2015-08-21
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Braj Kachru’s Circles model of World Englishes
The “Three Circles of English”:
l the “Inner,” - the societies where English is the “primary language,” i.e., the USA, the UK,Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
l “ Outer, ” postcolonial Anglophonic contexts, a numerically large and diverse speech community, including such African and Asian societies as Nigeria, Zambia, India, and Singapore.
l “ Expanding ” Circles.
l The Expanding Circle is defined as comprising those areas where English is an “international language” and traditionally regarded as societies learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) - China, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and the USSR
The Circles model was intended to represent
l (1) the types of spread of English worldwide,
l (2) the patterns of acquisition, and
l (3) the functional domains in which English is used internationally.
Multiple Mixing and World Englishes
l mixing of world Englishes,
l mixing of world English accents,
l mixing of English with other languages,
l mixing of English with non-Roman scripts.
English as a GLOBAL language
In Mass Media there are numerous facts about English spread worldwide, for example:
n 400mln English mother tongue speakers
n 350 mln English as a second language
n 100 mln use it fluently as a foreign language
n 2/3 world scientists write in English
n ¾ world mail in English
n 80% electronic information
n In 1997 81% of Internet users used English, in September 2002 only 36,5%
