Language

Future of English as a global language “A language achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country” (Crystal 1997). In the 21st century, English is increasingly becoming the dominant language in global communication. However, the question of where the future of English lies remains unclear. Will English in the future increase in popularity or should we adopt a better alternative? English is undoubtedly one of the most influential languages in the world as more and more people use English as their official or second language.

It has been given a variety of labels to represent its popularity. However, social inequalities and injustices have also emerged in the same process, revealing the controversial role English has had internationally. In order to critically examine the future of English as a global language this essay will discuss the following topics in this literature review. 1. Rise of English World-wide 2. English as the language of Science and Technology 3. English language teaching world-wide The number of English speakers in the world has increased at an astonishing rate throughout the last few centuries.

According to Crystal he states that by 1983, the number of people speaking English as an official language was over 1,400 million world wide. Moreover in India and its subcontinent, the English language has an official standing. In the late 1990’s the number of English speaking citizens in China was approximately 220 million. The Olympics provided the motivation for an increase to double these numbers. English has brought benefits, social inequalities and injustices. It remains questionable as to whether or not English would remain a global standard language.

Tsuda discuss how the political and cultural neutrality of the common language used internationally is extremely important and is required within the English language. By incorporating English into any society, countries are able to have some share of the globalization benefits but this necessitates the force of implementing English. If this way is adopted, the independence and uniqueness of other cultures will diminish because of one language dominating other ways worldwide and homogenize them into a Western and more particularly an American way of life.

Esperanto has been suggested by Tsuda is a language that could be used for the purpose of an equal communication. The Esperanto movement has its philosophy as peace. The author questions whether English has a similar philosophy.

The Rise Of English Worldwide

English has undoubtedly dominated other languages in the past 20 years. How it came to be so is another story altogether, although some stress it on historical or political spurs while others believe that modern-day socio-economic and scientific motivations led to its popularity.

However in my opinion and with some research it is believed that the popularity of English began by the end of World War II. The only major industrialized country unaffected by war was the United States. The United States rapidly began working on scientific discoveries, such as the computer, this led to an increase in exchange of information globally, by design English became the source language for storage of information and its retrieval. The United States spent 40 years, after the war, working on setting up research universities, research and development departments, economic stability and computer networking.

Hence becoming the supreme user of information technology as well as its biggest contributor. When you contribute towards something you eventually become its manager, similarly the United States began managing information such as its categorization, storage as well as operating languages and computer system designs. And the only medium it knew best to manage was in the programmer’s natural language i. e. English. So now English not only became the global language of Science but also ecame the global language of Information Technology. The position of English as a dominant language in areas of science and Technology is now quiet secure since most of the modern-day information assemblage are English based. English as the language of Science and Technology: Over the last 20 years, the spread of English has been enormous. Developing Countries desires for economic development, their need for information access and transfer of technology have been the key catalyst behind this dominance.

Although some might see this dominance as a negative impact that will not last for long, in Baileys 1983 article he states: “People bent on imposing their ways on others have no difficulty in contriving arguments to justify their doing so. The historical and present-day spread of English is no exception to that principle. Also “The hegemony of English that has steadily grown with the increase in global communication is now beginning to diminish and will shrink further in the immediate future”

Although such a notion puts forward that English does represent part hegemony, it is the sort of hegemony that will not fade away or diminish in the near future due to some revolution but if it does it will not be as most have expect. However if evidence to date is considered, English is far from being diminished, it is now more than ever still expanding and continuing to secure its role as a global language hence further emphasizing the importance of English in our modern day lives.

It should be made clear that any country that wishes to modernize itself and grow in the areas of science and technology and eventually com pete in global markets cannot show a resistance towards English. It is imperative for any country wishing to make its place in the world for any form of trade to communicate in English. Such will be the case until a time comes in the future when other languages are able to provide access to larger information and better technological development, or until a computer’s ability is developed to such an extent that it becomes independent of any specific natural language.

Many have termed this statement as an argument for English for Science and Technology (EST) instruction. Of late Garfield (1987) pointed out that 88% of articles present in the Science Citation Index were in English, and from 1978 till 1982 data indicates that this development has been quiet consistent. He further adds that if citation data is to be considered then the dominance of English is seen at large. Around 96% of all citations, from 1978 to 1982, present in the index journal are written in English.

Garfield also surveyed that most countries that had an option to publish in their language or a foreign language often chose to publish in English as frequently as in their own language. For example according to Garfield’s research, from 1978 to 1982, the Japanese Scientists cited their own publications 3 times as much as their Japanese publications. While according to Swinburne (1983) the French scientists cited their publications in English four times as much as their French publications.

In the same way the Russian Scientists cited their publications quiet often in English as well. All this suggests that even those countries that value their natural language more are now giving a lot of importance to the use of English as a global language as well as a medium for scientific progression. The major reason behind this acceptance of English is due to the fact that 80 to 85% of all information stored in a computerized data bases around the world are written in either English or in some way abstracted in English. (Kaplan 1980-1982) and (McCrum et al 1986)

English is not only the language for Technology but now is widely being used in Medical publications, in a study by Maher(1986) it is pointed out that from 1966 to 1980 a 19% increase in use of English in medical publications can been seen, from 53% to 72% respectively. In more recent research Maher shows that, with Japan being an exception, there is an incline towards the trend in general rather than a decline. English is undoubtedly the prevailing and widely used language of Science and Technology. Therefore it must be understood that for any country to ecome modernize and industrialize and technologically competitive, it is imperative that they access or use information that has been written in English. In the past 20 years the exponential growth in publications, the need for even faster retrieval and access of information and the stark demands generated by private multinational corporations and government industries have created a competition amongst countries to an extent that the only access to information they have, technological or otherwise is basically in English.

So any public or private modern day business or industries wanting to compete in the global markets and magnify their production need to have access to some form of information, latest researches and technological applications. And in order to utilize the research, applications or information the managers or administrators must be able to use English because English will be the language used to acquire information out of a system. This competition and the need for latest information make the position of English as a global language unwavering and steadfast for years to come.

According to Forey & Nunan “Hong Kong is a major international trading, business, banking, and communications center, and English is seen as a key to maintaining its position in these areas. ”(Forey & Nunan, 2002)

English Language Teaching Worldwide

In extension to the above rationale that English is the language of Science, it won’t be wrong to say that wherever a need exists English is to be taught. Over the past 20 years this awareness has grown world-wide and more and more countries are giving English a great deal of importance in their school curriculum.

Although the level of English being taught and the measures to be taken for its proper learning is a different issue altogether. Asian countries like China, Honk Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines and Malaysia have added English language in their school curriculum at an early age, with teaching time ranging from minimum 4 hours a week to maximum 50 hours a week. Also a shift in the age at which English is taught is seen, from secondary classes to primary classes.

It should be made clear that not all citizens of a country need to understand English, although in doing so they are denying themselves the access to the enormous information available world-wide. Even a country like Japan that holds a strong resistance towards English has introduced the language at high school level. English in China is in some way considered or has become the language for the elite; those who are unable to learn proper English in schools and have a sound family background begin taking private tuitions in order to learn English.

This introduction of English in schools at such primary level, as well as the steps various governments have taken to ensure its proper learning of the language simply shows the dominance and importance of English world-wide. CONCLUSION To draw a conclusion that English is indeed a global language and will likely remain one in the near future seems reasonable. English plays a vital role is areas of information retrieval and its access, as well as in Science and Technology. Any country wishing to explore or expand in these areas will need to understand English.

Although coming to such a conclusion is not as simple as it may seem, there are many complex issues at stake here but nevertheless, in light of the evidence provided in this paper it will not be wrong to say that English has clearly achieved world dominance and will continue to maintain its position not only as the language for Science and technology but also as world language in general. As Kaplan (1983b) has noted in an editorial in Science: “It seems reasonable to assert, however difficult it may be to accept, that knowledge of a world language, especially English, is essential to the welfare of the new nations . New nations must find a balance between the cultivation of indigenous culture-rich language and the need for a world language . Any other course is tantamount to restricting their capability for modernization. ”

Reference List

1. Bailey, R. W. (1983) Literacy in English: an international perspective. In Literacy for Life. Edited by R. W. Bailey and R. Fosheim. New York: MLA. pp. 30-44.  Crystal, D. (1997).
2. English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (2000).
3. Language death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Curriculum Development Council. (1999).
4. Syllabuses for secondary schools Englishlanguage (Secondary 1–5). Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, China: Hong Kong Education Department.  Education Commission. (1990).
5. Education commission report number 4. Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, China: Hong Kong Education Department.
6. Forey, G. , & Nunan, D. (2002). The role of language and culture within the accountancy workforce.
7.  C. Barron, N. Bruce, & D. Nunan (Eds. ), Knowledge and discourse: Towards an ecology of language. London: Longman/Pearson.
8. Garfield, E. (1987) English spoken here. The Scientist, 1, 9 (7 September).
9. Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English. London: British Council.
10. Kaplan, R. B. (1980) A language-planning rationale for English for special purposes. In Language Policy and Language Teaching: Essays in Honor of Clifford H. Prator. Edited by J. Povey. Culver City, CA: ELS. pp. 53-64.
11. Kaplan, R. B. (1982) Information science and ESP. Paper presented at the 16th Annual TESOL Convention, Honolulu, HI, May 1982. Kaplan, R. B. (1983b) Language and science policies of new nations. (Editorial) Science, 221,4614 (2 September).
12. McCrum, R. , Cran, W. and MacNeil. R. (1986) The Story of English. New York: Viking.
13. Maher, J. (1986) The development of English as an international langiage of m&ine. Applied Linguistics, 7, 206-218.
14. Swinburne, J. (1983) Information use and transfer by British and French scientists: a study of two groups. Journal of information science 6, 75-80

Speech without circumlocution sometimes can hurt others’ heart. – tact: n. The ability to do or say things without offending or upsetting other people Ex) SAT evaluates students’ tact to understand a college level education. 6. Appeal to authority: citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writers arguments.

Causal relationship: of, involving, or constituting a cause in a relationship; cause and effect relationships Declamation: a rhetorical exercise or set speech. Capricious: given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior. Conciliatory: intended or likely to placate or pacify. Contemplative: expressing or involving prolonged thought. Glib: (of words or the person speaking them) fluent and voluble but insincere and shallow. Linguistic: the scientific study of language and its structure, including the duty of morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics.

Pretentious: attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc. , than is actually possessed. Strident: loud and harsh; grating. 7. L. The author put an anecdote about general misconceptions of familiar writing style on line 1-3. By criticizing the ideas which are opposite to his statement, his thesis can gain more power. This skill is the reduction to absurdity. II. The author used an antithesis on line 7-10. The author emphasized his idea through contrasting his idea with wrong conception.

In sociolinguistics, language is considered as an abstract notion that is embodied in the form of dialects. It’s not clear-cut to distinguish a language from a dialect of a language. Mutual intelligibility” seems to be an ideal criterion in terms of telling a language from a dialect of a language, however, we can certainly find some cases that counter-argue this principle. Hence some other criteria should be applied as supplements to distinguish between a language and a dialect, among which, Bell’s seven principles for discussing different languages are of great inspiration. The varieties of dialects are differentiated according to the places in which they are used, the different social factors that affect their uses, and functions and styles they have when accommodating different situations in language communication.

Accordingly, sociolinguists label these dialects as regional, social, and functional dialect respectively. This paper will touch upon the discussion of the different varieties of language in relation to the users, social factors and environment.  Criteria for differentiating a language from a dialect  .  Variety and “mutual intelligibility”. In order to further the discussion of the difference between a language and a dialect, let’s first of all center on an important term in the field of sociolinguistics variety. Then what is the definition of a variety? R. A. Hudson, a famous linguist, defines a variety of language as a set of linguistic items with similar social distribution (1980:24). According to this definition, we can call any of the following items “varieties of language”: English, French, Chinese, London English, or the language used by a particular person, etc. It will be seen from this list that the general notion “variety” includes examples of what would normally be called languages, dialects and registers (a term meaning roughly “style”). Now we know that both “a language” and “a dialect of a language” are kind of variety.

Then why do we call some varieties different languages and others different dialects of the same language? Many sociolinguists agree that a dialect is one of most problematic terms to give a general definition to. Some proposed that language exists in the form of dialect. What, then, is a dialect? What are the criteria for distinguishing between a language and a dialect of a language? Linguists start with the assumption that all human beings speak their own idiolects. Similar idiolects make up a particular dialect, and similar dialects make up a particular language.

This statement in some sense presupposes that all the idiolects of a dialect and all the dialects of a language are mutually intelligible (Wang,1992:11). However, we can easily find cases to counter-argue this thesis if the principle of mutual intelligible serve as the only criterion for differentiating a language from a dialect. Take for example, the Scandinavian languages (including Norwegian, Swedish and Danish). Speakers of these three languages can, with little effort, understand and communicate with one another. These languages are mutually intelligible.

According to the principle of “mutual intelligibility”, they are different dialects. But the fact is that they are usually assumed to be different languages. If we turn our attention to China, we will find that speakers of Cantonese and Mandarin will tell you that they speak the same language. People speaking Cantonese and people speaking Mandarin are not mutually intelligible at all, yet they almost certainly insist that they speak different dialects of the same language—Chinese, not different languages, for to the Chinese a shared writing system and a powerful social and cultural tradition form essential parts of our definition of language.

So for these and other reasons, then, we cannot use the test of “mutual intelligibility” to differentiate between dialect and language. The fact is that there is no very clear distinction between the terms dialect and language. These two concepts are, as a matter of fact, ambiguous. The above two cases mentioned tell us that different languages are sometimes mutually intelligible and that dialects of the same language are sometimes not mutually intelligible at all.  So apart from “mutual intelligibility”, we also need other supplementary criteria.

Some sociolinguists have some accounts of differentiating a language from a dialect. One of them is based on the existence of a standard language or of a written form shared by a set of speakers. If two or more groups who differ in speech but regard the same form of speech as a standard, or if they share the common written form, they tend to be regarded as speaking different dialects rather than different languages, whatever degree of mutual intelligibility, like different dialects across China.

On the contrary, the Scandinavian languages like Norwegian, Swedish and Danish are considered different languages because they have distinct, codified, standardized forms, with their own grammar books and literatures, which correspond to three separate nation states. Another account is made in terms of size and prestige. That means a language is larger than a dialect, so that a language can contain more dialects. For example, the Chinese language has seven dialects: Northern, Wu, Xiang, Gan, Min, Yue, and Kejia dialects.

In addition, they also think that the term language implies social prestige, for it is written as well as spoken, but dialectal varieties are generally not used in formal writing, thus is not comparable with more socially valuable language. A famous linguist Bell (1976:147-57) has listed seven criteria that may be useful in discussing different kinds of languages. According to Bell, these criteria, namely, standardization, vitality, historicity, autonomy, reduction, mixture and de facto norms, may be used to distinguish certain languages from others. Standardization refers to the process by which a language has been codified in some way. That process usually involves the development of such things as grammars, dictionaries and possibly a literature, etc. Once a language is standardized it becomes possible to teach it in a deliberate manner. According to these criteria, both English and French are quite obviously standardized, Italian somewhat less so, and the variety known as Black English not at all. Vitality, the second of Bell’s seven criteria, refers to the existence of a living community of speakers.

This criterion can be especially used to distinguish languages that are “alive” from those that are “dead”. For example, Latin is dead in the sense that no one speaks it as native language; it exists only in a written form frozen in time, pronounced rather than spoken, and studied rather than used. Yet we should note that a language can remain a considerable force even after it is dead, that is, even after it is no longer spoken as anyone’s first language and exists almost exclusively in one or more written forms, knowledge of which is acquired only through formal education.

Classical Greek and Latin still have considerable prestige in the Western world, and speakers of many modern languages continue to draw on them in a variety of ways. Historicity refers to the fact that a particular group of people finds a sense of identity through using a particular language: it belongs to them. Social, political, religious, or ethnic ties may also be important for the group, but the bond provided by a common language may prove to be the strongest tie of all. Historicity can be long-standing.

For example, the speakers of Chinese, the different varieties of colloquial Chinese make much of a common linguistic ancestry. Autonomy is an interesting concept because it is really one of feeling. A language must be felt by its speakers to be different from other languages. However, this is a very subjective criterion. For example, some speakers of Black English maintain that their language is not a variety of English, but is a separate language in its own right. In contrast, speakers of Cantonese and Mandarin are not autonomous languages but are just two dialects of Chinese. Reduction refers to the fact that a particular variety may be regarded as a sub-variety rather than as an independent entity. Sometimes the reduction is in the kinds of opportunities afforded to users of the variety. For example, there may be a reduction of resources, that is, the variety may lack a writing system, etc.  Mixture refers to feelings speakers have about the “purity” of the variety they speak.

This criterion appears to be more important to speakers of some languages than of others, e. g. more important to speakers of French and German than to speakers of English. De facto norms refers to the feeling that many speakers have that there are both “good” speakers and “poor” speakers, and that the good speakers represent the norms of proper usage. If we apply the above criteria to the different variation and change in the world, we will see that not every variety we may want to call a language has the same status as every other variety. English is a language, but so are Latin, Ukrainian and Chinese. Each satisfies a different sub-set of criteria from the above list. Although there are mportant differences among them, we would be loath to deny that any one of them is a language.

They are all equals as languages, but that does not necessarily mean that all languages are equal. Regional dialects. Definition and characteristics of regional dialects As we travel throughout a wide geographical area in which a language is spoken, and particularly if that language has been spoken in that area for many hundreds of years, we are almost certain to notice differences in pronunciation, in the choices and forms of words, and in syntax.

Such distinctive varieties are usually called regional dialects of the language. Regional dialect is named in accordance with their geographical distributions, so that Chinese Northern dialect is associated with the northern areas of China; Yue dialect is the main speech variety in Guangdong Province; and Xiang dialect is chiefly spoken by the inhabitants living in Hunan, etc. Regional dialects seem to be based on the different geographical locations in which each is the main means of daily communication.

In regional dialects, vocabulary and syntax may also vary from one another, sometimes causing mutual unintelligibility. For example, Chinese speakers call the word “corn” differently in different regions, in Northeast China, people say ; in Sichuan, it’s called; in Fujian, people say ; and in South China’s Guangdong Province, people call it ”. The use of varied syntactic patterns in regional dialects is confusing as well, let’s study the following examples:

 From the above differences, we can observe that in Mandarin, adverb precedes verb or adjective, while in Cantonese, some adverbs are behind verb or adjective. Reasons for the appearance of regional dialects. So what’re the reasons for the appearance of regional dialects? Firstly, Geographical barriers like mountain ranges, big rivers or other natural factors usually cause great transportation problems for people living in an out-of-way place. This is especially true of areas where economy is very backward.

As a result, regional dialects appear when language with its own characteristics develops. Geographical isolation is one of the important factors for language variations within a country as well as across continents. Secondly, sociolinguistics also regards regional dialects as the result of historical changes in society. For example, many centuries ago, British settlers brought their native language English to North America. After a few centuries, English in the two continents has developed into different regional dialects with their own characteristics in pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, etc.

The same explanation can also be applicable to the case of Australian English, Indian English, Canadian English. Historical events like immigration and colonization have spread English into every corner of the world and split it into many different regional dialects. 4. Social dialects We know that human being are living in stratified social communities, and the way we use language reflects our differences in age, social status, social class, sex and profession, etc.

All these become very crucial factors in determining in the relationship between different speech features and speakers’ social background (Wardhaugh, 1986:46) 4. Social dialects in relation to age differences Talking about age differences, we know youth frequently use vernacular words or slang forms and deletion of past tense marker—ed in the sentence like “My Dad cook for me yesterday. The tendency to make particular use or deletion of certain linguistic features marks their group membership when they tend not to conform to the social norms. But when teenagers grow old enough to enter the work force they gradually use more standard forms as they’re required to do so.

The variety of children’s language is characterized by simplicity and lack of variation in style; and the variety used by young people is most responsible to the changing society and marked with vitality and solidarity; while in old people’s speech, one can find many old-fashioned linguistic features that are no longer used by the younger generation.  Social dialects in relation to sex differences. Many sociolinguists have observed that there is evidence of gender differences in language use.

And such gender-related differences can be categorized into two kinds, one is sex-exclusive speech forms used by women or men only; the other one is sex-preferential forms which both sexes use but with one sex showing greater preference for them than the other. For the first type we can find an example in Japanese language, there are men-only pronouns: “I” and  “you” for casual speech which women cannot use. For the case of second type, it seems that women’s speech style tends to be more polite, uncertain, and indirect.

For example, female speakers are more likely to use some words like lovely, sweet, adorable, please, it’s very kind of you, etc. Women usually out-perform men in their choice of correct or standard speech form; while men tend to use a more non-standard vernacular style. Women used to be discriminated and regarded as inferior to men, whereas men had been more prestigious, authoritative and dominant in social affaires. However, with the increasing consciousness of the inequality imposed upon women, some feminists advocate to use neutral terms.

As a result, now more and more English-speaking people insist on using words like chairperson, police officer, salesclerk and so on instead of the old and sex-based terms like chairman, policeman and saleman.  Social dialects in relation to differences of social class membership. The term social class implies different groups of people who can be differentiated in terms of social prestige, wealth, and education, and language users’ social relationship with other speakers is revealed in the ways they use the language.

There are some criteria for social-class identification, like educational background, professional training, and occupation. The linguistic differences that indicate the social membership of different speakers are also manifest in vocabulary and grammar parts of the language they speak. For example, non-upper-class speakers often use multiple negations like, a young black American may say, “We ain’t had no trouble about none of us pulling out no knife”.

Halliday (1978:33) generalized the social context of language use in terms of three factors: the filed, this includes both professional and non-professional, or technical and non-technical social activities; the mode, which refers to the vehicle and channel of communication; or the way language is organized to deliver information, for example, written or oral style of speech; and tenor, which refers to the relationship between the participants and the intention of the speaker in the exchange of message and meaning with other speakers. The field of discourse Language varies not only among people with different socio-economic status, but also among those with different trade and profession. A field or trade usually has its own terms of expression: a doctor learns to “talk doctor”, a lawyer learns to “talk lawyer”, and a priest learns to “talk priest”. This kind of professional or technical speech or writing is commonly referred to as jargon, it usually occurs among people sharing mutual interests or in-group knowledge which is usually inaccessible to a non-specialist.

The jargon is used when the language user wants to convey the information of his special field with exactness and economy to his co-workers. Now with the rapid development and application of modern science and technology, some jargon vocabulary has gradually been introduced into general language and used by people in their everyday life, such as penicillin, fax, network, clone, etc. The mode of discourse. Language is either spoken or written. With different channels of transmission, either by sound or by written symbols, the spoken and written styles of language manifest distinctive features respectively.

Colloquial style, also called vernacular style, is used in the home, with close friends, between people from the same ethnic group for everyday communication. When people have a face-to-face conversation, their mutual interest or concern in certain topics, and their common background knowledge usually help reduce the load of task in their exchanging information with other participants; in addition, the participants can make use of their pronunciation, intonation, pitch, body gesture etc to convey their ideas. As a result, the colloquial style of language can be succinct and concise without causing misunderstanding.

In addition, there is a universal application of hesitation fillers such as er, mm, um, or well, you know, sort of, I mean etc. in the colloquial style of language users to help the speaker gain more time to think about what he says or to void the interruption of the flow of speech. Written style is another kind of mode of discourse. Compared with colloquial style, it is typical of formality. And written style can be further divided into styles of science, art, politics and business respectively. Each of them has developed its own features in the special register of language use.

The mode of discourse, to an extent, more or less decides what kind of message, tone, and cohesive device must be chosen for the communication. It interacts with the field of discourse as well as the relationship between the speaker and the addressee to provide a background or context in which a particular style of language can be most appropriately used.  Speakers usually talk differently to people who have a different background and relationship to them, which is an important factor in determining the appropriate style of speaking in communication.

For example, when you telling your friend that you like his new coat, you may say, “Hey, cool coat, I like it! ” When telling the same thing to your boss, probably, you may say, “You look smart in your new coat today” Actually this is a matter of choosing your variety or code. And this choice of the right style in talking is based on the social distance between speakers. The better you know someone or the more familiar with him or her you are, the more casual and relaxed style you use; otherwise you may use a more formal utterance in conveying your ideas.

Some typical examples about the tenor of discourse are motherese, teacher talk and foreign talk. Motherese refers to when a mother talks to her little child, it is sensible of her not to talk in the same way as she does to an adult. Usually they will make use of some adjustments including special pitch, intonation, dictions, etc which is more acceptable for children. The use of motherese shows that the age of the addressee may affect the speaker’s style. The type of language style teachers use in language classrooms is called teacher talk.

For example, teachers may use simpler utterance with low-level students; they use a more standard pronunciation and a more formal intonation. In addition, teachers usually will have a special favor in direction tutorial questions such as “Is the cup on the table? ” and confirmation checks such as “Understand”? The teacher-student relationship largely determines the use of teacher-talk style to make sure the smooth process of formal proceedings in classrooms. Foreign talk is similar to teacher talk as well as motherese in that all use high frequency vocabulary, and all adopt shorter sentences with simple grammar.

Yet the foreign talk is likely to be influenced by more variables such as the topic of conversation, the age of the participants, and the language proficiency of the learners. Hence foreign talk is comparatively more dynamic than the other two in various situations. The choice of appropriate form is influenced by the personal relationship between the participants: the higher degree of familiarity between them, the lower formality in language style they use; on the contrary, the lower degree of familiarity, the higher formality in style.

Conclusion

To sum up, languages and dialects are a crucial part in the area of sociolinguistics, which is mainly concerned about the relation between linguistics and society. And the terms language and dialect are kind of ambiguous, thus it’s hard to draw a definite line between the two. Instead of making an absolute conclusion, it’s wiser and more recommendable to analyze the issues in question from a more objective point of view. And the paper adheres to this basic principle from the beginning till the end. Finally because the society is changing form time to time, so is the language, it’s better to leave space for the further discussion and exploration relating to the above topics being covered in this paper.

References

1. Bell, R. T. Sociolinguistics: Goals, Approaches and Problem. London: Batsford, 1976.
2. Coulmas, Florian. The Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Beijing: Foreign Language and Teaching Press, 2001.
3. Halliday, M. A. Language as Social Semiotic. London: Arnold, 1978.
4. Hudson, R. A. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1980.
5. Wang Dechun. Yuyanxue Gailun (An introduction to linguistics) Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Teaching Press, 1997.
6. Wang Dexing. Shehuiyuyanxue Daolun (An introduction to sociolinguistics). Beijing: Beijing Foreign Languages Institute Press, 1992.
7. Wardhaugh, Ronald. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986.
8. Zhu Wanjin. Shehuiyuyanxue Gailun (Sociolinguistics: an introduction). Changsha: Hunan Education Press, 1992.

Technical Writing Style As you draft and edit, it is helpful to keep in mind the effective ways to present sentences and paragraphs. When you revise your drafts, check the language and remove any area of possible confusion. If you have repeated any word, see whether you can change the sentence. The following passages will help you to be aware of any difficult construction of sentences, so that you can modify the same and ensure reader’s comfort. Write Clear Sentences Follow these guidelines for writing sentences which will be clear to the readers. Keep the main idea on top. Use active voice.

Employ parallelism. Repeat for emphasis. Write sentences of 15 to 25 words. Provide transitions. Avoid wordiness. Avoid redundancy. Keep the Main Idea on Top This is the key principle in writing so that your sentences are easy to understand. Place the sentence’s main idea, the subject, first. The subject makes the rest of the sentence accessible. Readers therefore orient themselves and they are able to interact with the subsequent discussion. See this example from a popular newspaper. “Doubts persist over World Cup 2007. ” (Note how the interest of the reader is immediately captured. Now the details follow. )”Clouds are gathering over the West Indies, and they are more than rain-bearing masses of cumulous. With eight months and a few days to go for the 2007 World Cup, doubts are increasingly being aired about the ability of the region to host a venture of such and complexity. ” Thus readers are informed about the crux of the problem so that they are interested to read on. Use Normal Word Order The normal word order in English is subject-verb-object. This order makes it easier to read as it reveals the topic first and the structures the idea.

This order produces entences which are clear to the readers and do not cause any contusion. Read the following sentence. “Finance Minister on Tuesday backed the Central Bank’s decision to increase interest rates, stating that the move was aimed at containing inflation. ” The sentence is clear, though a little long (23 words) and follows natural flow. Use Active Voice Active voice emphasizes performer of the function and not the receiver. Active voice helps the reader follow the meaning quickly as it is sticking to subject-verb-object pattern. When the subject acts, the verb is in the active voice.

When the subject is acted upon, the verb is in the passive voice. Use passive voice sparingly and when it is absolutely required. Examples: I completed the work in time (active voice as the subject acts here. ) My mobile was stolen (passive voice as the subject is acted upon. ) Go through the following example. Manufacturers add preservatives to food products to increase their shelf-life (emphasis is on manufacturers, which is not correct. ) Preservatives are added to food products to increase their shelf-life (emphasis is on preservatives, which is correct. In uch cases, passive voice should be used. Use Parallelism Use similar structures for similar elements. The vendors promise that they will replace the old machine and to attend to the new order (wrong). The vendors promise that they will replace the old machine and will attend to the new order. (correct) Repeat for Emphasis Repeat key words for emphasis so that the reader has better recall. Read the following example. The doctrine of “No work, no pay” is a fundamental axioms in industrial relations. The philosophy is very simple. When a person is employed, he is expected to carry out the ork assigned to him.

When he does not do so, he is not eligible for payment of any salary. Even when a general strike disrupts public transport systems, and consequently employees are unable to reach their work places, the same principle prevails. Of course corporate may permit their staff to avail themselves of any leave to their credit. Even die-hard trade union leaders respect this principle. “No work, no pay” lays a strong foundation to industrial peace and harmony in the long run. Provide Transitions Connect sentences by using words that signal a sequence or pattern. Sequence: first, second, next.

Addition: and, further. Contrast: but, however, nevertheless. Avoid Wordiness Generally, concise expressions are more effective than verbosity. Eliminate all repetitions, subordinate clauses etc. to make the writing compact and pointed. Examples of Wordiness Came to the conclusion Utilization of Make Revisions Make an amendment to Examples of compactness Concluded Use Revise Amend Avoid Redundancy Redundancies are words that say the same content. Conciseness is achieved by saying anything only once. In the following examples, what is bracketed may be mitted for conciseness.

During (the year) of 2006 (Needless to say) (New) innovation The (other) alternative is Choose a Tone Now you can prepare clear, effective documents. Your documents are easy to read. However, we are assuming that the writer and reader are equal and unemotional. In practice, it may not be so. Hence it is important to control ‘tone’. The ‘tone’ can communicate as much as the content of the message. Consider some possible ‘tones’ depending on the situation. forceful passive personal impersonal The forceful tone implies that the writer is in command.

This is appropriate when the writer addresses subordinates. While writing forcefully, Use the active voice. Use imperatives. Clearly indicate that you are responsible. For example: I have decided to introduce Performance Appraisal System forthwith in our organization. When the reader has more power than the writer, use passive voice. For example: The instructions to implement the new Evaluation System has been complied with The personal tone implies that reader and writer are equal. David thanks for your suggestion about maintenance routine. It has given good results.

The impersonal tone is employed when the writer is not important and the situation is neutral. For example: A proposal to introduce quality circle has been made. Use Positive Words and Verbs A sure way to involve your audience is to sprinkle positive words and positive verbs throughout your text. Positive words and verbs convince the reader the benefits of your subject matter. Positive Words Advantage asset effective profitable satisfied value favorable success Benefit Positive Verbs Positive verbs motivate your readers. Some ot the verbs that motivate your readers nto action are here.

Accomplish plan achieve produce implement Prepare promote exceed organize assess Tune to the Audience Tuning to the audience is the key for effectiveness of your document with the reader. Remember the following points. Not all your readers will understand acronyms and abbreviations. Readers need glossaries. Provide extended definitions for technical terms. As multiple audiences have different levels of technical knowledge, choose carefully the amount of technical content in your document. Show your reader how he or she will benefit from your document

So the poet I decided to do this on is Mark Strand. He was born in Canada in 1934 and grew up in different places in the United States. He studied at several universities including Antioch Ohio college, Yale, also the University of Florence on a Fulbright fellowship where he studied 19th century Italian poetry. When he was a child, he actually wasn’t considered bright. He was a painter while studying at Yale, and a lot of people say that he creates a “painterly’ image in his poetry because of the way he closely examines things.

I found it really interesting that in an interview he said that he wasn’t good with language as a child, and so the idea that he would one day become a poet would come as a huge shock for his family growing up. Strand felt deeply connected with the painter Edward Hopper. He wrote a book about his works, explaining the paintings in very expressive details. Strand definitely has a way of showing his passion for both art and poetry and combining the two.

Hopper was considered a very misunderstood, realist painter and Strand said that he eally connected with his “strangeness” and feels influenced by it. Strand’s poetry has a very simple language to it. It sometimes borders on something beyond reality, in the way that he perceives the world. He wrote a lot of poems about dreams and disassociation from the world. He’s written 14 books of poetry. He also writes a lot of life and death. Death, being what he considers the main point in lyrical poetry. What I really connect with Is the rhythm of this poem first of all.

I actually enjoyed a ot of other poems by Strand but after we looked at Fishing on the susehanna river by Billy Collins, this intrigued me because it reminded me of that similar rhythm. I enjoy the repetition that things will always end but then continue to go on and return again. Theres this sadness in the earlier stanzas about how things Just stay the same, leave and come back again. The hopelessness of a mundane world. In the end theres kind of a positive hopefulness where the people at the party don’t think the night will end. They don’t let it though the music stops. mark strand By Idramaqueenl

The possibility that early bilingualism affects kids ‘s linguistic communication and cognitive development has long been a concern for parents and pedagogues. In the first half of the twentieth century, the predominating position was that bilingualism and second-language acquisition early in life made kids baffled and interfered with their ability to develop normal cognitive functions1 and win in educational environments. These thoughts were dramatically reversed in a landmark survey by Peal and Lambert that showed a general high quality of bilinguals over monolinguals in a broad scope of intelligence trials and facets of school accomplishment. Recent research has been more balanced, placing countries in which bilingual kids excel and others in which bilingualism has no consequence on their development.

The inquiry sing the possible impact of bilingualism on kids ‘s development has ever been of import, but has progressively emerged as a important concern for modern societies and for Canada in peculiar. In add-on to the official committedness to a national policy of second-language acquisition and bilingualism, in-migration has transformed Canada into a rich multilingual and multicultural state. Public schools, particularly in major urban Centres, are home to big Numberss of kids for whom English or French is a 2nd linguistic communication. These kids represent an tremendous assortment of place linguistic communications and frequently constitute the bulk of kids in a individual schoolroom. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the impact of these linguistic communication backgrounds on kids ‘s cognitive and educational hereafters.

Information about the linguistic communication, cognitive and educational development of kids with varied linguistic communication backgrounds is indispensable to construe the public presentation of these kids in school and measure their development. For illustration, kids with limited proficiency in the linguistic communication of schooling are certain to see increased trouble in get bying both academically and socially, and it is of import to place these troubles in order to understand what intercession or remedial attacks are needed.

The research is typically conducted in schoolrooms, frequently settings incorporating both multilingual and monolingual kids. The context in which the bilingualism or 2nd linguistic communication occurs is of import, even though it is non ever included as a formal facet of research probe. There is grounds that whether the kid ‘s place linguistic communication is in a bulk or minority state of affairs, is valued in the community and is used as a medium for literacy undertakings affects the kid ‘s lingual and cognitive outcomes. Therefore, the deductions of the kid ‘s linguistic communication experience should ideally be examined with careful attending to the societal and lingual factors that describe the kid ‘s societal and educational environment.

The of import issues concern the cognitive and educational results for bilingual kids. First, it is necessary to set up whether linguistic communication acquisition returns at the same rate and in the same mode for kids who are larning two linguistic communications at the same time or are larning a 2nd linguistic communication after holding begun to get the hang one. Second, are kids able to get literacy accomplishments at school if they are either bilingual or larning a 2nd linguistic communication, particularly if their place linguistic communication is non the linguistic communication of direction? Finally, are at that place effects on normal cognitive development in footings of the kid ‘s ability to get new constructs or execute assorted computations ( e.g. arithmetic ) , particularly if school direction is in the kid ‘s weaker linguistic communication?

There are three chief outcomes from this research. First, for general linguistic communication proficiency, bilingual kids tend to hold a smaller vocabulary in each linguistic communication than monolingual kids in their language. However, their apprehension of lingual construction, called metalinguistic consciousness, and is at least as good6 and frequently better than that of comparable monolinguals. Second, the acquisition of literacy accomplishments in these kids depends on the relationship between the two languages and the degree of proficiency in the 2nd language. Specifically, kids larning to read in two linguistic communications that portion a authorship system ( e.g. English and Gallic ) show accelerated advancement in larning to read ; kids whose two linguistic communications are written in different systems ( e.g. English and Chinese ) show no particular advantage, but neither do they show any shortage relation to monolinguals. The benefit of larning to read in two linguistic communications, nevertheless, requires that kids be bilingual and non second-language scholars whose competency in one of the linguistic communications is weak. Third, bilingual kids between four and eight old ages old demonstrate a big advantage over comparable monolinguals in work outing jobs that require commanding attending to specific facets of a show and suppressing attending to deceptive facets that are outstanding but associated with an wrong response. This advantage is non confined to linguistic communication processing, but includes a assortment of non-verbal undertakings that require controlled attending and selectivity in such jobs as organizing conceptual classs, seeing alternate images in ambitious figures, 11 and understanding the difference between the visual aspect and functional world of a deceptive object.

The consequences of these surveies demonstrate that childhood bilingualism is a important experience that has the power to act upon the class and efficiency of kids ‘s development. The most surprising result is that these influences are non confined to the lingual sphere, where such influence would be expected, but extend every bit good to non-verbal cognitive abilities. In most instances, the kid ‘s grade of engagement with a 2nd linguistic communication, defined as the difference between bilingualism and second-language acquisition, is an of import variable that determines both the grade and type of influence that is found. Three forms of influence were noted in these surveies. One result is that bilingualism makes no difference, and monolingual and bilingual kids develop in the same manner and at the same rate. This was found for cognitive jobs such as memory- p development and linguistic communication jobs such as phonological consciousness. The 2nd is that bilingualism disadvantages kids in some manner. The primary illustration of this is in the development of vocabulary in each linguistic communication. The 3rd form, and the most prevailing in our surveies, is that bilingualism is a positive force that enhances kids ‘s cognitive and lingual development, bettering entree to literacy if the two composing systems correspond and development of general executive procedures for all bilingual kids work outing a broad scope of non-verbal jobs necessitating attending and control. These executive control abilities are at the Centre of intelligent idea.

Parents are frequently concerned that utilizing a non-community linguistic communication as the linguistic communication of their place will disfavor their kids. This plan of research provides solid grounds that the overpowering consequence of bilingualism in the place is positive. The disadvantages are comparatively minor and easy get the better of. The deductions for schooling are more complex. Children ‘s success in school is strongly dependent on their proficiency in the linguistic communication of direction, a relationship that holds for of import lingual activities ( e.g. larning to read ) , non-verbal computational topics ( e.g. mathematics ) , and content-based course of study ( e.g. societal surveies ) . In all these instances, kids must be skilled in the signifiers and significances of the school linguistic communication and be competent readers of that linguistic communication. Bilingual kids may non be at the same degree as their monolingual equals, and second-language scholars for whom English or French is non their place linguistic communication may hold non built up equal accomplishments in the instructional linguistic communication to win in schools. The grounds for the overpowering positive benefit of bilingualism, together with grounds that bilingual kids are non cognitively handicapped, indicates an of import function for schools in supplying a agency for these kids to construct up their linguistic communication accomplishments in the school linguistic communication so that they can be full participants in the schoolroom and harvest the most positive benefit from their educational experience.

Therefore It Is really Important to improve English skills because It Is never too late. People who are not very keen on writing English. even for them it can be a good start. Adrian: It Is very Important to start writing English as much as possible. There are some ways of improving english such as reading. tching movie or even listening to music, This should be included In the dally task and after doing It for a long time It becomes a habit and then the person will realize how he or she is going towards betterment. but each of them has their strength and weaknesses. Actually, learning English Is not as difficult as you think. YouVe got to commit yourself if you want to be successful. Jimmy: I remember what my lecturer told me that If you’re lazy or not interested in learning English, you’ll never break through yourself.

I really want to be able to read, write and speak well in English because English Is uite important as the international language nowadays. Ya. It’ll be useful when I would Ilke to geta good job or go overseas to carry on my studies or work. Okay. First of all, you must read more English materials. such as magazines and newspapers. ‘Ofs Not only that, English textbooks, instructions and ingredients on food packages, advertisements are also important. Jazali: When people write, they usually use “correct” English with a proper grammatical structure. Ya, This is not always true when people speak.

That’s why. So, by reading, you can learn grammatical English naturally. I Just saw an article, it says that If you choose something to read that you like, it can actually be interesting and enjoyable. Well, this came across my mind. If you like to read about football in your own language, why not read about football in English right? Ya, I agree with you. You will get and improve your English at the same time. But guys, you wont have a direct impact on your speech improvement. written English differs greatly from English used in actual live conversations.

Sometimes, Written English tends to be more formal and isn’t packed with phrasal erbs like everyday English! to make English phrase, word, or word chunk stick in your mind for later use in a conversation, you need to repeat it a good number of times. Don’t forget guys, You basically need to repeat the phrase and memorize it doesn’t happen when you read an English fiction book! – and it By the way, music is also a fun way to work on your listening. Learn the most effective way to do it and about the challenges you face learning from music.

If you love music, Music will teach you useful phrases and collocations, help you to remember new ords and old, improve your pronunciation and sharpen your listening. Hey, Zhen hao what are you doing? Im Finding lyrics. Half of a good song is what the words mean. Songs are about something. But before you can fgure out what a singer means, find out what she or he is saying. Yes, Songs are utterly different”and usually deeper, cooler and more poetic”when you know what your favourite singers are really saying. So, find the lyrics to your favourite songs, print them out and work to understand what they mean.

Not only finding lyrics, u need to sing along too. In the shower, around the house or at your local karaoke box, it will help your English get better and better. You pronunciation will improve, and you will remember more and more new English. However, there are some adverse on listening English song too. Nowadays the songs getting varies through the country. Some lyrics of the songs may contain of verbal words. Yaya! Like the song sang by Akon, ‘l Just had a sexl The music video of the songs also may contain of adult content such as naked and this is not suitable for young people or child to watch.

Everyone *laugh* The music video of the songs also may contain of adult content such as naked and this is not suitable for young people or child to watch. On the other hand, the lyric’s spelling on screen also might not accurate. the true spelling. So, This could be a disadvantage of learning English by music. Hey don’t forget, my hobby, watching movies also will improve English. Haha.. Watching movies is a great way for you to improve your English, especially your listening and speaking skills. Films are not usually created for English language learners – they are made for native English speakers.

Films are not usually created for English language learners – they are made for native English speakers. It is not a good idea to use this as your only method of learning English; it is much more advisable to study at an English school. However, I would definitely recommend all English language students to watch films in English in their spare time for additional practice that you might not get in a classroom. I agree with u Zhen hao, It helps to take the language away from the artificial classroom norm, which helps us because they get to see/hear the language in a more natural setting.

Other than that, watching movies will not only improve your listening ability, but will help you a lot on your spoken English, espcially our English intonation. Besides, when you watch a movie, you can also learn the culture reflected in the movie. But some of the parents will get mad or angry if their children wasting more time on movies. I don’t think so Jimmy, this is my own experience. I like watching movies very much and it’s really helpful for my English study. I really recommand you watch some typical movies. And You can watch movies and TV programs with English subtitles as ell.

That helps a lot. I really think that it depends on what movies we are watching! If they are watching movies that are grammatically incorrect, I cannot see how that’s going to help them with the English language. We can watch movies from the fiftys and sixtys, those movies were make with proper grammar in mind. for conclusion, So far i still strongly recommend you to watch more movies because it really helps to improve English. How do you think everyone, Agree with it? Yes, I agree. watching movies can be very beneficial.