WORLD ENGLISHES
ENRICHED FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSE
PART 1
TEACHERS
Ben Tweedie & Filipe de Almeida
Theme 1 – What are World Englishes?
World Englishes are the localised varieties of English spoken in different
parts of the world. It should be noted that the terms World Englishes and
World English are not the same and cannot be used interchangeably. World
English or Global English is the variety of English that is used as a lingua
franca between people who do not share a first language.
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Generally-speaking, World Englishes are utilised
in three distinct ways. Kachru's model (2001)
represents this categorisation with three
concentric circles (inner, outer and expanding):
 Inner circle countries utilise English as the
predominant mother tongue, e.g. the UK and
New Zealand.
 Outer circle countries utilise English as an
official language or language of education,
government and the legislature judiciary, e.g.
South Africa and India.
 Expanding circle countries utilise English as a
lingua franca, e.g. Slovenia and China.
The country with the most speakers of English is no longer an inner or outer circle
country – it is actually China (an expanding circle country) where English-language
learning is compulsory from the early years of primary school.
Just because speakers of World Englishes are speaking the same language does not
make them mutually intelligible. Obviously, if the speakers are from different circles,
e.g. a Kiwi and a Turk, then the likelihood of successful communication is not
guaranteed. Even speakers from the same circle, e.g. an American and an Australian, can
have difficulty understanding each other due to the influence of the verbal, non-verbal
and para-verbal components of communication.
VERBAL component
hearing
dialect
vision
word choice
jargon
NON-VERBAL component
eye contact
facial expressions
gestures
speaking distance
PARA-VERBAL component
accent
articulation
intonation
pausing
volume
Theme 2 – Accents in World Englishes
Accent is one factor which plays a critical role in determining whether
speakers of World Englishes are understood. Even amongst speakers of
the same World English, a difference in accents can cause
miscommunication.
The distribution of accents across different World Englishes is not
universal. For instance, Australian English has only four distinct accents,
yet American English has a plethora of accents. British English is also
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rich with a wide range of accents; in some parts of the British Isles, neighbouring
villages communicate with different accents. Some of the well-known British English
accents include:
 Cockney (London),
 Scouse (Liverpool),
 Geordie (Newcastle),
 Mancunian (Manchester),
 Tyke (Yorkshire),
 Scots (Scottish),
 Brummie (Birmingham), and
 Received Pronunciation.
For many non-native World Englishes speakers, their mother tongue can
affect their ability to speak with an authentic accent. In many cases, it is
not easy for them to reproduce certain sounds in a particular World English.
For instance, some common problematic sounds are:
 the ‘th’ sound as in mouth and thumb
 the ‘r’ sound as in right
 the ‘l’ sound as in light
PRONOUNCIATION PRACTICE EXERCISE
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Theme 3 – Dialects in World Englishes
Another key factor which influences the mutual intelligibility of World
Englishes is dialect. As is the case with accent, even amongst speakers of
the same World English, a wide range of dialects are often utilised. It is
not unusual for a handful of dialects to be present in the same locality,
especially big cities like London or New York.
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The geographical size of a country does not influence the number of
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World Englishes dialects which are in use. For example, British English and American
English both have a similar number of dialects. Similarly, Australia is a big country, yet
Australian English has only a handful of dialects.
Australian English (Strine) includes the use of:

Uniquely-Australian terms: outback,
walkabout, bush, & fair dinkum.

Words derived from Aboriginal languages:
corroboree, kangaroo, billabong, & bunyip.

Diminutives: arvo, rego, ambo, barbie, bikkie,
firie, Bazza, Kazza & Shazza.

Rhyming slang: captain cook, steak and kidney,
dog's eye, tin lid & septic tank

Words to express emotion: Strewth, Stone
the Crows, Bonza, Grouse and Bewdy.
Namibian English (Namlish) is mostly spoken by Namibians who also speak Afrikaans. The
usual greeting between Namlish speakers is the contracted phrase howzit. If you are invited to a
braai you should take boerewors otherwise you might be hungry. The phrase lekker tekkies bru is
not an insult, but a compliment. If you are told a couple of skelems have just scaled that bakkie,
you should immediately call the police. When asked to do something now now, it should be
interpreted as meaning immediately.
Singapore English (Singlish) is the localised World English
which is spoken by people in Singapore. Whilst English is its
basis, it also includes many words from Malay, Hokkien,
Cantonese and Tamil as well as derived English words with new
meanings. Another aspect of Singlish which can lead to
considerable confusion is its adherence to Chinese grammatical
rules like topic-prominence, reduplication, absence of articles
etc.
Theme 4 – Miscommunication in World Englishes
Despite the ever-increasing number of people who are learning an individual
World English, miscommunication between World Englishes speakers occurs
more frequently than most people realise. It occurs not only between nonnative speakers or native/non-native speakers, but also even when native
speakers are conversing.
When miscommunication does occur, the underlying cause is not always
discernible. However, it is usually due to one or a combination of verbal,
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para-verbal or non-verbal element of communication.
The elements of communication are akin to a double-edged sword because they can both
cause miscommunication, but also be used as a means to overcome instances of
miscommunication.
•
Verbal – what we say
– word choice, dialect, jargon
•
etc.
Para-verbal – how we say it
•
intonation, pitch, volume,
emphasis, pacing etc.
Non-verbal – our expressions &
–
actions
– body language, eye contact,
facial expressions, posture,
gesture, appearance etc.