). Each abstract was segmented into moves using the Five-Move Model of Santos (1996), which includes moves: (1) Situating the Research (STR); (2) Presenting the Research (PTR); (3) Discussing the Methodology (DTM); (4) Summarizing the Findings, (STF), and (5) Discussing the Research (DTR). The study found that the Inner Circle of English has the structure: Abstract  (STR) + PTR + DTM + (STF) + (DTR). The Outer Circle has the structure: Abstract  (STR) + PTR + (DTM) + STF + DTR. The Expanding Circle has the structure: Abstract  (STR) + PTR + DTM + (STF) + (DTR). The formulaic structures of abstract moves revealed that the only common move across Englishes is PTR. Following the approach of Musa et al. (2015), the lexical verbs realizing the purpose of each of the rhetorical moves were listed in order to come up with lists of rhetorical verbs which can be used in structuring an RA abstract. The study concludes with implications for academic writing instruction that calls for future abstract analyses that are world Englishes-inspired.

The role and status of English in Turkish higher education

English Today ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beril T. Arik ◽  
Engin Arik
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
European Union ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Turkish Higher Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Domains Of Life

Kachru's (1992) Eccentric Circles framework has been very influential in understanding and explaining trends in the unprecedented spread of English around the world. However, so far the research within the World Englishes paradigm has focused mostly on Inner and Outer Circle countries and their English varieties (Seidlhofer, 2009), rather than Expanding Circle countries. While Expanding Circle countries in Asia (e.g. Chang, 2006) or parts of the European Union (e.g. Coleman, 2006) have been gaining increasing attention in recent years, Expanding Circle countries like Turkey have not been examined to the same degree. Notable exceptions include Doğançay-Aktuna (1998), Büyükkantarcı (2004), and Selvi (2011), which we summarize below. As in many Expanding Circle countries, the spread of English has not been equally distributed in all domains of life in Turkey. For example, little is known in the field regarding English in the higher education context compared with other domains, such as language policy, business, or media, both in Turkey and in other Expanding Circle countries. We address this issue through this study.

scholarly journals Labels and Realities: The Relevance of Terms like ESL and EFL in a Linguistically Complex World

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Language ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Complex World ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Efl Students

For a long time, ELT (‘English language teaching’) scholars and practitioners have used terms like ‘ESL’ (‘English as a second language’) and ‘EFL’ (‘English as a foreign language’) unquestioningly to describe the English used by people outside the so-called ENL (‘English as a native language’) circle. For example, ELT practitioners may conveniently refer to students from places like China, Vietnam and Thailand as EFL students. Interestingly, we find counterparts of such terms in ‘World Englishes’ studies; Braj Kachru’s ‘Inner Circle English’, ‘Outer Circle English’ and ‘Expanding Circle English’ essentially refer to ENL ESL and EFL respectively. Despite the popularity of such terms in scholarly circles, the problems associated with their use have not often been explored in depth. Nevertheless, some authors have described such problems. For example, commenting on the distinction between ESL and EFL, Nayar (1997, p. 10) states, “a great deal of referential fuzziness within the two and denotative overlap between the two are making the terminological distinctions unclear, impractical, and ineffective or, worse still, in some cases inauspicious and irrelevant.” This special issue aims to further examine the use and relevance of these terms.

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