Skip to content

Media

1995 Global Cultural Diversity Conference Proceedings, Sydney

The Intercultural Nature of Modern English

Continued, from part two

X. Shifting the Paradigm

What I have said above is only part of the story. However, the most complex part is initiating paradigm shift. There are several direct and indirect ways by which such a shift can be initiated. They directly relate to developing awareness and engaging in fresh conceptualization of the field and in applied research. These two dimensions are not mutually exclusive. The following list includes some of the aspects which must be emphasized:

  • sociolinguistic profiles within theoretical conceptualization of world Englishes (see Kachru 1992b [1994] and Sridhar 1986);
  • pragmatics of a variety within a variety (e.g. Nigerian, Pidgin, basilects, Bazaar Hindi-Urdu);
  • range of functions and domains, and depth in terms of the social penetration of varieties of English and their implications for choice of appropriate styles, registers, and discourse strategies (Kachru 1988a);
  • contrastive discourse and its pragmatics in interactional contexts, specifically related to identity, self, and acculturation; and
  • multilingual's "mixing" and "switching" within multidimensionality of identities.

These then raise serious questions concerning how to treat what I have termed "the sacred linguistic cows of English" (Kachru 1988b). In several stimulating papers, some with supporting empirical data, Smith has raised vital questions concerning "intelligibility." This is an often used term in intercultural interactions. In his "Smith triad" he suggests three terms for understanding and appreciating interculture canon of English: intelligibility, interpretability, comprehensibility (see Smith 1992 and Smith and Nelson 1985).

There is a string of other provocative issues related to world Englishes (see Kachru 1986b, Phillipson 1992, and Tsuda 1994a and 1994b). One might ask, why does, for example, English evoke or symbolize positive or negative reactions such as the following?

  • positive-negative
  • national identity-anti-nationalism
  • literary renaissance-anti-native culture
  • cultural mirror (for native cultures)-materialism
  • modernization-Westernization
  • liberalism-rootlessness
  • universalism-ethnocentricism
  • technology-permissiveness
  • science-divisiveness
  • mobility-alienation
  • access code

There is now an aggressive debate on these and other related topics in inner and outer circles of English. The perspectives presented in the debate are varied: critical linguistic, literary, sociolinguistic and ideological. What is refreshing is that the intercultural nature of Englishes, and their multiple canons bring new and provocative insights and dimensions in this cross-cultural debate (see e.g. Gates Jr. 1992, Kachru 1986b, Ngugi 1981, Pennycook 1994).

XI. Conclusion

What we see, then, is that intercultural literatures in English raise a host of vital theoretical, applied, and educational questions. We have just begun to seek the answers. That questions are being asked is indeed a step in the right direction. There is, of course, no disagreement on one point: that English has become a medium of pluralism. It is, however, true that this plurality is not acceptable in all circles, in the inner circle as well as the outer circle. We still have to find ways to make appropriate uses of this immense and vibrant intercultural resource of the English language. This is a vital challenge and we have yet to respond to it.

Notes

1.-This paper incorporates several points discussed in detail in Kachru 1991, 1992, 1994a, and 1995. In a sense then this paper involves some self "plagiarism". A comprehensive overview of the topic is presented in Kachru ed. 1992, and a state-of-the-art is discussed in Kachru 1992 [1994].

2.-For an extensive discussion and case studies see "World Englishes in Contact and Convergence" special issue of World Englishes,1993, 13:2.

3.-In several of my recent papers, I have discussed this point with reference to various myths, myth-makers, and the discourse of marginality that has resulted from these myths (see particularly 1992a and 1994a). One must also question the use of some of the sacred linguistic cows with reference the users of English around the world, for example, the terms speech community, native-speaker and so on. See Kachru 1988.

References

Achebe, Chinua (1992) "Chinua Achebe". In Interview with Writers of the Post-Colonial World. Conducted and edited by Feroza Jussawalla and R. W. Dasenbrock. Jackson & London: University Press of Mississippi.

Bailey, Richard (1990) "English in its twilight". In The State of the Language. Edited by Christopher Ricks and Leonard Michaels. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Desani, G.V. (1951) All about H. Hatter. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young. Reprinted 1972. New York: Lancer Books.

Forster, Leonard (1970) The Poet's Tongues: Multilingualism in Literature (The de Carle Lectures at the University of Otago 1968). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (in association with University of Otago Press).

Gates Jr., Henry Louis (1992) Loose Canons: Notes on the Culture Wars. New York: Oxford University Press.

Jussawalla, Feroza and Dasenbrock, R. W. (Eds.) (1992) Interviews with writers of the post-colonial world. Jackson and London: University Press of Mississippi.

Kachru, Braj B. (1985) "Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the Outer Circle". In English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures. Edited by Randolph Quirk and Henry G. Widdowson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 11-30.

Kachru, Braj B. (1986a) The Alchemy of English: The spread, functions and models of non-native English. Oxford: Pergamon. Reprinted 1990. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Kachru, Braj B. (1986b) "The Power and Politics of English". World Englishes 5.2-3, pp. 121-140.

Kachru, Braj B. (1987) "The bilingual's creativity: Discoursal and stylistic strategies in contact literature". In Discourse across cultures: Strategies in World Englishes. Edited by L. E. Smith. New York and London: Prentice-Hall. pp 125-140.

Kachru, Braj B. (1988a) "ESP and nonnative varieties of English: Toward a shift in Paradigm". In ESP in the classroom: Practice and evaluation, (ELT Documents 128). Edited by D. Chamberlain and R. J. Baumgardner. London: Macmillan, pp. 9-28.

Kachru, Braj B. (1988b) "The spread of English and sacred linguistic cows". In Georgetown Round Table on Language and Linguistics, 1987. Edited by Peter H. Lowenberg. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.

Kachru, Braj B. (1988c) "Toward expanding the English canon: Raja Rao's Credo for Creativity". In World Literatures Today, IV.4 October. pp. 3-8.

Kachru, Braj B. (1991) "Liberation Linguistics and the Quirk concern". English Today 25, 7.1.: 3-13.

Kachru, Braj B. (1992a) "The Second diaspora of English". In English in Its Social Contexts: Essays in Historical Sociolinguistics. Edited by Tim William Machan and Charles T. Scott. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 230-252.

Kachru, Braj B. (1994a) "The speaking tree: A medium of plural canons". In Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 1994. Edited by James E. Alatis. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, pp. 6-22.

Kachru, Braj B. (1994b) "World Englishes: Approaches, Issues and Resources". In Readings on Second Language Acquisition. Edited by H. D. Brown and S. Gonzo, New York: Prentice-Hall. (an earlier version in Language Teaching: The International Abstracting Journal of Language Teachers and Applied Linguistics. January. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-14.

Kachru, Braj B. (1995) "Transcultural creativity in world Englishes and literary canons". In Principle and Practice in Applied Linguistics: In honour of Henry Widdowson. Edited by Barbara Seidlhofer and Guy Cook. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp 271-287.

Kachru, Braj B. (Ed.) (1992b) The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures. (2nd revised edition). Urbana, Il: University of Illinois Press.

Kachru, Yamuna (1987) "Cross-cultural texts, discourse strategies and discourse interpretation". In Discourse across cultures: Strategies in World Englishes. Edited by L. E. Smith. New York and London: Prentice-Hall. pp. 87-100.

Lefevre, Andrea (1990) "Translation: Its genealogy in the west". In Translation: History and Culture. London and New York: Pinter Publishers.

Naipaul, Vidiadhar S. (1973) India: A Wounded Civilization. New York: Knopf.

Naipaul, Vidiadhar S. (1977) India: A wounded civilization. New York: Vintage.

Narasimhaiah, C. D. (1991) N for Nobody: Autobiography of an English Teacher. Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation.

Ngugi, wa Thiong'o (1981) Writers in politics. London and Exeter, NH: Heineman.

Okara, Gabriel (1963) "African Speech...English words". Transition 10 (September) 15-16.

Okara, Gabriel (1964) The Voice. London: Heineman.

Oyeleye, A. Lekan (1995) "Translation and the African writer in English: A sample study of Achebe's TFA and NLAE". In Language in Nigeria: Essays in honour of Ayo Bamgbose. Edited by Kola Owolabi. Ibadan: Group Publishers, pp. 364-379.

Pennycook, Alastair (1994). The Cultural politics of English as an international language. London: Longman.

Phillipson, Robert (1992) Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Romaine, Suzanne (1992) "English: From village to global village". In English in its social context: Essays in Historical Sociolinguistics. Edited by Tim William Machan and Charles T. Scott. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 253-260.

Rushdie, Salman (1991) Imaginary Homelands. Essays and Criticism. New York: Viking.

Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove (1984) Bilingualism or Not-the education of minorities. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Smith, L. E. (1992) "Spread of English and issues of intelligibility". In The Other Tongue (2nd edition). Edited by Braj B. Kachru. Urbana, Il: University of Illinois Press, pp. 75-90.

Smith, L. E. and Nelson, C. L. (1985) "International intelligibility of English: Directions and resources". World Englishes, 4, pp. 333-342.

Soyinka, Wole (1993) Art, Dialogue and Outrage: Essays on literature and culture. New York: Pantheon Books.

Sridhar, Kamal (1986) "Sociolinguistic theories and nonnative varieties of English". Lingua, 68, pp.85-104.

Steiner, George (1975) "Why English"? Presidential address delivered in 1975. London: The English Association.

Thumboo, Edwin (1985) "Twin Perspectives and Multi-ecosystems: Tradition for a commonwealth writer". World Englishes. 4.2. : 213-221.

Tsuda, Yukio (1994a) "The hegemony of English in international communication".

Paper presented at the annual convention of International Communication Association. Sydney, Australia.

Tsuda, Yukio (1994b) "The diffusion of English: Its impact on culture and communication". Keio Communication Review. 16: 49-61.

Zabus, Chantal (1995) "Relexification". In The Post-colonial studies reader. Edited
by B. Ashcraft, Gareth Griffith and H. Tiffin. London and New York: Routledge,
pp. 314-318.

Next: Global Cultural Diversity Conference proceedings - Language, Power and Development 1
Previous: Global Cultural Diversity Conference proceedings - Intercultural Nature of Modern English 2