English - The Language of Future?

“Leaners study English out of economic necessity.” (Hunter, 1997)

What are your motivations in learning foreign languages? Do you study them because you are a genuine language lover? Do you learn them because you are intrigued by the vibrant culture embodied in the languages? Or, you have not ever thought about it? In reality, very often, people are not given any choice when deciding whether he or she should learn the languages. The phenomenon is particularly prevalent in the learning of English in former British colonies.

In the interviews, Dilini and Moaz pointed out that in their home country, there has long been a belief that English is superior to other dominant languages, including Urdu, which is their mother tongue and the official language of the state. They furthered the point by suggesting that people who can articulate in English generally have higher socio-economic status than those who can only speak limited English, not to mention those who are English illiterate. They strengthened their argument by using themselves as an example. Holding the belief that better English means brighter future, their parents sent them to EMI schools. Compared to most of their peers who receive formal education in Urdu-medium schools, they have better command of English and are considered to be better educated and civilized. They also admitted that this makes them feel superior to their peers.

From the interviewees’ example, we can infer that people who are residing in former British colonies often do not have the choice but to study English (The interviewees are born in Pakistan, which the country was a former British colony). Since English permeates a vast majority of social activities, especially financial activities, its importance for success in any field can “[1]hardly be emphasized” (Nawaz etal. 2012). The language is also described as “[2]the language of upward social mobility” (Bisong 1995, as cited in Philipson, 1996). As a result, people are unconsciously instilled the concept that in order to climb up the social ladder, it is inevitable to study, and more importantly, master English Language. In their work, Nettle and Daniel coined the term, ‘pull factors’ to describe the growing trend of people turning to English because they can be offered “[3]more profitable occupation, and a rising standard of living.” (Nettle & Daniel, 2000)

In the post-colonial period, although the Pakistani are not ‘forced’ to study English because of death threats anymore, it turns out that many parents, and probably their children, are ‘keen on’ replacing Urdu with English. The phenomenon, which is termed as [4]language shift, is the result of imbalance of economic power of languages (Nettle & Daniel, 2000). English, being a metropolitan language, is associated with the dominant social class. In contrast, despite the fact that Urdu bearing the role as an official language of Pakistan, it is regarded as peripheral because the language only enables its speakers to participate in a “smaller range of economic roles and functions.” Thus, tempted by the brighter future and the corresponding higher socio-economic status, (xxx) and (xxx), like many of their peers, have to receive education in EMI schools. This situation is unlikely to change unless there is a drastic change of the ecology of English, with the dominant role of English in many different aspects of English being replaced by other languages.

In short, people from countries which are former British colonies do not have the choice, but to learn English. Neither including English as part of the school curriculum, nor sending children to receive an English-only education can account for the situation. It is due to the fact that “the metropolitan languages are the languages of central places and of elite classes.” To climb up the social ladder, it is a must to study, and to master English.

So… what are your motivations in learning English?

[1] Ayesha Umer, Fatima Anjum & Sana Nawaz, “Language Shift An Analysis of Factors Involved in Language Shift,” Global Journal of Human Social Science, Linguistics & Education 12, no. 12 (2012): 3.

[2] Robert Phillipson, “Linguistic Imperialism: African Perspectives,” ELT Journal 50, no. 2 (1996): 165

[3] Daniel Nettle, Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World’s Languages (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 132

[4] Ibid, p. 128

Reference

Anjum, Nawaz & Umer, “Language Shift An Analysis of Factors Involved in Language Shift.” Global Journal of Human Social Science Linguistic & Education 12, no. 10 (2012): 1-9

Nettle, Daniel. Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World’s Languages. New York: Oxford University, 2000

Phillipson, Robert. “Linguistic Imperialism: African Perspectives.” ELT Journal 50, no. 2 (1996): 160-167

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