World Englishes Issues And Perspectives

Background

The term World Englishes caters many meanings for the different approaches and investigations done by many scholars’ worldwide. It refers to the diverse varieties of English variations particularly those regions influenced by the United States of America. It has many terminologies depending on the country uses it which makes the whole world confuse what is the true meaning and how to use it. It is because as the population increases, the definitions and discussions of the varieties of English are rapidly spreading all over the world. Debates and controversies in English becomes one of the important instrument of the conceptual and communal change for we are living in the growing, progressing and constant changing world, which was formed a significant part of Kachru’s Three Concentric Circle of Englishes: the Outer Circle which countries use English as their first or native language, the Inner Circle, countries who uses English as their second language, and the Expanding Circle are those countries who uses English as an international language where performance were characterized. English may vary according to the situations or contexts used by the speakers from the three circles.

Common issues in World Englishes

There are lots of approaches which have been used to study the world Englishes and two of it such as the scarcity and deflectional methodologies became dominated in the field and believed to be the least insightful and reflect in the attitudes. The following are just an observation on the issues which are given the utmost important in the world context of English.

Ontological Issues: Clash among idealization and certainty This issue is one of the main problem which has concerns towards boldness and distinctiveness. Idealization is a form of emotional state that representing something as better than what it really is or in reality. That is, it is a belief of someone about English language that is better than the reality, that anything appears or any methods of language evolve today are not acceptable or not applicable. As on Quirk’s stands, he said that the identity of the English multiplicities is just fabricated assumptions of some multilingual persons. He also discards the incomparable terms from other countries languages which were considered if not as fabricated, as ambiguous or uncertain. He then also not considers that the different kinds of English are efficiently defined at countless phonological stages; so in other words, it is academically intolerable or ontological identifiable examples. Lastly, the most well-known opposition concerning ESL and EFL was also questioned or doubted by him. To make it short, Quirk has on his mind the other types of opposition from the users of English around the world which are the inner circle (first amid us) and the outer circle (amid them); an stimulating technique to create a discrepancy amongst ‘comprehensive’ and ‘limited’ followers in communication solidarities of the users of English. But still, since it is still an issue, in the veracity of the social aspects of language of world Englishes, the main ideas of Quirk are still not valid. This is also how the philological past disapproved the additional growth of several main languages in the realm. Quirk apprehensions are still hanging for another discussion to occur.

Attainment and ingenuity: The misinterpretation patterns On the second language acquisition prevalent examples are neglecting for many cases. From numerous current revisions, concerning the ‘connecting the missing patterns’ of English traditional variousness of English in the mid of concept and purposes was deliberated. It is the misrepresentation or abandonment of the inventive features of English uses in the outer circle which is the extra or added characteristics of the false patterns. The unjustifiable importance on perceptions on interlanguage (language created by a second language learners who are in the learning development of the language) and fossilization (when a learner stops learning the language because of the lack of correction and reinforcement) is the outcome of this misrepresentation which was lastly been appreciated. This English ingenuity perceptive scopes such as the varied and genuine have been ignored by the researchers of the second language which is because language is finished in most of the mythical originality which is not their native language multiplicity. So in the creativeness, the limitation of interlanguage and fossilization are merely not appropriate for before into conclusions, it is important to contemplate the several resourcefulness scopes.

Realistic situations: Achievement vs. disappointment In this issue, it has something to do with the users and the uses of English. There are factors on the victory and negligence of the practical Englishes which are the code’s official features, the persons involved in the conversation, and the spoken statements actual outcome. These factors earned lots of queries for the language social aspects presumptions are erroneous. The mixed English ranges are chiefly used for universal drive is one of the incorrect theory which is really not true for it is more significant to talk with the natives rather than the global people. Another wrong presumption is that the native speaker should always involve every time English is used universally, that in all settings of conversation they must always present which was in a doubtful validity in the social aspects of language. But in reality, the situation is that the speakers used English as their extra or added language which was the more prevalent purpose of English. English Social Content This issue is somewhat debatable.

Perspective / Reaction

Now, what I have come up with the following issues presented which are truly or naturally very controversial. As what I have understand about world Englishes is that, the agony which is the “torn between the norms”. It is the conflict about whose norm should be followed or accepted from the different varieties of English used in the world today. They are the ones who have not had an opportunity to study or learn the language and may not be in a state of ecstasy. Ecstasy means that English is everywhere, but not available for all people. It gives privileges to those who learned the language formally in schools or acquired it in an early age. In our country, the Philippines, illiterate or uneducated people are the dominant. Many were already had their baccalaureate degree but have no job yet, so they cannot exercise their knowledge on what course they have graduated. They will not able to enhance their communication skills especially the use of English language. Even so, before those graduates come to what they are now, during their grade school, high school and college degree, they have encountered lots of teachers who taught them how to speak or use the English language. That is why we use different kinds of accent on how to speak English for every individual has their own version on how to use it. Not only because of that, it is also because we are invaded by different races a long time ago and our ancestor influenced by them in so many ways and they have passed them down through generation. But as for those who have not had an opportunity to study the language formally or in school or in their early age, they may not be able to use the English language. English is everywhere but they cannot use it or they are afraid to use it for they have little or no knowledge on how to use it. It has something to do with the attitude of the users who will use the English language which may belongs to the word ethnocentrism – on which one group or culture is better or more important than others.

Since we have studied in the other subject about the types of monitor user of language, this is another issue or problem that I see which may fall under question number two. The three types of monitor users are: first, the monitor over user of language who monitor all the time and may hesitantly or do not like making mistakes; second, the monitor under users which are those who have not learned or prefer not to use their conscious language, for them fluency and speed are more important; and third, optimal monitor users who uses monitor when it is appropriate and when it does not interfere the communication process. These monitor users have idealization in the contexts. Others may not be able to use the language in what way they want to for it has this called “the isolation of the language pattern”. It seems to limit not only variations explanation or meaning, but also on how it uses in the conversation with creativity, teaching examples, and approach or procedures in teaching. There is also a notion with the use of the language that it should be use only with those who are professionals which those who are not professional will not be able to use it nor the pragmatics or the practical way of using the language which ones will be able to use it if is necessary for the given situation.

Another one is the cultural content of English where we can think the word Pidginization. Pidgin is a language that is formed from a mixture of several languages when speakers of different languages need to talk to each other in a simple way; it is a simplified speech used for communication between people with different languages. For example, we, Filipinos talking to a Chinese, Japanese and other races of persons. The sentence structure or the syntax is somewhat ungrammatical but they are able to convey the meaning of the messages that they want to express. When this pidgin is already accepted by that particular community, it will become creole which pertain or relating to people who are Creole or to their language. Creole (in a capitalized form) is a person of mixed races but descent speaking a dialect of both races he or she has within herself or himself while creole (in lowercase) is a language that has evolved from a pidgin but serves as the native language of a speech community.

If we are going to look into the issues and controversies a world Englishes have, they are so many to mention. As what I have said earlier, these commentaries of the issues are those which are given the utmost significance for our interpretation of English in its world environment.