One Billion

75 Regions

A Third Of The Total Population 

Mother Tongue / Native Language (ENL)

 A Second Language (ESL)

A Foreign Language (EFL)

A lingua franca (ELF):

    English speakers as a Lingua Franca, who use English for intercultural communication, are probably the largest English-speaking group in the world at the moment.

ENL, English as a Native Language:

refers to the language of those born and raised in countries where English is historically the first language,

ESL, English as a Second Language:

refers to the language spoken in territories that were once colonized by the English,

DIFFERENCE

EFL, English as a Foreign Language:

refers to the English of those whose countries were never colonized by the British and for whom English serves little or no purpose within their own borders,

ELF, English as a Lingua Franca:

refers to those who use English as a lingua franca for intercultural communication with non-native English speakers.

Models and Descriptions of the Spread of English

Strevens (1980): World Map of English

Kachru (1985/1988): Three Circle Model of World

Englishes

McArthur (1987): Circle of World English

Görlach (1988): Circle Model of English

Strevens (1980): World Map of English

    Strevens represents world English on “a map of the world on which is superimposed an inverted-tree diagram resembling the branching models of  Indo-European”

    American and British English are considered the main two branches, and other varieties are divided into smaller groups in either of them. American English has daughters in the Caribbean and Asia, and British English in Africa, the Caribbean, Southern Asia and Australasia.

Kachru (1988) - Three Circle Model:

Adventages:

    It makes English plural so that one English becomes many Englishes.

    The model does not suggest that one variety is any better, linguistically speaking, than any other.

Gupta: 

Gupta also has proposed a classification system that divides English use into five different categories: 

a) Monolingual Ancestral, such as in Britain and the USA;

b) Monolingual Contact, such as in Jamaica; 

c) Monolingual Scholastic, such as in India; 

d) Multilingual Contact, such as in Singapore; 

e) Multilingual Ancestral, such as in South Africa.

    Other scholars, including Görlach and Strevens have suggested other models. These are well summarised in McArthur, where he also describes his own ‘Circle Model of World English’.

McArthur (1987) - Circle Model of World English 

    McArthur’s model of world English presents a wheel with a hub labelled World Standard English. 

    Eight different regions of the world are presented using eight spokes, and another eight regional varieties surrounding the hub. 

    A list of subvarieties completes each region of the world.

    McArthur, and Görlach proposed circle models of English in the 1980s, with Kachru's 'Three Circle model of World Englishes', McArthur's 'Circle of World English', and Görlach's 'Circle model of English'. 

    McArthur's and Görlach's models are similar; Görlach's circle places 'International English' at the center, followed by regional standard English, semi-/sub-regional standard English, non-standard English, and finally pidgins and creoles.

Görlach (1988-90): Circle Model of English 

WHY English is a global Language?

    English became a global language due to a complex interplay of political, economical, and cultural factors.  

    Its spread was facilitated by the historical influence of the British Empire, as well as the dominance of the United States in the post-World War II era.

    English has also been promoted as a language of international communication, science, and technology. 

    The spread of English as a global language is a complex phenomenon that continues to generate mixed feelings and tensions among people around the world.

WHAT is a global language?

    It is a language that has become a common means of communication between people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

    Examples of global languages include English, Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic. 

    The use of a global language can facilitate communication, trade, and cultural exchange between people from different parts of the world.

What makes a global language?