ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE, capitolo 1

BY DAVID CRYSTAL

WHAT IS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? Che cos’ è una lingua globale

A language achieves (raggiungere) a special role on a globle level when it is recognized in

every country.

To achieve this status, a language has to be adopted by other countries of the world. They

must decide to give it a special place within their communities, even touht they may have

few or no mother- toungue speakers.

There are two ways in which this can be done:

Firstly, a language can be made the official language of a country, to be used as a

medium of communication in such domains as government, the law courts, the media,

and the educational system.

To get on (andare avanti) in these societies, it is essential to master (padroneggiare)

the official language as early in life as possible.

The role of an official language is today best illustrated by English, which now has a

special status in over seventy countries, such as Ghana, Nigeria, India.

Even thout there are languages such as Arabic, French, Russian and German which

have developed considerable official use

Secondly, a language can be made a priority in a country’s foreign-language teaching

(una priorità nell'insegnamento delle lingue straniere),even though this language has

no official status.

It becomes the language which children are most likely to be taught (Diventa la lingua

che è più probabile che venga insegnata ai bambini) when they arrive in school, and

the one most available to adults who never learned it, or learned it badly, in their early

educational years. ( e quella più disponibile per gli adulti che non l'hanno mai imparata,

o l'hanno imparata male, nei primi anni di istruzione)

English is now the language most widely taught as foreign language –in over 100

countries- and in most of these countries it is emerging as the main foreign language to

be encountered in schools, often displacing (soppiantando) another language in the

process.

It is important to note that there are several ways (diversi modi) in which a language

can be official.

It may be the only official language of a country, or it can share this status with other

languages

And it may have a semi-official status, being used only in certain domains, or taking

second place to other languages while still performing certain official roles. (può avere

uno status semi-ufficiale, essere utilizzato solo in determinati ambiti o passare in

secondo piano rispetto ad altre lingue pur continuando a svolgere determinati ruoli

ufficiali)

There are many reasons for choosing a particular language as a fauvored foreign

language, which include historical reasons such as colonialism or political opportunity

and the desire for commercial, cultural or technological contact.

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ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE, capitolo 1 BY DAVID CRYSTAL WHAT IS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? Che cos’ è una lingua globale A language achieves (raggiungere) a special role on a globle level when it is recognized in every country. To achieve this status, a language has to be adopted by other countries of the world. They must decide to give it a special place within their communities, even touht they may have few or no mother- toungue speakers. There are two ways in which this can be done:  Firstly, a language can be made the official language of a country, to be used as a medium of communication in such domains as government, the law courts, the media, and the educational system. To get on (andare avanti) in these societies, it is essential to master (padroneggiare) the official language as early in life as possible. The role of an official language is today best illustrated by English, which now has a special status in over seventy countries, such as Ghana, Nigeria, India.  Even thout there are languages such as Arabic, French, Russian and German which have developed considerable official use  Secondly, a language can be made a priority in a country’s foreign-language teaching (una priorità nell'insegnamento delle lingue straniere),even though this language has no official status. It becomes the language which children are most likely to be taught (Diventa la lingua che è più probabile che venga insegnata ai bambini) when they arrive in school, and the one most available to adults who never learned it, or learned it badly, in their early educational years. (e quella più disponibile per gli adulti che non l'hanno mai imparata, o l'hanno imparata male, nei primi anni di istruzione) English is now the language most widely taught as foreign language –in over 100 countries- and in most of these countries it is emerging as the main foreign language to be encountered in schools, often displacing (soppiantando) another language in the process.  It is important to note that there are several ways (diversi modi) in which a language can be official.  It may be the only official language of a country, or it can share this status with other languages  And it may have a semi-official status, being used only in certain domains, or taking second place to other languages while still performing certain official roles. (può avere uno status semi-ufficiale, essere utilizzato solo in determinati ambiti o passare in secondo piano rispetto ad altre lingue pur continuando a svolgere determinati ruoli ufficiali)  There are many reasons for choosing a particular language as a fauvored foreign language, which include historical reasons such as colonialism or political opportunity and the desire for commercial, cultural or technological contact.

 Also, the ‘presence’ of the language can vary greatly, depending on the extent to which a government is prepared to give adequate financial support to the teaching of foreign languages. In a well-supported environment, resources will be devoted to helping people have access to the language and learn it, through the media, libraries, school, and institutes of higher education. There will be an increase in the number and quality of teachers able to teach the language.( In un ambiente ben supportato, le risorse saranno dedicate ad aiutare le persone ad avere accesso alla lingua e ad impararla, attraverso i media, le biblioteche, la scuola e gli istituti di istruzione superiore. Ci sarà un aumento del numero e della qualità degli insegnanti in grado di insegnare la lingua.) Distinctions such as those between ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘foreign’ language status are useful, but we must be careful not to give them a simplistic interpretation. In particular, it is important to avoid interpreting the distinction between ‘second’ and ‘foreign’ language use as a difference in fluency or ability  because people who live in countries where English has official status are not always more competent than others It is inevitable that a global language will eventually come to be used by more people than any other language. English has already reached this stage. About a quarter of the world’s population is already fluent or competent in English and this figure is steadily growing. No other language can match this growth even Chinese. (È inevitabile che una lingua globale arrivi ad essere usata da più persone di qualsiasi altra lingua. L'inglese ha già raggiunto questo stadio. Circa un quarto della popolazione mondiale è già fluente o competente in inglese e questa cifra è in costante crescita. Nessun'altra lingua può eguagliare questa crescita, nemmeno il cinese.) WHAT MAKES A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? Cosa rende una lingua globale  Why a language becomes a global language has little to do (ha poco a che fare) with the number of people who speak it. It is much more to do with who those speakers are. (Ha molto più a che fare con chi sono quei parlanti) Infact, without a strong power-base economic, technological, or cultural; no language can make progress as an international medium of communication. Language has no independent existence but it exists only in the brains ,mouths ,ears and eyes of its users therefore when they succeed, on the international stage, their language succeeds. When they fail, their language fails. Over the years many popular beliefs have grown up about why a language should become internationally successful, infact It is quite common to hear that a language achieves on an official role, on account of its aesthetic qualities, clarity of expression,and literary or religious power. Also the sentence" the english has less grammar than other languages" it makes no sense, infact ease of learning has nothing to do with grammar of langauge. Infact the children of all cultures learn to talk at the same period of time, regardless (indipendentemente) of the differences in the grammar of their languages.  we can say that these are all factors which can motivate someone to learn a language, but none of them can ensure a language’s world spread. (assicurare la diffusion mondiale della lingua)

There is now a widespread view (= visione diffusa) that it makes sense to try to reduce the numbers of languages involved in world bodies, if only to cut down on the vast amount of interpretation/translation and clerical work required. (C’è ora una visione con il senso di cercare di ridurre il numero di lingue coinvolte negli organismi mondiali, per ridurre la grande quantità di traduzione e lavoro d’ufficio richiesto). WORKING LANGUAGE : When all the participants at an international meeting automatically use a single language, as a utilitarian measure The need for a single lingua franca is particularly appreciated by the international academic and business communities, and the development of new communication and transport technologies, provided the circumstances needed for a global language to grow. Global village : describes the phenomenon of the entire world becoming more interconnected as the result of the propagation of media technologies throughout the world. WHAT ARE THE DANGERS OF A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? I tre rischi che comporta l’ adozione di una lingua globale The benefits which would flow from the existence of a global language are considerable; but several commentators have pointed to possible risks.

Perhaps a global language will hasten (accelerare) the disappearance of minority languages
Literary, journalistic, entertainment, academic work risks being ignored or rejected for linguistic reasons Linked with all of this is the unpalatable face of linguistic triumphalism, the danger that some people will celebrate one language’s success at the expense of other. It is important to face up to these fears, and to recognize that they are widely held (ampiamente diffuse). The three main risks of global language are: what about… 1. Linguistic power The risk that will those who speak a global language as a mother tongue automatically be in a position of power compared whit those who have to learn it as an official or foreign (straniera) language. For example, it is possible that people who write up their research in languages other than English will have their work ignored by the international community. (il rischio che coloro che parlano una lingua globale come lingua madre siano automaticamente in una posizione di potere rispetto a coloro che devono impararla come lingua ufficiale o straniera Per esempio, è possibile che le persone che scrivono le loro ricerche in lingue diverse dall'inglese vedano il loro lavoro ignorato dalla comunità internazionale.) However, if proper attentions is paid to the question of language learning, the problem of disadvantage dramatically diminishes. If a global language is taught early enough, from the time that children begin their full-time education, and if it is maintained continuously and resourced well, the kind of linguistic competence which emerges in due course (a tempo debito) is a real and powerful bilingualism. (Tuttavia, se si presta la giusta attenzione alla questione dell'apprendimento delle lingue, il problema dello svantaggio diminuisce drasticamente. Se una lingua globale viene insegnata abbastanza presto, dal momento in cui i bambini iniziano la loro istruzione a tempo pieno, e se viene mantenuta continuamente e con buone risorse, il tipo di competenza linguistica che emerge a tempo debito è un bilinguismo reale e potente.) “Infact,there is widespread agreement that, if we want to take the task of foreign language learning seriously, one of the key principles is “the earlier the

better”. (Infatti, c'è un ampio consenso sul fatto che, se vogliamo prendere sul serio il compito dell'apprendimento delle lingue straniere, uno dei principi chiave è "prima è meglio è)  Therefore a native English speaker will be more advantaged than no-native speaker

2. Linguistic complacency There seems already to be a widespread lack of motivation to learn other languages, fuelled partly by lack of money and opportunity, but also by lack of interest, and this might well be fostered by the increasing presence of English as a global language. **It is important to appreciate that we are dealing here with questions of attitude or state of mind rather than questions of ability that derives from an unsatisfactory language learning experience in school. The presence of a global language will make people lazy about learning other languages, in particular English speakers don't want to learn other languages infact clear signs of linguistic complacency are already present in the archetypal British or American tourist who travels the world assuming that everyone speaks English. But language attitudes are constantly changing and more and more people disco ver that learning a foreign language is not so bad Sembra già esserci una diffusa mancanza di motivazione ad imparare altre lingue, alimentata in parte dalla mancanza di denaro e di opportunità, ma anche dalla mancanza di interesse, e questo potrebbe essere favorito dalla crescente presenza dell'inglese come lingua globale. È importante capire che qui abbiamo a che fare con questioni di atteggiamento o di stato d'animo piuttosto che con questioni di abilità che derivano da un'esperienza insoddisfacente di apprendimento delle lingue a scuola. La presenza di una lingua globale renderà le persone pigre nell'imparare altre lingue, in particolare gli anglofoni non vogliono imparare altre lingue, infatti chiari segni di compiacenza linguistica sono già presenti nell'archetipo del turista inglese o americano che viaggia per il mondo dando per scontato che tutti parlino inglese. Ma gli atteggiamenti linguistici cambiano costantemente e sempre più persone scoprono che imparare una lingua straniera non è così male.

Linguistic death Language is a major means of showing where we belong, and of distinguishing one social group from another, and the need for national or cultural identity are often seen as being opposed to those about the need for mutual intelligibility (comprensione reciproca), but this is misleading (ingannevole). Infact the functions of identity and intelligibility happily co-exist in bilinguism.** (La lingua è un mezzo importante per mostrare la nostra appartenenza e per distinguere un gruppo sociale da un altro, e il bisogno di identità nazionale o culturale è spesso visto come opposto a quello di comprensione reciproca, ma questo è ingannevole. Infatti le funzioni di identità e intelligibilità coesistono felicemente nel bilinguismo.) None of this is to deny that the emergence of a global language can influence the structure of other language, but according to David Christal There is no direct causal link between the presence of English and language death. (Tutto ciò non significa negare che l'emergere di una lingua globale possa influenzare la struttura delle altre lingue, ma secondo David Christal non esiste un nesso causale diretto tra la presenza dell'inglese e la la morte delle lingue.) But more in general, globalisation is harming linguistic and cultural diversity. (Ma più in generale, la globalizzazione sta danneggiando la diversità linguistica e culturale.)  The documentation and conservation of languages is also a priority, and it was good to see in the 1990s a number of international organizations being formed whit the declared aim (con lo scopo) of recording for posterity as many endangered languages as possible. = MAORI NEW ZELAND OR ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES OF AUSTRALIA (La documentazione e la conservazione delle lingue è anche una priorità, ed è stato bello vedere negli

English is there because it has been chosen as a primary educational target

together with the local language(s), owing to its status as a global language 

L'inglese esiste perché è stato scelto come obiettivo educativo primario

insieme alla/e lingua/e locale/e, per il suo status di lingua globale

Varieties of English

 Variety = general term used to refer to different forms (or types) of a language (e.g. British English, American English)  Accent = refers to differences in pronunciation ( an Irish accent, a Nigerian accent)  Dialect = refers to varieties with specific lexis, grammar, and pronunciation (Indian English)

CAPITOLI DI INGLESE DAVID Crystal, Appunti di Lingua Inglese

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