Ch.

3 English as a colonial language

Ch. 3 English as a colonial language

In this chapter, we will look at:
1. Definition of colonisation;
2. We will then look at colonisation within the British Isles;
3. Next, the types of methods used by the British colonisers
to conquer / colonise (take control of) different places
beyond the British Isles;
4. Finally, the most important theme of this chapter, the
linguistic consequences of colonisation (by the British),
That means the impacts of colonisation on the
development of the English language
i.e. spread and emergence of different varieties
of English around the world
Remember: British people were not the
only colonisers at that time. France, Spain
and portugal were also colonisers at that
time.

In this chapter (Ch.3), the main focus is the linguistic consequences

of colonisation (i.e. Impacts of colonisation on the development
the English language.
Important notes:
Colonisation (development of the British Empire):
(colonisation beyond the British Isles took place mainly from 16 th C)

-is the primary reason of the spread of the English language

to different parts of the world.
-caused the emergence of different varieties of the English
language. (e.g. Hiberno English, American English, Hong Kong
English, Indian English)
-Thats why some linguists argue that English should be
written in plural: Englishes.

Ch.3

English as a colonial language

Crystal (1988):
- From early 17th century mid 20th century, mother-tongue
English speakers rose from 5-7 millions to 250 million, 4/5
lived outside the British Isles.
- Political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy of the British
Empire spread globally, to different parts of the world

Ch. 3 English as a colonial language

Definition of Colonisation:
- The term is often used pejoratively, referring to the
exploitation of the weak by the powerful (e.g. resources).
-Processes of establishing communities of English speakers in
the colonies were often done by force (at the beginning,
expansion done through trading).
-English speakers imposed power on the indigenous or preexisting populations of the colonies, while at the same time
maintaining economic and cultural links with England.
-Language was also used as a tool to show the power of the
colonizers over the weak;
-Because of different reasons, indigenous people living in the
colonies learnt the language of their colonizers (e.g.
English), very often they were forced to learnt English and
abandon their own mother tongues.
- In terms of Kachrus models of the Three Circles: Inner, Outer
and Expanding Circles (Ch.1), nearly all countries in the Inner
and Outer circles showed traces of colonization of Britain.

Ch. 3 English as a colonial language

-Therefore, colonization relates to the pattern of social,
economic, political, linguistic inequalities (Book 3);
- Later on in this chapter, we will also know that
colonisation is related to migration as it involves
settlement of the colonial power (English people) in
the colonies or the removal of the indigenous people
to other places (slaves).

English as a colonial language

Types of British colonisation
England expanded quickly, mainly from late 16th -early 18th
centuries.
It was then called the British Empire because it colonised /
conquered (took control of ) lots of places around the world.
- The British Empire was called the empire on which the sun
never sets
Broadly speaking, colonization can be divided into two types
A: colonisation within the British Isles;
B: colonisation outside the British Isles
(300 years!).

English as a colonial language

(Colonisation within the British Isles)
Remember where exactly the Anglo-Saxon people inhabited
in the Old English Period?
The 7 Kingdoms /
England

What happened? Whats the difference of the

terms, England, Great Britain and the United
Kingdom?

Now called the

United Kingdom
(much bigger in
size)

Ch. 3 English as a colonial language

(Colonisation within the British Isles)
Differences among United Kingdom, Great Britain and England

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10
(Video 1, Ch. 3)

The United Kingdom

From Video 1, we know that:

-Scottish, Welsh and people of Northern Ireland joined

England (colonised / conquered by English people)
and thats why the country is now called the United Kingdom
(a political term).

Colonisation within the British Isles

Political and religious background of Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales (Textbook, Book 1, pp.112-116)
Lots of wars and battles before the three places joined England as
the United Kingdom.
Ireland:
- Celtic ppl. (Old-English period: Celtic ppl driven to Scotland, Ireland,Wales)
- Controlled by Anglo-Norman around 12th c. (similar to Wales)
English built town and borough in Ireland.
. - Resistance from Ireland (political and religious conflicts)
- Irish practised Roman Catholicism
but English are protestants after Reformation (Martin Luther) and also
because of Henry VIII)

- Wars, wars and wars.

- Finally only Northern Ireland (mostly Scots and poor English)
left in Englands hand
- Formally Northern Ireland joined the UK in 1800)
In Middle Age Period, Roman Catholic Church not only
had religious power, but gained political and economic
power!

Colonisation within the British Isles

Political and religious background of Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales (Textbook, Book 1, pp.112-116)
-Wales annexed (joined) as England earlier (1536)
-Scotland joined as Britain (formally in 1707)
-Colonial experience slightly different from the other two places;
-More peaceful, before that intermarriages of the noble families
between the two places took place.

Colonisation within the British Isles

Politically speaking:
Common patterns of colonisation of the three places:
1. Colonisation (wars, wars, wars)
2. Political incorporation
3. National reaction / resistance (especially Ireland)

Linguistic consequences of colonisation within the British Isles

- English, French and Flemish (Dutch) spread there;
- Wars and colonisation provided opportunities for people of these places
to mix together,
- Colonisation affected language policy of the colonies
(e.g. King Henry VIII proclaimed that Ireland is the subject of the king,
people there should speak English as mother tongue; education with
English as MOI)
- However, when these people speak English, their mother tongue (Celticspeaking) will affect the ways they use and speak English.
(on 3 levels: lexis, syntax and pronunciation)
- Therefore, new varieties of English emerged.
- i.e. Scottish English, Irish English (Hiberno-English), Welsh English.
- We will study their features in Ch. 5

Ch. 3 English as a colonial language

(colonisation beyond the British Isles)
Common events that happened to the British colonies
(outside the British Isles) during the colonial period
1. Colonisation
2. Political incorporation
3. National reaction / resistance (e.g. India)

Similar to what happened to Northern

Ireland and Wales before they joined
England as parts of the UK

Ch. 3 English as a colonial language

Background information and motives of colonization (beyond
the British Isles, from early 17th c)

1. Political:
-Age of discoveries in the 15th and 16th Century
(discoveries and overseas exploration, first by Portugal and Spain);
-Rivalries (competition with other countries: French, Spain & German
colonisers)
2. Economic:
- Trade, natural resources
3. Social and religious:
- diseases, unemployment, political dissidents,
religious refugees, population growth in England;
- help modernize the colonies (e.g. set up schools,
introduce new values, social order and
philosophies)

Book 1, Ch. 3, p.118