“Particular kinds of English should receive more attention than others”;
Topic: Particular kinds of English should receive more attention than others.
Thesis: The English as Lingua Franca (ELF) emphasises on phonetics and pronunciation. This allows people with different native languages find a common ground. Thus, many turn to ELF for its communicative benefits. Hence, ELF is the most suitable English language variety to achieve a standardisation of the global English Language
1. Non-native speakers outnumber native counterparts. Globalisation has resulted in greater interconnected and hence, ELF is used as the "contact language" when engaging in international business and relations with countries lacking a common first language (Sharma, 2011).
2. As English has become an International language, British and American English are no longer the sole standards. (Zhang, 2008). There are numerous varieties of Englishes that have been classified under the umbrella of World Englishes. Each, is unique to the nation it originated from. This gives rise to the need for standardisation to reduce the chances of miscommunication for this global language (Crystal, 2003)
3. With different varieties of Englishes comes a lack of tolerance of versions other than one's own. Given the increasing usage of English in countries of the Outer and Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1985), there is no doubt that Englishes with heavy accents will develop. Native speakers may grow intolerant of such non-native accents. Hence, a pertinent benefit of adopting ELF in the teaching curriculum is to help reduce the intolerance, and thereby promote genteel interactions amongst people of different circles (Berns, 2008).
4. Language and culture are intertwined concepts. To learn one, is to learn the other. Countries such as Singapore and Philippines have evolved their own forms of the English language that has become embedded in the fabrics of their society. As ELF grows in prominence, the future of these culturally rich creoles looks bleak if we forsake them (Kachru, 2009)
Overview
Braj Kachru developed the Three-Circle Model of World Englishes to classify the different forms of English emerging in the globalised world. According to him, English could be classified into 3 concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1986). Each circle representing a different level of English acquisition and usage. The inner circle consists of countries like America and the United Kingdom where English is the mother tongue. The outer circle consists of countries that have adopted English as a main language or a recognised, important 'second language'. These countries tend to be ex-colonies of either the British or Americans. The expanding circle consists of regions which acknowledge the importance of English but have withheld giving any status to the language. Thus, it is taught as a foreign language (Crystal, 2007). Combined, the non-native speakers of English far outweigh their native counterparts. However, nations in the aforementioned Outer and Expanding circles have developed their own versions of English unique to the culture and accent of its people. As Jenkins (2003) postulates, there is a need to find a common level of intelligibility amongst these differing circles of English. ELF aims to "search for maximal phonological, syntactic and lexical forms that are common across speakers" (Sharma, 2011) and consequently should be adopted as the main language of communication amongst men to bridge the gap of intelligibility.
There is always the flip side to the coin, and therein, lies the crux of the anti-ELF sentiments that scholars such as Norman Fairclough. As Kachru (2009) put forth, many Asian countries were once British colonies and thus adopted English as a main language. However, the historical mother tongues of these regions were by no means Anglo-Saxon in nature. According to the principle of Linguistic Relativity, language affects a speaker's cognition. This led to Kramsch (2000) putting forth the idea that language both shapes and is shaped by culture. The overarching implication of this is that human perspective is controlled by both language and the cultural features it embodies (Hynninen, 2006). Sadly, this entails that ELF will erode into the pre-existing culture of a nation especially if it means phasing out culturally rich creoles such as Singlish. Mauranen (2005) found that English used in lingua franca environments differed greatly from English used by native speakers. This would suggest that ELF users were actively and perhaps unknowingly creating ELF cultures. By encouraging countries to forgo their creoles and adopt ELF, we may also be forcefully imposing this ELF culture on them