مدل متحدالمرکز زبان انگلیسی

In the first step of this week, we will examine Kahru’s (1990) ‘concentric model of Englishes’, a useful way of understanding and identifying differences in how people use English.

English is often falsely claimed to be the most widely spoken language in the world. However, this is incorrect. By native speakers, Chinese is the most widely spoken language, followed by Spanish and English in third place.

However, there is not just one English in the world. There are many ‘Englishes’, or as linguists would say, ‘varieties of English’. A researcher, Braj Kahru, has developed a ‘concentric model of Englishes’ which aims to capture these. Broadly, these varieties of English can be seen to belong to one of three circles:

Inner circle
These are countries where English is the primary language and follows specific norms, many of which are written down in grammar books and dictionaries. Examples here might include the UK and USA. These are ‘norm-providing’, in the sense that speakers (and sometimes institutions) in these countries establish the general norms and rules of English in speaking and writing.

Outer circle
These are mostly former colonies of inner circle countries. Here, English is used as an additional language alongside other native languages, and is often used in institutional contexts such as education or administration. Examples might include India or Nigeria. Kachru refers to these as ‘norm-developing’ as their lexical and grammatical features may diverge from those used in the inner circle countries. These may not be explicitly written down, and are often prone to change.

Expanding circle
These are countries where English is learnt as a genuine foreign language, and generally has no place in institutional contexts. Examples might include China, Russia or Brazil. In contrast, these are said to be ‘norm-dependent’.

This question of norms can be extremely significant where English is used as a bridge language when there is no other shared language by which the interaction can be easily and efficiently conducted. This is referred to as communication through ‘English as a lingua franca’, which we shall explore in more depth later.

- What variety of English are you and other course participants using? Describe your own variety for others once you have posted your link.

- Do you think that the concentric model of English is still fully applicable today? Are there varieties of English which cannot be easily described with the model?

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