1.2 English as a World Language外国文学名著导读.pdf

Chapter One 1.2 English as a World Language Q1: How many speakers of English are there in the world today? Q2: What are the reasons for the current status of English? Q3: How can we classify all the varieties of English? Estimated no. of English speakers (cf. Crystal 2004) • As first language: 400 million • As second language: 400 million • As foreign language: 600 million • TOTAL = 1.4 billion Pro. David Crystal (6 July 1941— ） University of Reading 图片来源：/wiki/David_Crystal As first language : 400 million Queen Elizabeth (1st )’s reign (1558—1603) : English speakers: 57 million Beginning of Queen Elizabeth (2nd)’s reign (1952): English speakers: 250 million As second language : 400 million English is an official or semi-official language in over sixty countries of the world. English has been chosen as an “official” language, in countries like Ghana and Nigeria, where English is used to carry on the affairs of government, education, commerce, the media, and the legal system. As foreign language : 600 million English has no official status, but is learned as a foreign language in schools and institutes of higher education. China contributes a lot to this estimate. Summary 1950-present: Rise of English from an international language to the first truly ‘global’ or ‘world’ language. Emergence and development of ‘New Englishes’ in various parts of the world (India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc.) – overtaking ‘Native Englishes’ in number of speakers. Reasons for the current status of English (1) Historical reasons: The legacy of British and American imperialism