Kingsley Bolton

English in Asia, Asian Englishes, and the issue of proficiency

The contemporary visibility and importance of English throughout the Asian region coupled with the emergence and development of distinct varieties of Asian Englishes have played an important part in the global story of English in recent years. Across Asia, the numbers of people having at least a functional command of the language have grown exponentially over the last four decades, and current changes in the sociolinguistic realities of the region are often so rapid that it is difficult for academic commentators to keep pace. One basic issue in the telling of this story is the question of what it is we mean by the term ‘Asia’, itself a word of contested etymology, whose geographical reference has ranged in application from the Middle East to Central Asia, and from the Indian sub-continent to Japan and Korea. In this article, my discussion will focus on the countries of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, as it is in these regions that we find not only the greatest concentration of ‘outer-circle’ English-using societies but also a number of the most populous English-learning and English-knowing nations in the world.

The Sociolinguistics of Hong Kong and the Space for Hong Kong English.

While Asian Englishes such as Indian English, Malaysian English, Philippine English, and Singapore English have gained wide acceptance in the past two decades, relatively little notice has been taken of ‘Hong Kong English’. This paper surveys the sociolinguistic background to the recognition of Hong Kong English, and considers the arguments in favour of a ‘paradigm shift’ in approaches to this issue. The paper begins by reviewing the history of English in Hong Kong and language planning and language policies in the late colonial period. It then goes on to discuss the ideological background to English in Hong Kong, noting the persistence of the ‘monolingual myth’ and the ‘invisibility myth’ in a number of recent sociolinguistic discourses. In the later sections of the paper, the case is made not only for a recognition of Hong Kong English in terms of distinctive linguistic features at the levels of accent and vocabulary, but also with reference to the creativity of the variety, in literary as well as less formal contexts. Ultimately, it is suggested, the notion of a distinct variety rests not only on the recognition of features of language, but also on the acceptance of a new space, or spaces, for the discourses of Hong Kong English.

English as an academic language at a Swedish university: parallel language use and the ‘threat’ of English

In recent years, universities across Europe have increasingly adopted the use of English as an academic lingua franca. Our article discusses current trends in Swedish higher education by presenting the results of a large-scale survey on the use of English conducted at Stockholm University. The survey involved 668 staff and 4524 students and focused on the use of English for academic purposes and students’ and teachers’ attitudes to English as a medium of instruction. The results indicate that complex patterns of academic English use emerge, which are related to the specific discipline studied, the level of instruction (undergraduate versus Masters) and the receptive versus productive use of English. They also indicate that in the sciences the use of English is a pragmatic reality for both teachers and students, whereas in the humanities and social sciences, English is typically used as an additional or auxiliary language in parallel with Swedish.

Chinese Englishes: from Canton jargon to global English

This paper argues that one approach to the notion of ‘Chinese Englishes’ may involve the critical re–examination of a rich history of cultural and linguistic contact and language learning and teaching that runs from the early seventeenth century to the present. From a period of ‘first contact’ in 1637, this history includes the era of Chinese pidgin English from the mid–eighteenth century to the recent past, the impact of missionary schools and universities, Nationalist intiatives before 1949, and the Open Door policies of the last two decades. It also involves the consideration of the recent popularity of Li Yang, a celebrity English teacher, whose method of ‘Crazy English’ has recently been marketed to millions of followers throughout the PRC. Li Yang’s message of ‘Make money internationally’ serves to remind us that ‘pidgin’ English (typically glossed as ‘business’ English) arose during an earlier but no less crucial era of world trade and globalisation.

English in China today

According to a 2010 China Daily article, the number of English learners in China is now around 400 million, approximately one third of Chinas population (see also Wei and Su, this issue). The importance of English in the state education system has been supplemented by the rapid growth of privately-run language schools and training institutes across the country in recent years. The same article quoted a comment by Ms Xiao Yan, the public relations manager of the Wall Street English language school chain, who gave her explanation for the current popularity of English in the following terms: More and more importance has been given to English after China carried out the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world in the late 1970s. And accompanying Chinas rise on the world stage in recent years are growing connections of commerce and culture with other countries, especially those developed English-speaking countries […] The entire Chinese society attaches high importance to the English study as sometimes it even plays a vital role for a person who plans to pursue further education and seek a better career. There is no doubt that people who have a good command of English are more competitive than their peers. (China Daily, 2010a)According to a 2010 China Dailyarticle, the number of English learners in China is now around 400 million, approximately one third of Chinas population (see also Wei and Su, this issue). The impor ...

Futures for Hong Kong English

In this paper the authors discuss the themes of autonomy and creativity as they have been expressed in this special issue. At a linguistic level, the emergence of Hong Kong English has been clouded by a cluster of language ideologies within a localised complaint tradition. This has included discourses relatinzg to ‘monolingualism’, the ‘invisibility’ of Hong Kong English, and ‘falling standards’. Parallel discourses have also constrained creative writing in Hong Kong, but the appearance of new Hong Kong writers points the way to a fresh and energetic future for literary creativity. One example of this is the new journal Yuan Yang, largely written and edited by creative writing students at The University of Hong Kong.

Language policy and planning in Hong Kong : colonial and post-colonial perspectives

Hong Kong ceased to be a colony of Britain on June 30th, 1997, thus entering anew stage of its development and evolution as a uniquely-constituted city state and urban metropolis. The Hong Kong Spe ...

Tom McArthur's English Today

Tom McArthurs contribution to English language studies has been immense, and has had a powerful impact at a number of levels. Tom started his life as an educator, gaining crucial exposure to English across the globe very early in his career, when in one of his first jobs teaching English at the Cathedral School in Bombay (Mumbai). After a varied academic career, which included a post at the University of Quebec, Tom returned to the UK to start a new journal for Cambridge University Press, English Today. Toms brief at that time was to be the founding editor of a journal that would inform a wide readership about the highways and byways of the English language, during an era when English was becoming a global language at an unprecedented speed.

World Englishes and Asian Englishes: A survey of the field

This chapter provides a survey of issues central to the study of English as an international language in the Asian context, with particular reference to world Englishes, and English in the Asian region. This includes a discussion of perspectives on English worldwide, an examination of current debates on world Englishes, a discussion of the dynamics of Asian Englishes, and a consideration of questions relating to language education in the region. Although the current emphasis on the importance of English in Asian education system may be explained by historical, economic and educational factors linked to Asian modernity and the upward aspirations of the growing Asian middle class, educationally and linguistically, the promotion of English carries with it a certain cost. The challenge for language education in the region is to consider critically how English might best be taught or be used as a teaching medium in the typically multilingual education systems of Asian societies.

English in China : A preliminary bibliography

The research bibliography presented here is both a ‘preliminary’ and ‘partial’ bibliography. The core focus of the bibliography is on work published in English and available internationally, although, where possible, references have been made to relevant Chinese–language sources. Despite the obvious shortcomings, however, the authors hope that, given the general dearth of bibliographies of this kind, the following list of references will supplement the articles in the body of this special issue, and will serve as a useful entry point for scholars from a wide range of disciplines wishing to research the development of English studies in contemporary China