scholarly journals (Re)claiming English Language Today

2019 ◽  
pp. 177-185
Author(s):  
Nadežda Stojković

In the huge and most diverse discussion on the influence of the English language as a second, international, or bridge language, there are distinctive voices drawing attention to the fact that this language as nowadays so widely used in innumerable contexts, is no longer ‘owned’ by the community of speakers to whom it is mother language, those primarily of the countries from where English language originates. Moreover, the number of people speaking, or rather using English language today either as their second or foreign language, by far outnumbers people to whom it is native. Situation being such, it is further claimed the concept of ‘standard English’ reflects inherent inequality stance, for if it belongs to everyone speaking it, then insisting on the supremacy on only one of its variants means placing all those speakers of it in a subdued position, and this possibly being yet another facet of English an agent of neocolonialism and globalization (Pennycook 1998, Phillipson 1992). The spread of the English language has been much investigated as oppressive to the formation and expression of personal and collective identities, degrading national languages and through globalization diminishing the impact of local cultures (Bhaba 1990), that it challenges cultures and discourses, being the impetus for continuous re-codification and re-colonisation (Foucault 1980). However, equally significant in relevance and number, the opposing views claim English today offers an expanded community of users enabling new ways of expressing, changing, negotiating voices that offer chances for cultural renewal and exchange around the world, that the awareness of this brings “decolonizing of the colonizers mind” (Penycook 2013). Taking the flip side of the situation, English language natives are noted to be in a paradoxical situation of being expatriates from their own language, themselves “co-victims” (Bratlinger 1990). This insurgent knowledge of the status of English language today is certainly to instigate further investigation, ‘writing back’ of what ontology this language now embodies.

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Dalia Gedzevičienė

The use of semantic calques in academic legal written language is the focus of the present article. Semantic calques are words in new irregular meanings. The following two groups of semantic calques in academic legal written language are distinguished: old calques, which are produced in the Lithuanian language due to the impact of the Russian language, and new calques, which have been produced in the Lithuanian language due the impact of the English language. The most frequently used calques of the first group are the verbs (pa)talpinti, atstatyti, sutikti, naudoti and their derivatives, the adjectives pilnas, -a, vieningas, -a and their derivatives, the noun saugiklis.The most frequently used calques of the second group are the adjectives pilotinis, harmoningas, -a, the verb harmonizuoti and the noun harmonizavimas. The present paper aims to identify the key reasons why some semantic calques spread in the academic language of the law. According to the contact between the user of the calque and the foreign language of its origin, the article distinguishes two types of reasons: primary and secondary. Primary reasons (concerned with the direct contact between the user of the calque and the language of origin) can be divided into three general reasons: (1) life among bilingual population; (2) the author of the text is a non-native speaker of Lithuanian; (3) the author relies on secondary written sources (research papers, documents, legal acts) in foreign languages, especially on its non-professional translation. Secondary reasons are concerned with an indirect contact between the user of the calque and the language of origin. In many cases the user of the calque does not know the foreign language from which the calque has been adopted. Semantic calques are copied from administrative language (legal acts, codes), public spoken language and are the result of imitation. Due to secondary reasons the calque appearing in a narrow peripheral field of standard language is further transferred into general usage. The analysis of the texts has demonstrated that in most cases semantic calques spread in academic legal written language due to extralinguistic factors. For example, Soviet occupation is one of them, when Russian in fact had the status of a state language. Now we are in a different situation, when the EU membership requires that all legal acts be translated into national languages of all member states.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
Caroline Kim

While many English Language Learners (ELLs) embark on a path towards higher education in universities centered around Standardized English, they must undergo rigorous training to prepare for these demanding TOEFL exams. Students that have been exposed to World Englishes, or lingua francas, for communicative purposes are now asked to abandon these English varieties to assume the elevated importance of the Standardized form of English implemented across universities around the world. This paper analyzes the juxtaposition and negotiation of these languages as learners are often encumbered with not only linguistic barriers but cultural hindrances that contribute to identity displacement. As language is deeply entrenched in one’s cultural background, it is necessary to reflect on how these English proficiency exams negate the learner’s L1 along with the unique qualities that they strongly identify with.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Dr. Neha Sharma

Language being a potent vehicle of transmitting cultural values, norms and beliefs remains a central factor in determining the status of any nation. India is a multilingual country which tends to encourage people to use English at national and international level. Basically English in India owes its presence to the British but its subsequent rise is not fully attributable to the British. It has now become the language of wider communication which is now spoken by large number of people all over the world. It is influenced by many factors such as class, society, developments in science and technology etc. However the major influence on English language is and has been the media.


Author(s):  
Xueli Wei ◽  
Lijing Li ◽  
Fan Zhang

Pumping elephantThe COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the lives of people around the world in millions of ways . Due to this severe epidemic, all countries in the world have been affected by all aspects, mainly economic. It is widely discussed that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected the world economy. When considering this dimension, this study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy, socio-economics, and sustainability. In addition, the research focuses on multiple aspects of social well-being during the pandemic, such as employment, poverty, the status of women, food security, and global trade. To this end, the study used time series and cross-sectional analysis of the data. The second-hand data used in this study comes from the websites of major international organizations. From the analysis of secondary data, the conclusion of this article is that the impact of the pandemic is huge. The main finding of the thesis is that the social economy is affected by the pandemic, causing huge losses in terms of economic well-being and social capital.


Movoznavstvo ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 320 (5) ◽  
pp. 17-33
Author(s):  
P. O.  SELIHEY ◽  

The article examines the criteria on the basis of which ratings of international languages are compiled and their future is predicted. Language’s chances of becoming international are not highly dependent on its demographic power, structural advantages or ease of learning. What matters most is the influence that speakers of the language have on other peoples. The criteria of «internationality» of the language actually coincide with the criteria of its influence, communicative value, social prestige, sociolinguistic weight. The ratings of the influence of national languages are based on various criteria: state status, communicative potential, economic power, the number of people studying it as a foreign language. These ratings reveal more essential criteria of an international language: prevalence on several continents, the status of an official language in international organizations, value as a source of modern knowledge, a large number of its speakers as a second. A specific feature that brings the international language to the class of world languages should be recognized as its worldwide prevalence. This language is used all over the world, it is spoken (as the first or second) by the majority of the world’s population, its world status is recognized in all countries. The composition of the club of leading languages is constantly changing: some languages come to it, others decrease — depending on the military-political, demographic, economic and cultural success of their speakers. Although the number of speakers of English as a second language is growing steadily, its dominance should be considered as temporary. A new hierarchy of languages may emerge in the middle of 21st century, with other major languages — Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi/Urdu, competing equally with English in their respective regions. Although state status of the Ukrainian language creates favorable preconditions for its development, it could spread much faster due to its informational value, intellectual power, cultural attractiveness and economic success of Ukraine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 96-104
Author(s):  
Samar Alharbi

English language considers a global language spoken by a majority of people around the world. It is a language used mainly for communication, trades and study purposes. This widespread of English language being wildly spoken lead to different varieties of English as a lingua franca (ELF) means that non native speakers of English still be able to communicate with each other. Using ELF as a legitimate variety of English in language classrooms is questioned by some researchers. This paper will provide an overview of the concept of ELF. It will also present implications and limitations of using ELF in Saudi English as foreign language classrooms.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamal Kaid Mohammed Ali ◽  
S. Imtiaz Hasnain ◽  
M. Salim Beg

Overindulgence in social networking, in general, and texting, in particular, is much in practice. It is cutting across various population boundaries and has almost assumed an endemic proportion. Its consequential impact on the standard language has acquired greater importance. This paper aims to determine the perceptions and attitudes of English Second Language (ESL) learners at Aligarh Muslim University towards the consequences of texting on Standard English. The data were collected through a five-point scale questionnaire from ninety students who were enrolled at Aligarh Muslim University during the academic year 2010-2011. The respondents completed a 16-item questionnaire. The students from which the data were collected were grouped according to their levels. The results indicate the negative impact of this new usage of the language in breaking the rules of English language and influencing their literacy. Moreover, the questionnaire results from respondents' point of view show that regardless of their heavy use of texting, most respondents have a negative attitude towards texting and they viewed it as a threat to Standard English.


Paideusis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Peter Kovacs

Since the end of World War II, English has become the virtual lingua franca of the planet. However, this development carries significant ethical and educational questions: What are the consequences of the worldwide dominance of the English language? How has it affected and how will it affect the fortunes of other languages? What can and should we as educators to do to minimize or eliminate the harmful effects on some of the endangered languages of the world? This paper will invite educators into a philosophical discussion of the ethical complexities of teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-293
Author(s):  
Ying Huang ◽  
Weishan Miao

This paper surveys the status of Chinese English-language journals in the humanities and social sciences (HSS-CELJs). HSS-CELJs are an important vehicle for disseminating Chinese scholarly voices and culture throughout the world. We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the status of HSS-CELJs according to a number of attributes: growth rate over time, type of publisher, discipline, region of publication, publishing frequency, independence versus co-publication, and inclusion in citation indexes. We discuss some of the challenges facing HSS-CELJ publishing and highlight several contradictions of internationalization in the Chinese context. As of March 2020, eighty-seven HSS-CELJs covered nineteen disciplines, among which economics (17 per cent) and law (13 per cent) accounted for the highest proportions. The establishment of HSS-CELJs has increased significantly since 2004. Fifty-two per cent of HSS-CELJs were jointly operated with international publishers under two different models of cooperation, and twenty-eight (32 per cent) were indexed in international databases.


Super Bomb ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 71-86
Author(s):  
Ken Young ◽  
Warner R. Schilling

This chapter examines the controversy's real or assumed moral and political aspects. Moral repugnance inflected the scientific judgments of Oppenheimer's General Advisory Committee, triggering discussion of the relative moral significance of thermonuclear bombing, the use of the atomic bomb, and the mass urban bombing campaigns of 1942–1945. More immediate concerns centered on the impact a decision to develop thermonuclear weapons might have on the pattern of international relations. Given a paucity of intelligence, the effects on the Soviet Union's own weapons program, and thereby on the United States' vulnerability, could only be guessed at. The chapter thus considers if the development of the Super would restore the status quo ante-1949 or lead to a thermonuclear arms race and ultimate stalemate—or even the end of the world.


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