Contents
3b. Guess where the speaker is from
4. John Agard: Reporting from the Frontline of the Great Dictionary Disaster (2006)
4b. Pre-reading: Sensational news
4c. John Agard: Reporting from the Frontline of the Great Dictionary Disaster(2006)
4d. Comprehension and analysis: John Agard
5. The English Language has 4 Registers: How well do you know them?
1. Theme and Purpose
Welcome to "Speaking English"!
In this theme, we will explore why English has become a global language and what that means for us today. We will look at how English is used around the world and what you can do with it in different contexts. You will also learn how to express yourself clearly and correctly in English, focusing on tone and style. We will look at the concept of "Lingua Franca" and understand how English connects people across cultures. This is a great starting point to get comfortable with using English in the real world.
1. Types of English
Types of English according to The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal, 2003
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English language by David Crystal, 2003
2. English as a Lingua Franca
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You might be thinking that you need to be able to speak good English because
you will be communicating with native speakers of English – Americans, Britons,
Australians, etc. However, (…), this might not be the case at all. Where
English used to be the language used in situations with British or American
people at the head of the table, so to speak, English is now used in many other
situations in which there might not be a single native-speaking person present.
In these situations, English is simply chosen as it is spoken and understood by all, who do not understand each other's native languages. Even in Denmark, you will find several examples of schools, colleges, universities and workplaces where English is used as the main language, and your fellow students or colleagues might be from anywhere but Britain or America or other English-speaking countries. Maybe they are all from Denmark.
On an international level, a telling example is the fact that English has not (yet) been rejected as the EU's major working language, despite Britain having left the union on 31 December 2020.
In the 1980s, Indian linguist Braj Kachru developed the model of the three circles of English to describe the use of English in different countries. According to this model, the inner circle represents the native English-speaking countries, and the English used here is norm-providing: it sets the standards that other, non-native speakers are expected to follow. Next, we find the outer circle which includes former colonies, where English is not the native tongue, but plays a role in the nation's institutions, for instance as an official or co-official language. Finally, the expanding circle includes all other nations, where English is learned for communication with the first two circles.
2a. Kachru's Model
Illustration of Kachru's model of Englishes
Braj Kachru: Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism - The English Language in the outer circle. In: Quirk R., Widdowson H. (Eds.): English in the World. Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Today however, people also learn English to communicate with other non-native speakers as much as or perhaps even more than with Britons or Americans. You might say that they have broken out of the expanding circle and are creating a new kind of English, English as a lingua franca, "a shared language of communication used between people whose main languages are different" as it is defined in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary.
But is English as a lingua franca (ELF) noticeably different from Standard British or Standard American English? Yes, it is. In the EU, for instance, some call the English used there "Globish", while others refer to it as simply "broken English", and in Britain, it is a long-standing discussion whether the global use of English is a blessing or a curse.
Some agree with Professor Crystal that it enriches English and ensures its survival, and others claim that English is being polluted or maybe even destroyed by it. When you see Danish signs like the ones below, you might agree with the latter.
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2b. Guess where the speaker is from
1. Read the story Comma Gets a Cure aloud in pairs.
2. Let your teacher play a few examples of the same story read aloud by people from different places in the world, and try to guess where it is.
3.
In pairs or small groups, listen to the story read aloud by
other non-native speakers of English. Note
down distinct differences.
2c. Comma Gets a Cure
Well, here's a story for you: Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo in a deserted district of the territory, so she was very happy to start a new job at a superb private practice in North Square near the Duke Street Tower. That area was much nearer for her and more to her liking. Even so, on her first morning, she felt stressed. She ate a bowl of porridge, checked herself in the mirror and washed her face in a hurry. Then she put on a plain yellow dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit and headed for work.
When she got there, there was a woman with a goose waiting for her. The woman gave Sarah an official letter from the vet. The letter implied that the animal could be suffering from a rare form of foot and mouth disease, which was surprising, because normally you would only expect to see it in a dog or a goat. Sarah was sentimental, so this made her feel sorry for the beautiful bird.
Before long, that itchy goose began to strut around the office like a lunatic, which made an unsanitary mess. The goose's owner, Mary Harrison, kept calling, "Comma, Comma," which Sarah thought was an odd choice for a name. Comma was strong and huge, so it would take some force to trap her, but Sarah had a different idea. First she tried gently stroking the goose's lower back with her palm, then singing a tune to her. Finally, she administered ether. Her efforts were not futile. In no time, the goose began to tire, so Sarah was able to hold onto Comma and give her a relaxing bath.
Once Sarah had managed to bathe the goose, she wiped her off with a cloth and laid her on her right side. Then Sarah confirmed the vet's diagnosis. Almost immediately, she remembered an effective treatment that required her to measure out a lot of medicine. Sarah warned that this course of treatment might be expensive—either five or six times the cost of penicillin. I can't imagine paying so much, but Mrs. Harrison—a millionaire lawyer— thought it was a fair price for a cure.
Comma Gets a Cure and derivative works may be used freely for any purpose without special permission,
provided the present sentence and the following copyright notification accompany the passage in print, if reproduced in print Copyright 2000 Douglas N. Honorof, Jill McCullough & Barbara Somerville. All rights reserved.
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ISBN: 9788761698681. Copyright forfatterne og Systime 2024
3. John Agard: Reporting from the Frontline of the Great Dictionary Disaster (2006)
Reporter reporting from the frontline.
Studiostoks/Shutterstock.com
3a. John Agard: is a playwright, poet and short story writer. Born in British Guyana, Agard worked for the Guyana Sunday Chronicle before moving to Britain in 1977. Although he has lived in Britain since then, his imagination is still deeply Caribbean. Travelling extensively throughout the world, performing his poetry, Agard has helped to make Caribbean culture known to a wide audience. Agard's poetry reflects on the linguistic and cultural clashes between immigrant and British culture. Overturning the established order appeals to him. (Worlds of English, Systime: https://worldsofenglish.systime.dk/?id=107#c395 )
3b. Pre-reading: Sensational news
1. Look at the title of the poem:
o What associations does it evoke?
o What expectations does it raise, regarding genre and theme, contents and style?
2. Find elements in the poem that you would normally hear in real news reports that 'sell' this tragic event in a sensational way.
3. Read the poem aloud in an authentic way.
3c. John Agard: Reporting from the Frontline of the Great Dictionary Disaster(2006)
Why has
the English dictionary grown so thin?
Why is it weeping between its covers?
Because today is the day
all words of foreign origin
return to their native borders.
Linguists are rioting in the streets.
Crossword lovers are on hunger strike.
But words are voting with their feet
and familiar objects across the British Isles
have staged a mass evacuation.
Anoraks
have been seen flying off backs
remaking their Innuit tracks.
Bananas
hands forming a queue
are now bound for a Bantu rendezvous.
Hammocks
leave bodies in mid-swing
and billow back to a Carib beginning.
Pyjamas
without regard to size or age
take off on a Hindu pilgrimage.
Sofas
huddle themselves into caravans,
their destination – the Arabian sands.
Even
Baguettes
(as we speak) grab the chance
to jump the channel for the south of France.
This is
a tragedy
turning into a comedy
for reports are reaching us by satellite
that in the wee hours of the night
the ghosts of ancient Greeks and Romans
have been preparing an epic knees-up
to mark the homecoming of their word-hoard.
Stay tuned for live and direct coverage
on this day a dictionary mourns its language.
John Agard: We Brits. Alternative Anthem: Selected
Poems with Live DVD (Bloodaxe Books, 2009). Reproduced with permission of
Bloodaxe Books. www.bloodaxebooks.com.
3d. Comprehension and analysis: John Agard
1. Describe the scene that the speaker broadcasts live from the streets of England in stanza 1.
2. What information do we get in the last stanza – why should we stay tuned?
3. Sketch a map of the world. Place a thin, weeping dictionary in Britain. Send home the things mentioned in the poem.
4. Pair work: Take turns explaining the connection between the homebound words (anoraks, bananas, etc.) and how they are said to behave. How does John Agard play with words and meanings?
5. Make a conclusion on the results of your analysis, using the following words: breaking news, poem, loan words, tragedy, word play, expectations, poet's intention.
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4. The English Language has 4 Registers: How well do you know them?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ_crUux44o
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