NottheQueen'sEnglish

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FILEDUNDER:News

ThenameCambridgeSchoolofLanguagesconjuresimagesofspiresandAngloSaxon
aristocratsconversingintheQueen'sEnglish.ButthisCambridgeiscomposedofafewdank
roomswithricketychairsattheedgeofacongestedDelhisuburb.Itsrivalisnotstately
OxfordbutthenearbyEuroLanguagesSchool,whereathreemonthEnglishcoursecosts
$16."Wetellstudentsyouneedtwothingstosucceed:Englishandcomputers,"saysChetan
Kumar,aEuroLanguagesmanager."Weteachone.Fortheother"hepointstoanearby
Internetstall"youcangonextdoor."
TheprofessorsbackinCambridge,England,wouldnodoubtquestiontheschools'pedagogy.
Therearefewbooksortapes.Theirteacherspronounce"we"as"ve"and"primary"
as"primmry."Andyetsuchstorefrontshopsaren'tmerelytheraggededgeofthemassive
Englishlearningindustry,whichinIndiaaloneisa$100millionperyearbusiness.Theyare
thefrontlinesofaglobalrevolutioninwhichhundredsofmillionsofpeoplearelearning
English,theplanet'slanguageforcommerce,technologyand,increasingly,empowerment.
Withinadecade,2billionpeoplewillbestudyingEnglishandabouthalftheworldsome3
billionpeoplewillspeakit,accordingtoarecentreportfromtheBritishCouncil.
FromCaracastoKarachi,parentskeenfortheirchildrentoachieveareforkingovertuition
forEnglishlanguageschools.China'sEnglishfeverelevatedtoepidemicproportionsbythe
country'srecentaccessiontotheWorldTradeOrganizationandthecoming2008Olympics
evenhasitsownMandarinterm,Yingwenre.AndgovernmentsfromTunisiatoTurkeyare
pushingEnglish,recognizingthatalongwithcomputersandmassmigration,thelanguageis
theturbineengineofglobalization.Asone12yearoldselftaughtEnglishspeakerfrom
China'ssouthwesternSichuanprovincesays,"Ifyoucan'tspeakEnglish,it'slikeyou'redeaf
anddumb."
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Linguisticallyspeaking,it'sawholenewworld.NonnativespeakersofEnglishnow
outnumbernativespeakers3to1,accordingtoEnglishlanguageexpertDavidCrystal,
whosenumerousbooksinclude"EnglishasaGlobalLanguage.""There'sneverbeforebeena
languagethat'sbeenspokenbymorepeopleasasecondthanafirst,"hesays.InAsiaalone,
thenumberofEnglishusershastopped350millionroughlythecombinedpopulationsof
theUnitedStates,BritainandCanada.TherearemoreChinesechildrenstudyingEnglish
about100millionthanthereareBritons.
ThenewEnglishspeakersaren'tjustpassivelyabsorbingthelanguagethey'reshapingit.
NewEnglishesaremushroomingtheglobeover,rangingfrom"Englog,"theTagaloginfused
EnglishspokeninthePhilippines,to"Japlish,"thecrypticEnglishpoetrybelovedof
Japanesecopywriters("Yourhealthandlovelinessisourbestwish,"readsacandywrapper.
"Giveusachancetorealizeit"),to"Hinglish,"themixofHindiandEnglishthatnowcrops
upeverywherefromfastfoodadstoSouthAsiancollegecampuses."Hungrykya?"("Are
youhungry?"),queriedarecentIndianadforDomino'spizza.InpostapartheidSouthAfrica,
manyblackshaveadoptedtheirownversionofEnglish,lacedwithindigenouswords,asa
signoffreedomincontrasttoAfrikaans,thelanguageofoppression."WespeakEnglish

withaXhosaaccentandaXhosaattitude,"veteranactorJohnKanirecentlytoldtheBBC.
Alllanguagesareworksinprogress.ButEnglish'sglobalization,unprecedentedinthehistory
oflanguages,willrevolutionizeitinwayswecanonlybegintoimagine.Inthefuture,
suggestsCrystal,therecouldbeatriEnglishworld,oneinwhichyoucouldspeakalocal
Englishbaseddialectathome,anationalvarietyatworkorschool,andinternational
StandardEnglishtotalktoforeigners.Withnativespeakersashrinkingminorityofthe
world'sAnglophones,there'sagrowingsensethatstudentsshouldstoptryingtoemulate
BrightonorBostonEnglish,andembracetheirownlocalversions.Researchersarestartingto
studynonnativespeakers'"mistakes""Shelookverysad,"forexampleasstructured
grammars.Inageneration'stime,teachersmightnolongerbecorrectingstudentsforsaying
"abookwho"or"apersonwhich."LinguistJenniferJenkins,anexpertinworldEnglishesat
King'sCollegeLondon,askswhysomeAsians,whohavetroublepronouncingthe"th"
sound,shouldspendhourstryingtosay"thing"insteadof"sing"or"ting."International
pilots,shepointsout,alreadypronouncetheword"three"as"tree"inradiodispatches,since
"tree"ismorewidelycomprehensible.
NoteveryoneisasopenmindedaboutEnglish,oritsadvance.TheWebsiteofthe
AssociationfortheDefenceoftheFrenchLanguagedisplaysa"museumofhorrors"aseries
ofdigitalpicturesofEnglishlanguagesignsonParisianstreets.Butotherssaysuch
defensivenessmissesthepoint."ThisisnotaboutEnglishswampinganderodinglocal
identities,"saysDavidGraddol,authoroftheBritishCouncilreport."It'saboutcreatingnew
identitiesandaboutmakingeveryonebilingual."
Indeed,Englishhasbecomethecommonlinguisticdenominator.Whetheryou'reaKorean
executiveonbusinessinShanghai,aGermanEurocrathammeringoutlawsinBrusselsora
BrazilianbiochemistataconferenceinSweden,you'reprobablyspeakingEnglish.Andas
theworldadoptsaninternationalbrandofEnglish,it'snativespeakerswhohavethemostto
lose.CambridgedonswhoinsistonspeakingtheQueen'sEnglishcouldbemetwithgiggles
orblankstares.BritishorAmericanbusinessexecswhojabberonintheirownidiomatic
patois,withoutunderstandinghowEnglishisusedbynonnatives,mightloseoutondeals.
Toachievefluency,nonnativespeakersarelearningEnglishataneveryoungerage.Last
yearprimaryschoolsinmajorChinesecitiesbeganofferingEnglishinthethirdgrade,rather
thanmiddleschool.Agrowingnumberofparentsareenrollingtheirpreschoolersinthenew
cropoflocalEnglishcourses.Forsomemotherstobe,eventhat'snotearlyenoughZhou
Min,whohostsseveralEnglishprogramsattheBeijingBroadcastingStation,sayssome
pregnantwomenspeakEnglishtotheirfetuses.AtPrague'sLameachildren'sEnglish
languageschool,3yearoldssingsongsaboutsnowmenandchantcolorsinEnglish.Now2
yearoldshaveaclassoftheirown,too.
ForthetraditionalcustodiansofEnglishtheBritishand,morerecently,theAmericansthis
meansmoney.ThedemandfornativeEnglishspeakersissohugethattherearen'tenoughto
goaroundChinaandtheMiddleEastarestartingtoimportEnglishteachersfromIndia.The
averagepriceofafourdaybusinessEnglishcourseinLondonforaFrenchexecutiveruns
2,240euro.DespiteorperhapsbecauseofallthenewEnglishescroppingup,it'sthe
AmericanandBritishversionsthatstillcarryprestige,particularlywithtuitionpaying
parents.AustraliaandBritain,inparticular,haveinvestedheavilyinbrandingthemselvesas
destinationsforlearningEnglish.Morethan400foreignEnglishteachingcompaniesare

tryingtobreakintoChina.OnavisittoBeijinglastweek,BritishChancellorGordonBrown
saidtheChinesethirsttoacquirethelanguagewas"ahugeopportunityforBritain,"which
alreadyboastsa1.3billionpoundEnglishteachingindustry.SaysJenkins,"OwningEnglish
isverybigbusiness."
Toseebigbusinessinaction,oneneedonlywalkdownLondon'sbusyOxfordStreet,where
adshawkinstantaccesstothelanguageofsuccess:DOESYOURENGLISHEMBARRASS
YOU?BUSINESSENGLISHFORBEGINNERSLEARNENGLISHINJUST10
WEEKS!Aboveclothingstores,bustlingEnglishlanguageschoolsarepackedwitheager
twentysomethingsfromaroundtheworld.BenBeaumont,abuoyant28yearoldBriton,
presidesoveraclassthatincludesaSouthKoreanbusinessmanager,anursefromruralJapan
andanItalianlawstudent."Doyouwantalotofhomeworkoralittle?"heasks.Theclassis
unequivocal:"Alot!"
Whysuchenthusiasm?Inaword,jobs.Agenerationago,onlyeliteslikediplomatsand
CEOsneededEnglishforwork."Theanteonwhat'sneededisgoingupyearbyyear,"says
Graddol."Throughoutorganizations,morepeopleneedmoreEnglish."InChina,theBeijing
OrganizingCommitteeforthe2008OlympicsispushingEnglishamongstaff,guides,taxi
driversandordinarycitizens.ForlowermiddleclassesinIndia,Englishcanmeanaticketto
aprizedcallcenterjob."Withcallcenters,nolongerisspeakingEnglishoneofthe
importantskillstogetagoodjob,"saysRaghuPrakash,whorunsanEnglishlanguage
schoolinJaipur."Itistheskill."AtthenewToyotaandPeugeotplantintheCzechRepublic,
EnglishistheworkinglanguageoftheJapanese,FrenchandCzechstaff.SaysJitka
Prikrylova,directorofaPragueEnglishlanguageschool:"Theworldhasopenedupforus,
andEnglishisitslanguage."
Governments,evenlinguisticallyprotectionistones,arestartingtoagree.LastyearMalaysia
decidedtostartteachingschoollevelmathandscienceinEnglish.InFrance,homeofthe
AcademieFrancaise,whosemembersaregivenswordsandchargedwithdefendingthe
sanctityoftheFrenchlanguage,acommissionrecommendedlastfallthatbasicEnglishbe
treatedlikebasicmath:aspartofthemandatorycorecurriculumbeginninginprimary
school.Asitturnsout,theministerofEducationdidn'tagree.NomatterFrench
schoolchildrenareaheadoftheirgovernment:96percentofthemarealreadystudyingthe
languageasanelectiveinschool.
TechnologyalsoplaysahugeroleinEnglish'sglobaltriumph.Eightypercentofthe
electronicallystoredinformationintheworldisinEnglish66percentoftheworld's
scientistsreadinit,accordingtotheBritishCouncil."It'sveryimportanttolearnEnglish
because[computer]booksareonlyinEnglish,"saysUmbertoDuirte,anUruguayanIT
studentlearningEnglishinLondon.Newtechnologiesarehelpingpeoplepickupthe
language,too:ChineseandJapanesestudentscangetEnglishusagetipsontheirmobile
phones.EnglishlanguageteacherspointtotheriseofMicrosoftEnglish,wherecomputer
usersaredraftinglettersadvisedbytheWindowsspellcheckandpopupstyleguides.Inthe
templetownofVaranasi,India,SanjuktaChaterjeesaysshe'sastonishedbythewayher7
yearoldsonlearnsthelanguage,throughCDsandvideo."Ourteacherswerestrictthatwe
shouldpractice,andspeakthelanguagetillwewerenearperfect,"shesays."Nowthere'san
additionaltechnologicalfinessetolearningEnglish."
Schoolsarebecomingmoreandmorecreative.LastAugust,SouthKoreasetupitsfirst

Englishimmersioncamp.TheGyeonggiEnglishVillage,builtonasmallislandinthe
YellowSeaandsubsidizedbytheprovincialgovernment,comescompletewitha
Hollywoodstylefakebankandairport,wherestudentsmustconductalltransactionsin
English."Throughthecamp,wewanttotraincapableglobalcitizens,whocanhelpKorea
wininternationalcompetitioninthisageofglobalization,"saysSohnHakKyu,governorof
Gyeonggiprovince,whostartedtheprogram.Inoneclass,eighthgraderChunHoSung,
wearingalongblackwigandposingasBritishheartthrobOrlandoBloom,sweatsunderthe
lightsofamocktelevisionstudioashepreparestobeinterviewed."Doyouthinkyouare
handsome?"askstheanchorwoman.Shyly,inbrokenEnglish,Chunresponds:"Yes,Ido.I
amveryhandsome."Theaudienceofotherstudentscollapsesingiggles.
WhilecourseslikeGyeonggi'ssoundsimple,Englishanditsteachingareinexorably
becomingmorecomplex.IlanStavans,anAmherstCollegeprofessor,recentlyfinisheda
translationofCervantes's"DonQuixote"intoSpanglish,theEnglishSpanishhybridspoken
intheUnitedStatesandMexico.WritinginthejournalEnglishTodaylastspring,Hu
XiaoqiongarguedforreorientatingChina'sEnglishcurriculumtowardChinaEnglish,
incorporatingChinesephraseslike"payNewYearcalls,"aSpringFestivaltradition,and"no
face,"tobeashamedasStandardEnglish.IncountrieslikeGermany,wheremostkidsbegin
Englishasearlyasthesecondorthirdgrade,themarketforEnglishstudiesisalready
shrinking.GermanlanguageschoolsnolongertargetEnglishbeginnersbutthosepursuing
moreexpertniches:businessEnglish,phonemannersorEnglishforpresentations.
BeginningEnglishclassesarefilledwithimmigrantsfromplaceslikeTurkeyandRussia,
eagertocatchupwiththenatives.Aswithmigrantstheworldover,they'refindingthattheir
newfoundlandisanEnglishspeakingone.
WithSudipMazumdarandHindolSenguptainDelhi,PaulMooneyinBeijing,Katka
KrosnarinPrague,EmilyFlynnandMarieVallainLondon,B.J.LeeinGyeonggi,Tracy
McNicollinParis,StefanTheilinBerlin,HenkRossouwinJohannesburg,MariaAmparo
LassoinMexicoCityandJaimeCunninghaminNewYork