The document provides an overview of different models for categorizing speakers of English based on whether it is their native, second, or foreign language. It discusses Kachru's three circles model of inner circle (traditional bases), outer circle (former colonies), and expanding circle (other countries). It notes difficulties with these models and proposes some alternatives, including based on competence rather than geography. Sound samples from different English speakers are then provided to test whether the listener can identify a native versus non-native speaker.

1. Who Speaks English Today Lecture Notes www.routledge.com/rcenters/linguistics/pdf/we.pdf [WTUC] [March 7, 2007]

2. Introduction 3 Groups of Users/3-way Categorization ENL= English as a native language ESL= English as a second language EFL= English as a foreign language

3. Overview 3-way model/categorization Difficult to classify speakers of English as belonging to one of the three But it provides a starting point to understand other complex issues

4. ENL English as a native language (or English as a mother tongue) It is the language of those born and raised in one of the countries where English is historically the first language to be spoken (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand). Countries according to Kachru as the traditional cultural and linguistic bases of English

5. ESL Refers to language spoken in large number of territories i.e. Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Singapore, which were once colonized by the British People in these territories learnt English to use it with its native speakers in the US and UK, though nowadays, they use it for communication with other non-native speakers

6. EFL Depends on the level of competence which is used to define EFL speakers Based on ‘reasonable competence’ the number of EFL speakers is likely to be around one billion

7. McArthur's Six Provisos ENL is not a single variety of English. The version of English accepted as ‘Standard’ differs from one ENL territory to another. Pidgins and Creoles do not fit in the 3-way categorization Large number of ENL speakers living in ESL territories as a result of colonization Large number of ESL speakers in ENL settings as a result of immigration Much of the world is bi- or multilingual and English is spoken within a framework of code mixing (i.e. Spanglish) and code-switching NS and NNS of English- those born to the language and those who learnt it through education

8. Models and Descriptions Kachru’s 3 circles represent the types of spread, the patterns of acquisition, and the functional allocation of English in diverse cultural contexts, as the language traveled from Britain Inner circle= norm providing Outer circle= norm-developing Expanding circle= norm-dependent

9. Whose standard? Standards are determined by speakers of ENL ESL varieties have become institutionalized and developing their own standards EFL varieties=performance varieties without any official status and depended on the standards set by native speakers in the Inner circle.

10. More Serious Problems The model is based on geography and genetics rather than on the way speakers identify with and use English i.e. Some English users in the Outer Circle speak it as their first language (or even their only language) e.g. Singapore Grey area between Inner and Outer circles i.e. in some Outer circle countries English is the first language learnt and spoken at home Grey area between Outer and Expanding circles. 20 countries are in transition from EFL to ESL status i.e. Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Sudan Many world English speakers grow up bilingual or multilingual to fulfill different functions in their lives

11. Continued Problems in defining speakers in terms of proficiency A NS may have limited vocabulary and low grammatical competence while the reverse maybe true for a NNS The fact that English is somebody’s second or third language does not imply that their competence is less than that of a native speaker ESP- English for Special Purposes (English for Science and Technology)- English proficiency may be the same regardless of which circle speakers come from The model implies the situation is uniform for all countries within a circle Countries differ in linguistic diversity i.e. US and UK, English speakers in India and Philippines The term ‘Inner Circle’ implies that speakers from ENL countries are central to the effort but they are in fact in decline.

12. Other Models Tripathi (1998:55) -3rd World nations should be considered as ‘an independent category that supersedes the distinction between ESL and EFL. Yano’s (2001:122-4) Inner circle=genetic ENL and Outer circle as ‘functional ENL’. He takes into account social dialectal concept of acrolect (standard) being used for international communication and basilect (colloquial) being used for informal intranational communication. Problem: it does not allow the possibility of basilect use in international communication

13. Other Models Modiano’s (1999) The centripetal circles of international English- based on mutually comprehensible to the majority of proficient speakers of English, be they native or non-native Center=proficient in international English. Speakers function well in cross-cultural communication where English is the lingua franca. They have not strong regional accent or dialect 2nd band= those whose English proficiency is 1st or 2nd language rather than as an international language 3rd circle= learners of English, low proficiency in English

14. Problems in Modiano’s Circle No S trong regional accent as a requirement W hich places strong regional accent speaker into the 2nd circle which then makes him/her as not proficient in international English W ho decides? What is ‘international English’ What about ‘proficiency’ in International English- limited to the notion of communicating well E quating all native speakers with competent non native A ll native speakers are competent users of English assumption

15. Sound Samples http://web.ku.edu/idea/index.htm

16. Sound sample 1 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

17. Sample 1 http://web.ku.edu/idea/northamerica/canada/alberta/alberta2.pdf

18. Sound sample 2 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

19. Sample 2 This recording, made 5/04/00 by Elizabeth van den Berg, is of an 18 year-old college student at Western Maryland College, originally from Brooklyn New York. His heritage is Greek and Middle European Jewish. HIs dialect is a good example of the young, fast-paced high energy Brooklyn-ite of the 90's. He is a theatre student, but has not yet worked to 'standardize' his dialect. Edited by Paul Meier 06/09/00. Running time: 00:04.26

20. Sound sample 3 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

21. Sample 3 Subject is a twenty-three year old male born in Esbjerg, Denmark where students begin learning English at the age of twelve. He has spent one year in New Hampshire, and four months in Kansas. Notice how he sometimes has very strong vowel sounds, and in longer words, almost always stresses the second syllable. Sample recorded on March 6, 2000 by Tim Hansen and edited on March 12, 2000 by Paul Meier. Running time 00:03:23. http://web.ku.edu/idea/europe/denmark/denmark.htm

22. Sound sample 4 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

23. Sample 4 Subject is a twenty-three year old male born in Esbjerg, Denmark where students begin learning English at the age of twelve. He has spent one year in New Hampshire, and four months in Kansas. Notice how he sometimes has very strong vowel sounds, and in longer words, almost always stresses the second syllable. Sample recorded on March 6, 2000 by Tim Hansen and edited on March 12, 2000 by Paul Meier. Running time 00:03:23 http://web.ku.edu/idea/europe/denmark/denmark1.htm

24. Sound sample 5 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

25. Sample 5 She is a 24 year-old female. She was born in Madras (called Chennai now), in the state of Tamilnadu, Southern India. She is a single child and has loving parents who are still in Madras. She speaks Tamil at home with her parents and relatives. But, at school and at work, she has spoken English mostly. She studied in an English medium school right from kindergarten. It was a Christian institution and they were forbidden from speaking in any other language other than English. So, with her friends at school, she would converse only in English. Her second language at school was Hindi and she also learned a little French and German. As a result of the predominant English influence, her Tamil has a slight English accent mixed with it. This is typical of students from English medium Christian schools. She speaks pretty good Tamil but finds it difficult to use pure Tamil words. Her sentences would always contain English. She expresses herself better in English. http://web.ku.edu/idea/asia/india/india2.htm

26. Sound sample 6 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

27. Sample 6 Female, 27. Born in Shanghai. She has lived there most of her life. Currently an accounting student. Recorded by Cynthia Blaise, 8/24/99. Edited by Shawn M. Muller, 9/9/99. Running time 00:02:38 http://web.ku.edu/idea/asia/china/china1.htm

28. Sound sample 7 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

29. Sample 7 The subject is a Mandarin-speaking female graduate student, born I-lan, Taiwan, studying at the University of Kansas, USA, at the time this recording was made 5.15.2002 by Paul Meier. In both the reading and the unscripted conversation you will hear that this subject has made considerable progress towards acquiring American English. She had been studying for the graduate test in spoken English for some time when this recording was made. You will hear that she is fairly accurate with /l/ and /r/, slipping occasionally in words like "implied", "normally", and "yellow". Her voiceless /th/ is quite successful in "thought" and "north", but the voiced /th/ less so in phrases like "the Duke Street...". Her acquisition of rhoticity in vowels with post-vocalic /r/ is well advanced, e.g. "north", "mirror", "bird", and "hurry". Running time 00:05:38 http://web.ku.edu/idea/asia/taiwan/taiwan1.htm

30. Sound sample 8 Guess whether the speaker is a native speaker or a non-native speaker of English, click on the image to listen

31. Sample 8 Subject was born and raised in Tokyo, starting his English education at 13. After college in Japan he left for America at age 27, gaining his master's degree and Ph.D. in America. He was close to retirement from his position as a professor of theatre specializing in Asian theatre when interviewed by Paul Meier in Lawrence, KS, USA in 1999. Despite more than thirty years in the US, the subject is still a good model for Japanese-American speech, displaying, for example, the occasional "r/l" substitution. http://web.ku.edu/idea/asia/japan/japan1.htm

32. End of lecture