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Additional services for English
Today:
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IP address: 152.78.38.87
http://journals.cambridge.org
October 1988
IP address: 152.78.38.87
Three Concentric
Circles of English
The spread of English may be viewed in terms of three concentric circles: The
Inner Circle, the Outer (or Extended) Circle and the Extending Circle. These
circles represent the types of spread, the patterns of acquisition, the range of
functional domains, and the societal penetration of the language.
THE'OUTER'(OR EXTENDED)
CIRCLE e g .
/
THE'INNER CIRCLE'
USA
UK
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
242,200,000
56,458,000
25,625,000
15,763,000
3,305,000
/
/
f
I
\
\
^A
\
\
Bangladesh
Ghana
India
Kenya
Malaysia
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Zambia
104,204,000
13,552,000
783,940,000
21,044,000
15,820,000
105,448,000
101,855,000
58,091,000
2,584,000
16,638,000
22,415,000
7,054,000
/
/
[
\
\
\
China
Egypt
Indonesia
Israel
Japan
Korea
Nepal
Saudi Arabia
Taiwan
USSR
Zimbabwe
1,045,537,000
50,525,000
1 76,764,000
4,208,000
121,402,000
43,284,000
17,422,000
11,519,000
19,601,000
279,904,000
8,984,000
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IP address: 152.78.38.87
http://journals.cambridge.org
October 1988
IP address: 152.78.38.87
Context of diversification
The contexts of diversification are not just
acquisitional deficiencies, the constraints of
interlanguage, the grid of fossilization, as is
generally presented by the pundits. There are
far deeper sociological, linguistic, attitudinal
and cultural reasons. The diversification
(conscious or unconscious) often is symbolic
of subtle sociolinguistic messages which
include the following.
1. Exponent of distance: The message here
is, 'I am distinct from you - culturally,
socially and attitudinally - and let my variety
of English (linguistic creativity) say it'. And,
equally important is the fact that one might
want to convey that 'I will use English as a
tool for my culture, my identity, my
conventions'.
2. Marker of creativity potential: The aim is
to exploit the creative potential of English as a
pragmatically appropriate interactional tool
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Underground poetry
Enormous numbers of people travel daily on the
London Underground, and since January 1986
poems have been travelling with them. Presented
by the organization Poems on the Underground
and ILEA (Inner London Education Authority),
and backed by the Arts Council, the British
ENGLISH TODAY 16
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October 1988
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