World Englishes

How many variations of English do you think there are, two, maybe three? Think again. English is a truly global language, and linguists argue there are 100s of different English varieties around the world. The two most well-known varieties are arguably British English and Standard American English. However, the list of countries where English is recognised as an official language may be longer than you think!

World Englishes meaning

The term World Englishes is used to describe all the different varieties of English that exist worldwide. As English travels around the world, it changes and develops in different ways to fulfil the needs of the people who use it.

English is currently spoken by an estimated 1.35 billion people, meaning almost 20% of the world currently speaks English. However, the English used worldwide can differ in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and accent. Therefore, it’s best to think of the English language as a plural, ie. Englishes.

Have you ever heard of Singlish (Singaporean English), Indian English or Caribbean English? These are just a few official varieties of English with some unique features.

Because of British colonialism and British and American imperialism, the English language spread around the world. Communities adopted and adapted the language to suit their needs, resulting in the creation of hundreds of new varieties of English. Today, English continues to spread worldwide thanks to globalisation, its use as a lingua franca, and its prominence on the internet.

To understand the concept of World Englishes, we must first look at the history of English and how it has travelled around the world.

A brief history of English

The origins of the English language can be traced all the way back to the fifth century, when Germanic tribes invaded Britain and Old English was formed. In 1066, the Normans invaded Britain, bringing a form of French that helped shape what we now refer to as Middle English. The formation of Modern English as we know it today is due to two important factors: the advent of modern printing and colonialism in the 16th century. Britain’s first colonial ‘adventure’ brought English to the New World (the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa).

As you can imagine, the English language changed and adapted dramatically throughout this time. If you picked up an English book from the 13th century today, how likely do you think it would be that you would be able to read it?

British colonisation and imperialism continued to spread throughout the world, bringing English to Africa, South and Southeast Asia, The Caribbean, and the South Pacific Islands. As the language travelled, it mixed with other local languages creating new varieties of English, such as pidgins and creoles.

By the early 20th century, Britain’s political, economic, and industrial powers began to lessen, and the USA emerged as a political and economic superpower. The USA’s prominence and power helped spread English further around the world. As the world started working together via international organisations, such as the United Nations, English was chosen as one of the world’s official working languages. The USA’s cultural prominence also helped spread English through movies, advertisements, music, and broadcasting.

The final spread of English is primarily thanks to the internet. The invention of the internet is widely accredited to two American men, so naturally, the language of the internet is English. By the mid-1990s, an estimated 80% of the internet’s content was English; however, that number sits closer to 50% today.

Today, English is recognised as an official language in 67 different countries. The status of the language in each country can vary greatly, with some countries using English purely for administrative and educational purposes and others using it as their official majority language.

Kachru’s three circles of English

Braj Kachru (1932-2016) was an Indian linguist who studied the global spread of English and coined the term ‘World Englishes’.

In 1985, Kachru created his three circles of English model, which highlights the usage and status of English worldwide. The model comprises three concentric circles: the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle.

Let’s take a closer look at each circle.

Inner circle

The inner circle comprises the countries where English is used as a first language, such as the UK, Ireland, The USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The citizens of these countries are typically considered to be native English speakers.

Kachru considers these countries to be norm-providing, meaning the norms of the English language are created here.

Outer circle

The outer circle typically comprises countries that were once British colonies or had British colonial relations. English was brought to these countries during colonial rule and was usually used for administrative duties, education, socialising, and within government sectors. These countries include India, Singapore, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and others.

English typically isn’t the first language in these countries but continues to be used as an important language in various different ways. English may be an official second language, used as the medium of instruction in education, or used as the ‘working language’ (the chosen language when doing business).

Kachru considers these countries norm-developing, meaning the outer-circle countries further expand upon the norms developed within the inner-circle countries.

Expanding circle

The expanding circle comprises pretty much the rest of the world! These are countries that have no immediate colonial or historical ties with English but still use it to some extent as a tool for communication. English is typically used as a foreign language or as a lingua franca.

Kachru considers these countries to be norm-dependent, meaning that they look to the inner and outer circles to learn how to speak English and generally don’t develop their own ‘Englishes’.

Fig. 1 - Kachru's Three Circles of English Model.

Criticisms of Kachru’s three circles of English

Although Kachru’s model has been highly influential in understanding the global spread of English, it has been met with several criticisms and has been the subject of many debates.

Firstly, the model has been criticised for being oversimplistic and too geographically bound. In a globalised world, it is becoming increasingly challenging to define people and the languages they speak in this way.

The second issue is with the status of English within the outer-circle countries. English has been present within some inner-circle countries for almost 200 hundred years, and has citizens who speak English as their first language. It could therefore be argued that they are also native English speakers.

Finally, due to English being used as a lingua franca across the expanding circle countries, new varieties of English are emerging, such as Chinglish (Chinese English) and Euro English (a term for the Englishes used across Europe). This suggests that the expanding circle countries are no longer wholly norm-dependent and are developing their own varieties of English.

World Englishes: examples

Strevens’ world map of Englishes shows that all varieties of English can be traced back to either British English (BrE) or American English (AmE), making them two of the most influential varieties of English.

However, the UK and the USA are certainly not the only countries where English is spoken. Let’s look at a list of some of the most significant countries that use English as an official language.

Europe

• The UK

• The Republic of Ireland

• Malta

North America

• The USA

• Canada

The Caribbean

• Jamaica

• Barbados

• Trinidad and Tobago

• Bahamas

• Guyana

Africa

• South Africa

• Nigeria

• Cameroon

• Kenya

• Zimbabwe

• Ghana

• Rwanda

• Sudan

• Botswana

• Ethiopia

Asia

• India

• Pakistan

• Singapore

• Philippines

• Sri Lanka

• Malaysia

• Brunei

• Myanmar

Oceania

• Australia

• New Zealand

• Papua New Guinea

• Fiji

• Samoa

• Tonga

• Solomon Islands

• Micronesia

• Vanuatu

• Kiribati

English continues to spread, evolve, and adapt daily, and this is no complete list of all the World Englishes. In fact, it is almost impossible to say how many varieties of English there are as linguists have long debated over how to define them.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most prominent world Englishes.

British English (BrE)

British English is the term used to describe all the varieties of English that exist in the UK. These varieties are typically broken down into dialects (a language variety unique to a specific geographical location). When you think of how ‘standard’ British English sounds, you’re likely thinking of Received Pronunciation (RP). RP is arguably the most well-known British accent because of its prominence in the media and its usage by famous figures, such as the Queen. RP is typically considered the standard accent of someone from London or the Southeast of England; however, it isn’t actually a regional dialect, and it’s not always possible to tell where someone is from when they use RP.

Dialects in the UK include Welsh English, Scots, and Hiberno-English (not to be confused with the languages Welsh, Gaelic, and Irish). These are all varieties of English that have been heavily influenced by the languages spoken in their respective countries, resulting in their own pronunciation, grammar, and lexicon.

American English (AmE)

American English is the name given to the set of English varieties that exist across North America (mainly the USA and Canada).

In the 17th century, the British colonised the Americas, bringing the English language with them. Since then, the USA and Canada have seen people from all over the world arriving on its shores, from Irish immigrants to enslaved Africans, bringing with them their own languages; these have undoubtedly influenced standard American English as we know it today.

American English is often compared to British English, and today, we can see many variations between the two, including accent, lexicon, and grammar.

Some common differences include:

• The accent. American English is considered a rhotic accent (meaning they pronounce the /r/ sound), while British English is regarded as a non-rhotic accent (meaning /r/ sounds after vowels and at the end of words are often omitted).

• Many British English words come from French roots, whereas other languages, such as Spanish, have influenced some American English words.

• American English is more likely to drop suffixes, ie. skim milk (AmE) vs skimmed milk (BrE) and barbershop (AmE) vs Barber’s shop (BrE).

• With compound nouns, British English tends to use the gerund form, whereas American English uses the infinitive form, ie jump rope (AmE) vs skipping rope (BrE) and sailboat (AmE) vs sailing boat (BrE).

• The spelling of words can also differ. American English tends to use the letter ‘z’ rather than ‘s’, ie., standardized (AmE) vs standardised (BrE). Some letters are also dropped in American English, ie. colour (BrE) vs color (AmE).

South Asian English (SAE)

South Asian English (sometimes called Indian-English) is an umbrella term for the varieties of English used in countries across South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and others.

English was introduced to the Indian sub-continent in the early 17th century and subsequently reinforced due to Britain’s colonisation and long-term rule of the country. Although India gained its independence in 1947, English is still used as the language of government, education, and business, and is the country’s lingua franca. Today, an estimated 125 million Indians speak English, making it the world’s second-largest English-speaking country.

A popular variety of South Asian English is ‘Hinglish’ (A mix of Hindi and English). Hinglish typically adds English words to Hindi; however, the meanings can change and develop over time.

Here are some examples of Hinglish words:

• Stadium - a man’s hairstyle that has a large bald spot.
• Would-be - a fiance
• Airdash - to hurry
• Prepone - to bring a meeting or engagement forward
• Glassi - thirsty

Fig. 2 - Hinglish word 'stadium.'

African English (AfrE)

Africa is one of the most linguistically diverse continents, and the term African English can cover English spoken anywhere within it, from Egypt to South Africa. However, the term 'African English' is typically reserved for Black Africa, and is divided into West African English, East African English, and South African English. Today, 27 countries in Africa recognise English as an official language, most of which are ex-British colonies.

West African Pidgin English (WAPE) is a pidgin influenced by English and a variety of local African languages. WAPE originated as a language of commerce used between the British and African slave traders during the time of the transatlantic slave trade. Today, it is used by an estimated 75 million people across Nigeria, Ghana, Siera Leone, and Liberia. A key characteristic of WAPE is the way tenses and aspects are formed. When speaking in different tenses, the verbs remain uninflected (this means the verbs don't change ie. walk -walked - walking). Instead, different words are used to highlight the tense and aspect.

Let's look at some examples:

• The word ben indicates the past tense - 'A ben left' = 'I left'
• The word don (derived from the English word done) indicates the present perfect tense - 'A don it' = 'I have eaten'
• The word go indicates the future tense - 'A go Kom' = ' I will come'

South African English is one of the most prominent varieties of African English. English has been in South Africa since the British arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1795. However, it is not the only official language in the region. There are 11 official languages recognised in South Africa, including English, Afrikaans (a majority dutch based creole), and nine major African languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa, seTswana and seSotho. In addition, many other languages and dialects are present in South Africa due to colonisation, immigration, and religion. Some of these include Portuguese, Hindi, and Arabic. As you can imagine, the influence from all these languages has dramatically impacted the English used in South Africa today, making the variety distinctly different from British English or American English.

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)

AAVE is a variety of English spoken predominantly by black Americans. The variety has its own unique linguistic structures, including grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

Historically, AAVE has been deemed a ‘low-prestige dialect’ and therefore accused of being ‘bad English’. However, many linguists argue that this is not the case, and AAVE should be considered a fully-fledged English variety in its own right. Others have taken this idea further and say that AAVE should be regarded as its own language, known as Ebonics.

In more recent years, common words from AAVE have been making their way into the ‘mainstream’ thanks to social media; you may even be using AAVE without realising it. For example, the word ‘woke’ has grown in popularity since 2015. However, the term is not new and was initially used by black Americans since the 1940s to mean ‘stay awake’ to racial injustices’.

Fig. 3 - The phrase 'stay woke' is an example of AAVE.

Australian English

Australian English is the de facto language of Australia and is considered one of the major varieties of English.

English came to Australia as a result of British colonisation in the 18th century. Australian English uses features from both British and American English, and in terms of grammar, the variety is a mix of both. However, Australian English does have many of its own distinct features, including vocabulary and accent. When British colonisers first arrived in Australia, many new words had to be created to describe the unique flora and fauna not found in the UK. For example, the giant Kingfisher was named the laughing jackass; today, it is called a kookaburra.

Australian English is also considered a non-rhotic variation, meaning the /r/ sound at the end of a word or after a vowel sound is typically dropped. Another key feature of Australian English is the pronunciation of the 'long I' ( /aɪ/ ) sound, which is usually pronounced as an ‘oi’ (/ɔɪ/) sound. For example, ‘bike’ might sound more like ‘boike’.

Some common Australian English words include:

• Barbie - barbeque
• Doona - Duvet
• Hooroo - goodbye

There are several Australian aboriginal languages; unfortunately, many of them are endangered, and the number of speakers is incredibly low. However, some Australian English words come from the Aboriginal people, such as boomerang, dingo, billabong, and wallaby.

English-speaking world

An increasing number of people are using English as a lingua franca (a common language) as a tool for communication. Today, we see people, especially from the expanding circle countries, using, adapting, and modifying English for their own needs. Individuals using ELF are no longer necessarily looking towards the inner and outer circle countries for their norms, and this is paving the way for new varieties of English, such as Vinglish (Vietnamese English) and Chinglish (Chinese English).