Directions: Read the Following Essay and Answer the Comprehension Questions
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Directions: Read the following essay and answer the comprehension questions.
Historical and Cultural Development of the English Language: Historical and Cultural Influences that Led to the Emergence, Recognition and Acceptance of Global Varieties of English. By Phillip J.J. Scheir
English is spoken in more countries than any other language on Earth. It is spoken as an official language or has special status in 75 countries around the world according to the British
Council.1 With so many people speaking the same language it should be no surprise that there are at least fifteen recognized varieties of English spoken around the world.2 Among the varieties of English spoken, most of the people in the world speak American English.3 Some schools around the world presuppose that teaching American English is better than other varieties of English because they want to keep up with the growing trend of American English being the most popular variety of English used.4 Worldwide though there is an acceptance that all varieties of English are to be valued. This paper will examine what historical and cultural influences led to the emergence, recognition and acceptance of global varieties of English.
Varieties of English emerged because of colonization. English came originally from England and was spread to all parts of the globe. At one time British English was thought to hold a special position above other forms of English that had sprung from its beginnings, but today British English is thought more as a sibling to the other variations of English, having its own accent and idiosyncrasies. 5
Changes were a result of English being spread to more and more populations all over the world.. "In the years 1500–1900, England had colonized all of North and South America and Australia, most of
1 Dieu, Barbara (2010) "English Speaking Countries," The English Department, Retrieved online May 16, 2010 from
5 Ask Oxford.com. (2010). "Global English," Oxford Online Dictionary, Retrieved online May 15, 2010 from
Different groups of English populations recognized that the English they used was different from each other because they had communication through political and financial dealings with each other. Etymologists for more than two hundred years have been writing about the differences between the varieties of English spoken among different countries of native English speakers. The first dictionary written to detail differences among English languages spoken was John Jamieson's
Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language published in 1808. It examined the difference between English spoken in Scotland and English spoken in England. The next etymological dictionary to denote the difference in English spoken among different countries was John Bartlett's
Dictionary of Americanisms published in 1848. It compared the English that had developed in the
USA and the English that was being spoken in England. Perhaps the most comprehensive, if not most weightiest is the multivolume Oxford English Dictionary written from 1884 until1928 which
6 Encyclopedia Britannica "History & Society: colonialism, Western," Retrieved online May 12, 2010 from
English, Australian English, Canadian English, to name a few.10 In addition to the publication of dictionaries which point out lexical differences among global varieties of English, there are also famous books that are read around the world and that through their writing display sentence structures from around the world. One of the best authors to successfully capture the accents of different groups of people was Samuel L. Clemens, also known by his pen name, Mark Twain. In the preface to his book "Huckleberry Finn," Clemens writes at length about the various varieties of English all spoken by the various groups of people in Louisiana.11 Those varieties of spoken English Samuel Clemens writes about in Louisiana came about because the ways each group of people spoke English was influenced by their culture and by their language background.
Global acceptance of the varieties of English comes because of two main reasons; colonization has made English so widespread that the resulting regional differences colonization has produced have to be expected and accepted; secondly, the political and economic power that most English speaking countries have, has made any and all varieties of English the accepted global means of international communication in the world of business, science and politics. With so many people around the world learning English there has come to be an expectation that people will speak English with an accent painted with a brush from their first language.12 Cultural influences have also been accepted and slang dictionaries online such as "urbandictionary.com," are made to inform native speakers of new words in the English vernacular, many of which though might only be used among select groups like inner-city jargon.13 Words like "cool," "rad," and "fly" and their idiomatic meanings, have all become accepted
9 Ask Oxford.com. (2010). "Global English," Oxform Online Dictionary, Retrieved Online May 15, 2010 from < http://www.askoxford.com/globalenglish/worldenglish/?view=uk> 10 Ask Oxford.com. (2010). "World English Dictionaries," Oxform Online Dictionary, Retrieved Online May 15, 2010 from < http://www.askoxford.com/globalenglish/dictionaries/?view=uk> 11 Clemens L, Samuel (1884) "Preface," Huckleberry Finn." Chatto and Windust 12 Helium.com (2002-2010) "How language and culture affect the meanings of words," Retrieved online May 16, 2010 from
"to fancy" to mean "to want," such as in "Would you fancy having lunch with me tomorrow?"15 In the
USA “wicked” is meant to mean “something evil or very bad,” such as in “The villain in the story is very wicked for wanting to hurt the hero,” and the word “fancy” is meant to mean “something extra special,” such as, “My mother bought me a very fancy dress for the party.”
Globally people are aware that different varieties of English abound throughout the world.
This is accepted to the understanding that when any idea or language is spread so far as to reach different parts of the world, the usage and application is bound to be different among different populations. Having come from the same source, England, perhaps all these varieties of English all share a certain fraternity with each other. They are accepted because when a person from the USA meets a person from South Africa in a country where English is commonly spoken, all differences go out the window as communication is possible with a fellow brother/sister of the same language.
14 Smith, S.E. (2003-2010). "What is Slang?," Wise Geek.com. Retrieved online May 16, 2010 from
1. How many countries around the word have English spoken as an official language or have it as a special status?
2. Is “American” English better than varieties of English spoken in other countries? Why or why not?
3. From what country did English originate from?
4. How did English spread to other countries?
5. In what ways did native people around the world change English?
6. Approximately what is the percentage of people in the world that speak English?
7. What is the purpose of an “Etymological Dictionary”?
8. What two reasons are there for a global acceptance of the varieties of English?
5 9. What does the following statement mean? “People will speak English with an accent painted with a brush from their first language.”
10, What is “slang” in a language?
11. How does the word “wicked” have a different meaning in the UK and in the USA?
12. How does the word “fancy” have a different meaning in the UK and in the USA?
13. From what the author writes, can people from different countries who speak English understand each other despite language differences?
Application and critical thinking.
14. Why are you studying English?
15. Currently about half of all people in the world speak English. Do you think that all people in the world should speak the same language? How might that be good for all people? How might that be bad for all people?
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