Friday, May 8, 2009

Standard English and English Standards

Proficient speakers of English are often quite interested in variation and take pride in their ability to switch between local and international Englishes. But learners – and their teachers – tend to be more interested in standards. The question then arises: which standard is best?

For many Asian learners, the main choice is between some kind of British English (still popular in Malaysia and Sri Lanka) and something more American (the usual preference of Filipinos, Japanese and South – but not North – Koreans). But reducing the choice to a simple UK-US division exaggerates the divide: many beginners cannot even hear differences between spoken British and American English, let alone see them in writing. And it overlooks the great diversity of speech within the UK and the USA.

This UK-US focus also overlooks the millions of Asians who speak fluent English with local characteristics. Even today, many Asians think of native speakers as North American, Britons and Australasians, rather than Singaporeans or Indians. The concept of native speaker is a complex and controversial one. Acquiring a language when very young may indeed bring a mastery that is almost impossible to replicate when learning another language later, but we cannot assume that everyone's strongest language is the first one they learned. To want to speak as well as a native speaker seems an admirable goal, but it can be quite a vague one. The ideal standard of English varies from person to person, depending on what they want to do with the language. And a standard suggests something that is fixed, whereas language is always changing.

In recent years I've noticed greater acceptance of different varieties of English around Asia. Schools in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward routinely invite foreign students to give conversation classes and don't mind where they come from as long as their English is reasonably fluent. Thai television's MCOT News uses newsreaders and reporters with American, British, New Zealand and also distinctly Thai and other Asian accents. Indeed, Leeds University's Anthea Gupta argues that there are so many varieties of spoken English that it is almost impossible to choose one standard form. On the other hand, Gupta believes that written English is remarkably standard throughout the world. Written language changes much more slowly than speech, and TOEFL tests, spelling checks on computers and the narrow range of writing styles preferred by international academic journals all operate to contain variation. Nevertheless, local vocabulary and grammar are increasingly evident on the internet. Many blogs written in standard Pakistani or Filipino English are easy enough for people from other Asian countries to read, but some are quite difficult because of the use of Urdish or Taglish – English mixed with Urdu or Tagalog.

A common theme in Asia's English-language press is the apparent slide in English standards. Readers of Malaysiakini, an online newspaper, regularly post examples of ‘bad English’ (such as a law professor asking his students “Are you understand?”). Hong Kong's South China Morning Post debated why 11-year-olds could not pass exams designed for 9-year-olds. The people who complain are often from a generation that studied entirely in English, and they typically blame postcolonial educational policies that emphasise local languages – as well as the‘broken English’of text messages and blogs. But they should remember that far more Asians use the language now than in the days when it was restricted to the middle and upper classes. Inevitably, many of this new generation use it badly. But many others simply use it differently.

24 comments:

  1. Although it is not clear whether it is called a standard by putting a focus where, I think Japanese people at least using only local English(=Japanese English). In Asian countries, especially Japanese people should use more English which is accepted internationally. As one of the various methods is to use newsreader with American, British, New Zealand, like an example. And I think it is indispensable that every person is to have communication skills. So people have to use English or other languages(which is learned when they were children) spontaneously to communicate with people from other asian countries or in their business. that is why I strongly agree that the ideal standard of English varies from person to person, depending on what they want to do with the language. And I think it is also clear that Japanese people are inferior to the other asian countries to write with the English. So they need to try to write with the English. Finally I think what is required of new generation people is to become an almighty human being.

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  2. Many people think that written English is fairly standard. Even though people can write in different varieties and styles - mobile phones and short messages tend to encourage individuality - most books and newspapers are written in a very similar English all over the world. Apart from spelling it can be very difficult to distinguish US and UK English, for example. But spoken English is a different matter. I don't think we can really say there is a standard way of speaking English. Most English speakers, whether they are using it as a first or second or foreign language, have different ways of speaking, and they adapt according to where they are, why they are speaking and who they are talking to.

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  3. Hi.
    I think people should be important to their language.Of course I know it isn,t in use in international society.
    But if English standards isn,t clear, people who can,t speak fluent English with local characteristics should not become native speakers.
    Because language is always changing and nobody knows which language will become next standards.
    However I think it is important that Asian make every effort joying standards.

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  4. Surely Japnese want to speak English as well as native speaker.But almost Japanese use Japanese English.
    I think Japanese English is very useful but if they want to become like native speaker,they should not use Japanese English.
    Because Japanese English is only use Japanese.
    So native speaker don't understand Japanese English.

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  5. Asian people who aren't English native speaker studies English more and more, English may be thin.
    After then, bad English may be a standard English.

    That time, the common language is English ?

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  6. I think language is just like a kind of idea, when it was introduced into a country, will slightly change with some factors in this country. So in countries outside the UK to learn English, is bound to be and standard English has a certain gap. It is not determined learner, but in this country.

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    1. That is a very interesting point, Guan Li. People who are very proficient in English will still vary among each other according to the place in which they live, and the differences do not mean that they are 'learners'. However, I think we should be careful about comparing the English of communities where most people do not speak it proficiently with the English of countries where they do. I have talked about this a little in the blog entry on 'Asian Englishes'. Philippines English and Malaysian English and Sri Lankan English are distinct forms of English that are very rich and very fluent. I am not sure that we can say Japanese English or Korean English is as rich or as fluent. Some people say that 'China English' is becoming so.

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  7. Eri Sato

    It is difficult for us to learn true English. It is because we learn only English only for form. So, you write it,many blogs written in standard Pakistani or Filipino English are easy enough for people from other Asian countries to read,but It is difficult to read a document written in British English colloquially.I'd like to go the country which can learn Basic English if I go for studying abroad.

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    1. Hello Eri. Personally I don't think the differences in written English are so wide: if you can read a documentary in US English you should be able to read one in British English. However, it is true that blogs are often written quite colloquially, almost like spoken English, so you will find a lot of differences among them.

      I don't know if Asians find the English of other Asians easier to understand than the English or Americans or Britons or Australians (there has been some research on this which I mention in the blog entry about 'Intelligibility'), but it is certainly possible that people for whom English is a second language make more effort to be understood than people who speak it as a first language and take it for granted.

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  8. 英語は、イギリスとアメリカ英語のように違いがある。しかし、その違いはなかなかわからない。そのため、英語を流暢に話すようになりたいと思うが、言語は常に変化しているので、なかなか難しいと思う。

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  9. Hi Tokie. I can understand that you may find all the variations in English confusing. Nearly all languages vary, but perhaps English varies more widely than most because it is spoken so widely.

    Formal written English is fairly standard all over the world, but there differences in spoken English not only between the US and UK but also within each of them. If you travel just a few miles to the next town in England you will hear differences in pronunciation; if you travel a little further you will hear differences in vocabulary.

    However, many learners of English, and even quite proficient speakers, are not aware of these differences, so perhaps they need not worry about them. Some years ago I had a 15-minute interview by telephone for a job in Tokyo. The company sounded pleased and said they would probably give me the job after they had checked my resume (my CV, in British English), so I sent it to them. But when they received my resume they realised I was not American and told me I was not suited for the job since it involved a lot of American texts. Yet no one had noticed my accent when I was being interviewed!

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  10. I don't know the difference between American and British English and which language is standarts. In each country's people has different language like Singlish, Taglish, Urdush and so on. Depending on each country, English is different by with local characteristics. If people can communicate with each other by using special English, I think it is ok. It is very important point for me to tell what I want to say to the other person.
    I think Standarts is the skill of telling. And Japanese is not good at writing. Writing is the skill of output. In other words, writing is similar to telling. So, Japanese should practice writing.

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  11. I have thought that standard English is British English. But I recognized that it is not true. English is spoken in several countries. English is little different from country to country. I think that English should not be defined.

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  12. I think that I cannot think that the words of which country become the standard .Words think it to be a matter of course by a country.

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  13. Ryosuke Otake

    Is there such a thing as ‘standard English’? How about ‘standard Japanese’?

    I think the ‘standard English’ only exists in writing. Regardless of whether English with local characteristics is understood, the standard ‘written’ English certainly exist in grammatical points.

    On the other hand, in Japan, though there are many dialects and differences of pronunciation, ‘standard Japanese’ certainly exists in both writing and speaking. As we can see, newscasters in TV formally use ‘standard Japanese’ .

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  14. Ryotaro Akamatsu

    I think there is such a thing as “standard English”. When people want to start studying English, most of them may choose British or American English. The reason is many people regard these English as origin of English and language needed in formal situations such as business talks and international conferences. So, I think we can call them “standard English”.
    However, in my opinion, the diversity of English in Asian countries should be acceptable because language is always changing.
    In conclusion, though there is such a thing as “standard English”, people don’t have to stick to studying British or American English and should value their originality.

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  15. Misa Norigami(Theme 35)May 10, 2015 at 9:44 AM

    Considering the fact that English is spoken as national first or second language in various countries, it is difficult to say that there is a commonly shared standard of English. Although there is a grammatical standard, the actual language being spoken in daily life is not the language that is confirmed at grammatical level. In daily life, we speak the language in the way that connects to the culture. Comparing to English, Japanese has more concrete standard. There are several reasons. First is because the number of the people who actually speak Japanese is very less. The other point is that although there are various dialects in Japanese, the government makes the main part of education in the context of Japanese as a language.

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  16. It is very difficult to say if there is standard of English. If we define the word standard as a measure for evaluation, it is hard to find an absolute one. However, it we consider the word standard as a fundamental base of the other “styles” of English, there should be one and this should be either the English spoken in United States or United Kingdom. In my point of view, the English spoken in different areas are just not the typical or classic English. The language is adapted to the native culture and society. Therefore, there must be the difference between the so-called English and the English in different areas. The so-called mistakes are not mistakes actually. They are just the differences between the typical English and the English in other areas.

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  17. TANI, Michiruru

    I think standard is just a concept which is in mind, not is specific one.

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  18. Yasuaki Takada

    I think "the standard of English" is the assembly of points in common of many type of English. For example, "Singlish", "Inglish" and so on. Therefore the standard of English is to the certain extent universal but does not have a fixed form and it has continued to change.

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  19. From my point of view, the word "standard" has two important meanings when we talk about this topic.

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  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  21. Ryosuke, Ryotaro, Misa, Michiru, Yasuaki and Karin, thanks for all your comments. It seems many people agree that the concept of 'standard' is much more complex than it seems at first. I quite like Yasuaki's idea of some kind of 'core' standard taking the common points of various kinds of English, and some people suggest this is what EIL (English as an International Language - see next blog entry) is. But I wonder if a core language can be a full language rather than just a simplified tool for essential communication. In the end I do think that standards exist, at least in writing: written English is quite similar throughout the world, although digital media such as blogs, show much more variation than print forms such as newspapers. Whether we use standard varieties is our choice, of course, but we need to know that our choices influence the perceptions other people have of us.

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