World Englishes

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.




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):




1. Inner circle countries utilise English as the predominant mother tongue, e.g. the UK and New Zealand.
2. Outer circle countries utilise English as an official language or language of education, government and the legislature judiciary, e.g. South Africa and India.
3.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.

  

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 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), 
• 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