C) countries where English enjoys the status of unofficial but main means of international communication in business, education, science, etc.

Australia India the Netherlands Kenya Ireland

Guyana Russia Puerto Rico Sweden Japan

Canada Bangladesh Malta Malaysia the Philippines

III. Discuss the following.

1. Which factors favour the promotion of English as a means of international communication nowadays?
2. What terms are used to refer to English as an international language?
3. Which local varieties of English are mentioned in the text? If you had an experience with any of those varieties, what are its sharpest distinctions?
4. What areas of language are mostly affected by differences between local varieties?
5. What are the main features of English as a global language?

Vocabulary in Focus.

I. Fill in the gaps using the words from the box:

1. Nowadays British English is seen as one of the world English .

2. The number of people speaking English as a is rising every year.

3. With the growth of the British Empire, English was to India and other parts of Asia.

4. The Philippines tend to follow American of English.

5. International research fellows are strongly encouraged to attend language courses to develop a certain in a local language.

6. In academic communities across the world English is often the main .

7. The majority of Master’s programmes at this university are .

II. Look at the text and find synonyms for the following words:

1. to develop __________

2. well-established __________

3. mother tongue __________

4. to substitute __________

5. to emphasize __________

6. addition __________

7. to communicate ideas __________

III. Read through the following text and then choose from the list A-I the best phrase or sentence to fill each of the spaces. Write one letter in the correct space. The exercise begins with an example (0).

The geographical spread of English is unique among the languages of the world, throughout history. (0) B as either a first or a second language are located on all five continents, and the total population of these countries amounts to about 49% of the world's population. One in five of the world's population speaks English with a good level of competence, and within the next few years the number of people speaking English as a second language (1) ____.

This could have a dramatic effect on the evolution of the language: (2) ____, English develops to take account of local language needs, giving rise not just to new vocabulary but also to new forms of grammar and pronunciation. (3) ____, however, a standardized 'global' English is spread by the media and the Internet.

(4) ____ the English-speaking world was formerly perceived as a hierarchy of parent (Britain) and children ('the colonies'), (5) ____. The English of England, (6) ____, is now seen as one of the 'family' of world English varieties, with its own peculiarities and its own distinctive vocabulary.

The English language has (7) ____ in the world, but accurate statistics are difficult to provide. (8) ____ ‘How many countries use English as their first language?’ as the definition of ‘first language’ differs from place to place, according to each country’s history and local circumstances.

A. It is impossible to give a satisfactory answer to the question

B. Countries using English

C. in the process of being absorbed by new cultures

D. Whereas

E. will exceed the number of native speakers

F. At the same time

G. the original source of all the World Englishes

H. it is now seen rather as a family of varieties

I. an increasingly influential position

IV. Similar notions may be called differently in different varieties of English. Use a good dictionary and match the British words from the left column with their American synonyms from the right column.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1414