In some Asia-Pacific countries, English is neither an ethnic heritage nor a colonial legacy. The dominant position of English can also be a result of it being the common language for worldwide communication. The superiority of the English language in such countries manifests itself in language policy and national curricula which leads to a frantic pursuit of English. An educational trend in China, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam is to start English instruction early to give children an edge in second language acquisition. A rationale used for this is the positive relationship between a nation's international competiveness and the English language competence of its citizens (Baldauf & Nguyen, 2013; Hu, 2009; Park, 2009). One example of a nationwide English learning movement is ‘the-earlier-the-better’ in Taiwan. To win elections, electoral candidates used to propose English instruction to be available at Grade 1 (age of 6) although the Ministry of Education ruled for Grade 5 (age of 10) to be the year for English to be introduced (Chang, 2009). Another example of early English learning is overseas study in South Korea. Young children are sent to North America to receive long-term education so that they can learn to speak English without a Korean accent (Song, 2010).

A discussion of language choices in a multilingual region of Malaysia.

Sarawak is a Malaysian state located on the island of Borneo. More than 20 languages are spoken there among only 1.99 million people in Sarawak. People who visit Sarawak for the first time are often baffled and intrigued by the diversity of languages and the ease with which Sarawakians switch between them. To add to the complexity of language choice, there is also some competition between English and Standard Malay for dominance in language use.

This paper considers the reasons for the complex language scenario in Sarawak, the social implications of language choices, and the important personal characteristics to consider in making language choices.

This paper assesses efforts being made to promote and expose a Cameroonian local language, Kamtok, to the global, intellectual community and to integrate and promote a global language in the Cameroonian context. Kamtok carries the ecology, culture and identity of Cameroon, besides being one of the most widely spoken languages in the country. The global language which is the focus of this discourse is English, considering that its use is no longer restricted to any particular country. The language, like other colonial linguistic legacies, was transported through colonialism and transplanted in different parts of the world, including Cameroon, and is now serving communication needs beyond the frontiers of its original seat. It is therefore claimed in this paper that Kamtok, like many Cameroonian indigenous languages, is relegated to the background and hidden from the global community, paradoxically because it carries the ecology and identity of Cameroon, and English, like other global languages, is being localized and promoted in the Cameroonian context with every iota of passion and vigour. This type of tendency is predictably rooted in the colonial history or in what Bokamba (2007: 41) calls a ‘ukolonia’ tendency whereby the colonised people were indoctrinated to believe that everything of theirs, including their indigenous languages and culture, was inferior and barbaric. Interestingly, English in Cameroon, unlike Kamtok, has an official recognition and is one of the official languages used for state transactions; it is taught in most, if not all, Cameroonian schools and the variety spoken in Britain is most often the classroom target, though this is done with little or no success; it has been the focus of many research works carried out by local researchers; and its vigorous promotion has even led to the banning of an important Cameroonian language, as shall be discussed later. Kamtok, on the other hand, has witnessed, and is still witnessing, many turbulent moments, such as the open and official banning of its use in some public circles, the complete absence of educational and political efforts to promote it, lack of standardisation, misrepresentation of its developmental status by both scholars and laypeople, and lack of scholarly interest from local researchers.

The present study explores spelling variations of translingual words of Korean origin which are used in the English context across the globe. Four sets of English-language databases including the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the CNN website, Google Search and Google Trends were employed to locate and examine examples of such words. Variations in the spelling of Korean-origin words listed in the OED and on the CNN website were examined and compared with examples from the official Romanization of the Korean language published by the National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL). The popularity and frequency of use of these words was investigated using Google Search and Google Trends. The findings suggest that there are several English spelling variations of Korean-origin words and that amongst such variations, the OED spelling variation is the most overwhelmingly popular version used by Google and by the CNN website. This finding is discussed in the context of spreading popularity of Korean pop culture.

Starts with an excerpt from Michael Rundell and Penny Stock, The Corpus revolution (ET30, 1992). An update on the rise and rise of electronic language corpora and their impact on dictionaries. How dramatically the world has changed since Penny Stock and I wrote about the ‘Corpus Revolution’ in 1992.

At the time, it was not hard to predict that computer processing power and storage capacity would carry on doubling each year. It was already clear, too, that the arrival of the corpus would revolutionize the work of dictionary-makers – hence the title of our articles. These changes were well under way in 1992 and, sixteen years on, their effects are still being felt. In the process, dictionaries have got dramatically better – if by ‘better’ we mean that the description of language they provide corresponds more closely to the way people actually use words when they communicate with one another.

Many people ask this question – out of curiosity, fascination or rage against change. Can we hope to know the answer? Two specialists in the language as it is used today – one in Britain, one in the United States, risk some comments and prognoses.

THE GROWING international relevance of English has left its traces on the German language. Accordingly, research on the phenomenon of Anglicisms in German has intensified in the second half of the 20th century. The last decade, however, brought such a rapid development in mass communication, including the still wider spread of English, that some traditional views on Anglicisms have been challenged. This article discusses such issues as the problematic nature of classifying Anglicisms, the processes of integration of Anglicisms, and the multi-faceted motivations for their use in German.

A review of foreign-language teaching in relation to the predominance of English in Europe and in the world at large.

The theme of a conference of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (part of the Modern Language Association) in 2000 was the future of language teaching and learning. My discussion here is based upon remarks made in Phoenix.

This paper stems from the ongoing debate on the changing role and status of English in different parts of the world, with a special interest in the socio-historical background of a post-Soviet country. The international status of English has given rise to different reactions among speakers, ranging from attraction to resentment (cf. Onysko, 2009: 34). These reactions are expressed in public online discourse, which provides a rich resource of empirical evidence to study public attitudes and language ideologies. Digital media offers an especially important strategic site to disseminate ideologies and shape public opinions. This paper analyses the spectrum of discourses operating within Lithuanian digital media to perpetuate attitudes towards English and the values associated with it.

Despite a large and growing literature on Hong Kong English (HKE), few studies have been conducted on its emerging language features, particularly its grammar or vocabulary. According to Gisborne (2009), studies on HKE to date have focused on language attitudes, code-switching, learner errors, and the local accent. A quick review of the research on vocabulary reveals that even those studies with a specific lexical focus have tended to be fairly limited in scope, focusing on borrowing, politicized expressions and localized vocabulary. Additionally, by their nature, these studies have tended to only cover vocabulary items that are unique and obviously have a different meaning in the local setting. In particular, there is a noticeable dearth of in-depth studies on semantic shift, in particular extensions or adaptations of meaning for simple words or phrases which are taken for granted as being at the common core of English varieties throughout the world. This kind of usage is more likely to cause comprehension difficulties than the more-often studied borrowings or coinages, simply because it might not be apparent to either a native speaker or a Hong Kong speaker that there is a difference in meaning when it comes to the Hong Kong terms used, and therefore there is a greater potential for misunderstanding.

The third part of an investigation into similar usages at work in the standard English of West Africa and India (first part, ET38, Apr 94; second part, ET40, Oct 94)

English's elevated status within a global economy of languages means that English-language education is increasingly promoted in international development initiatives in countries such as Bangladesh. This is partly due to a growing conviction that English is able to play an important role in helping people participate in global economic markets from which they have previously been excluded (Seargeant & Erling, 2011). Despite the strong associations made between English-language ability and development, there is at present only limited evidence showing a causal relationship between the two (Erling, forthcoming), while a complex of other issues surrounding the cultural politics of the language also play a role in the social implications of its promotion in such contexts. The aim of this article is to examine how English is perceived in rural Bangladesh by the people at whom such international development programmes are targeted. A broad assumption of such programmes is that English is a positive and, in some sense, necessary resource for development. The article investigates whether this matches the perception of those at whom such projects are aimed, and what it is that these communities feel the language can offer both in practical and in socio-cultural terms for the developmental challenges they face. In order to examine these questions the article draws on results from an ethnographical survey of two rural areas in Bangladesh which investigated the attitudes and aspirations of local community members to the potential impact of English-language education on their social prospects and cultural identities.

This paper aims to examine the features which make Malaysian English a distinctive variety of English. Firstly, its origins and development will be discussed before briefly considering different types of Malaysian English. This will be followed by an analysis of the linguistic characteristics, with a particular emphasis on lexical features. Finally, the current status of Malaysian English will be assessed whilst reflecting on its possible position and role in the future.

An analysis with European implications of whether the expansion of English-medium education in India is restricting the evolution of Indian languages

An explanation of how words from Malay are used in English and exhibited in various dictionaries, particularly with regard to Malaysia and Singapore

The second and final part of a discussion on the teaching and learning of English as a universal medium

An overview of the political status, functions, and characteristics of Puerto Rican English

One of the most striking linguistic changes to affect the English language in recent decades is the ongoing spread of be like, shown in (1), as a new member of the quotative system (Ferrara & Bell, 1995; Macaulay, 2001; Buchstaller & Van Alphen, 2012). The opportunity to study language change ‘in action’ (Tagliamonte & D'Arcy, 2004: 493) brought by this innovation has spurred a vast body of research on quotation in American English, where the new form is presumed to have originated (Ferrara & Bell, 1995).

Of all the levels of linguistic analysis, it is at the phonological level that differences in the dialects of a language are more easily noticed (Ogu, 1992: 82). The phonology of a language can be investigated at two sub-levels: segmental and suprasegmental. Investigating the segmental micro-level entails looking at phonemes – the vowels and the consonants. Suprasegmentals are linguistically significant elements that go beyond individual segments, and include syllable, tone, stress, rhythm and intonation.

A consideration of how the everyday spelling system can be used more effectively than phonetic symbols in English pronunciation guides