The
English language is the second language in colonized regions. It develops many
variations because of indigenous languages. Sociolinguists
introduce the terms World Englishes and New Englishes to
define Regional Englishes. And some models are also presented by
World Englishes specialists. Two of them are Kachru and Schneider.
Kachru introduces his Three-Circle Model. He defines this model with the help of circles. The first circle is called the Inner Circle, which encloses those countries whose native language is English. These countries are England, America, Australia, New Zealand, etc. People of these countries do not have to learn English. They acquire it. They use it in homes, offices, schools, universities, parliaments, and courts. Because they have their norms in their spoken and written languages, they are called norm providers.
The second circle is called the Outer Circle, which surrounds commonwealth countries. These countries have their indigenous languages. They use them in their homes and institutions. They don’t acquire the English language, but they have to learn and use it as a second language in private, semi-private, multinational, and governmental institutions. These countries are Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc.
They are not norm givers but norm developers. They use some rules in spoken and written English. These rules belong to indigenous languages. Due to indigenous elements in English, the terms World Englishes and New Englishes become part of sociolinguistics.
The third and last circle is called the Expanding Circle. It encloses those countries where English is used neither as a native language nor as a second language. The British Empire never colonizes them, so they do not use English as a second language, but they learn and used it as a foreign language to increase their international relationship and businesses.
They are China,
Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, and Russia. They are norm followers. They have
to follow the norms of the inner circle.
After Braj Kachru, Edgar Schneider introduces his Dynamic Model. This model is related to non-native New Englishes. It consists of some conditions and stages of language development in a younger generation as in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, where people learn English to find a better position in society and institutions.
They feel proud and dominant when they speak it. They maintain a general perception that the English language can secure their future. Here, historical and political detail is required to explore the reasons for being influenced. This detail will show the intentions of colonizers.
It will also throw some light on the emergence of newly
independent nations. These independent nations use the English language but
with a variation. Due to variations in the same language, the term New Englishes
has come into sociolinguistics.
Schneider, in his model, shows five stages; in the first stage, the British introduced the English language after colonization. Everything goes systematically. Some indigenous also go to England to learn English. They interpret it and become the source of imposing British norms. This stage is called the Foundation.
In the second stage, maximum British vocabularies hold a strong position. This stage is called the Exonormative. But after decolonization, the English language goes through the third stage, in which the words from indigenous languages consciously and unconsciously become part of their Englishes.
This stage is called Nativization. In the fourth
stage, the norms of indigenous language hold their significant position in Englishes. This stage is called the Endonormative. In
the fifth and final stage, independent countries own their Englishes as a
second language but with indigenous norms. This stage is called Differentiation.
After studying both models, one can develop his general perception about World Englishes. In several cities of Pakistan, the English language is neither a native language nor a second. Here, people speak indigenous languages and use Urdu as a second language or lingua franca.
Though English is a second language yet practically is dealt with as a foreign language. The term World Englishes is not common among them so, they still believe that the English language belongs to the Western world and they cannot learn it even if they follow norms. But Braj Kachru maintains Pakistan in the outer circle because he considers it one of the norm developer countries.
Virtually, it seems different; the majority in Pakistan still feel hesitant while using it. They are busy teaching and learning English according to British norms. They are still away from a fruitful result. They are still unable to make it easy, especially for the common masses. They have to convince themselves that they are one of the norm developers and English is their second language as other neighboring countries have already realized it.
If
they do so, they will not have any pride, hesitation, or difficulties while
using English in their practical lives. They can accept English as a second
language and understand World Englishes.
Now English is a world language. It has some driving forces that introduce English as a second language. First, the British colonizers spread English in colonized regions with the help of political, religious, and psychological tactics.
After decolonization, the transmission becomes systematic. When the colonized maintained little progress in their lives, some new forces start working, Print and electronic media. They introduce academic books that follow British norms. They promote the English language across the world.
Then, information technology plays its role by connecting
different regions via the English language. This technology is more powerful to
make English a second language. It follows American norms, so people get
confused between the British and American languages. They consciously or
unconsciously follow both.
With
the help of the mentioned models, one can bring out some fruitful information.
However, more research is yet to be required to know the whole phenomenon because
sometimes these models seem too feeble to produce ideal and errorless information.
This
article is written by Shajar Ali, one of the contributors at the School of
Literature.
