2. Your topic

3. What you find interesting about your chosen variety

4. What information you have on your chosen variety so far

5. How you plan on finding more information/recordings of you chosen variety*

6. Identifying any potential issues that could arise with your project*
 
Your submission should be no longer than 400 words and presented in a single text box.

  Hiberno-English 

PS: I really like the term Hiberno-English which is derived from the Latin term Hibernia "Ireland".    
   
Juan

Student Number: 17204820

LING20060

World Englishes

Week 5 Abstract

World Englishes: Japanese English (individual essay checkpoints)

I chose to research Japanese English (which belongs to East Asia Englishes) as an English variety for my essay as it would be interesting to see how Japanese use English language as an EFL and what place English language and culture has in Japanese society which seems to hold some unique social and linguistic features compared with Western societies. 

I found some interesting data on how English language came to Japan with “Phaeton” battleship from Britain in 1988 during the Trade Wars’ period between Dutch and Britain (Japanese were learning Dutch as a foreign language for trade purposes at that time), but there is some data on William Adams or Adam who arrived in Japan in 1600’s. 

The way Japanese use English in every day communications is also interesting. Often, English is a ‘mood’ language used in advertisements filling a purpose of decorative English and it could be difficult to understand the meaning behind many English written signs if not for the image of action or international symbol beside. The pronunciation of some sounds in words often differs from native or Standard English speakers’ pronunciation, for example “r” and “l” distinguishing or “s” used as Japanese hiragana character “shi”.

I must find more reliable sources in quantity and quality about “Japanglish” (Pr. Dougill’s definition for Japanese English) for my essay such as more in-depth history of Japan’s and English-speaking countries’ relationships and communications, and in-depth phonological, pragmatic and semantical data. It will be difficult to compare “Japanglish” with Standard English and to find out why exactly some differences in language use did occur. 

My chosen topic for final assignment is Nigerian Pidgin English as I was looking for a variety of English that I would be interested in researching. I was inspired to do this language variety because I recently read a book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who is a Nigerian writer and I was intrigued to learn more about her particular way of speaking and writing and while delving in further to this I decided to research the Nigerian pidgin English. While Nigerian pidgin does not have an official status as a language in the country it tends to help communication between different groups in Nigeria and is spoken widely. There are roughly 500 spoken languages so it is somewhat surprising to learn that both Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin are spoken as a second language by 60 million people in Nigeria according to a study done in the early 2000’s. I am intrigued to learn about the sociolinguistic background of this variety and how it is viewed by the people of Nigeria. In regards to the linguistic features, I would like to study aspects such as phonology, lexical features, semantics, syntactic and pragmatic features. I would choose more specifically which ones to focus on when I have done more research to discover which might be the most interesting features to analyse. 

A difficult part of this final assignment might be trying to include all of the historical and relevant information about the colonisation of Nigeria and how Nigerian pidgin English came to be and how it spread to become a useful tool in communication. I have found certain resources such as articles and books which will be very helpful as I explore the language and its varying features. I will also use specific recordings from online along with scholarly studies already done as Nigerian Pidgin is now the most widely used language in Nigeria with over half the population being able to converse with it.

residents would not have considered it wide-spread enough to constitute this. 

Jamican Creole

The most interesting aspect of this variety was first and foremost the history and origin of this specific creole and the way in which it evolved from its origin in africa through the caribbean and then into areas of london and the US. For the sociolinguistic aspect of this essay however, I will focus my attention on its use and status in Jamaica alone. The creole holds many distinctive social and linguistic features which will highlight many interesting grammatical and lexical contrasts when compared to standard English and other Contact English varieties. 

So far I have learned that Jamaican Creole was born as a result of contact situations during times of colonization. However, given that the nature of the language is seen to be both consequential and transitional, there has always been an argument that it came about as a result of natural language acquisition in children rather than contact situations - of course it is likely that both aspects played a part in its formation. I will look further into the linguistic and social changes of the language and see how the language is viewed on a global and local scale. Additionally I will look at the social status that the language holds. For instance, with regards to education, there have been recent  arguments against its use when teaching scientific subjects as much of scientific vocabulary does not hold a direct creole equivalent. 

The two distinctive features I will focus on are, firstly, vowel fluctuation in Jamiacan creole (JC)  - which highlights the importance of west african influence on the language. And secondly, I will look at the development of the JC lexicon and its use of compounding. 

I have found many interesting articles so far, but have yet to review them all in greater detail, additionally I found some interesting podcasts and youtube videos, which I might not use in the essay but have so far helped to solidify my understanding with regards to JC. I have also found an article which relates to the politics that surround the modern use of the creole with specific reference to its role in the education system and I’m sure it will be useful for the analysis of the sociolinguistic status. 

There is so much information about JC and its origins that I think staying on point and not losing sight of my aims for the essay will perhaps be the most difficult part of the essay. Additionally, there are many subjective resources which will prove helpful for my own personal understanding of the topic but I will have to ensure that I only use accurate, truthful resources. 

·       Jamaican Patois is associated with slavery in Africa. Patois developed in the 17^th century due to European colonisation. Slaves from west and central Africa were forced to speak English by the slaveholders.

·       The word ‘Patois’ has French origins and means “rough speech” so there was clearly a negative opinion of ‘Patois’. If it weren’t “real English” it could only be described as “rough speech”. Pidgin was spoken by the slaves in Jamaica as a way of communicating. But they were often split into groups that didn’t have a language in common in order to prevent revolt. That didn’t stop them from speaking pidgin which then went on to become creole.

 

·       Jamaican Standard English is the language associated with the government, education, religion, and the higher classes. Jamaican Patois is often looked down upon, it has been described as ungrammatical, and is the first language that many Jamaicans learn. Jamaican Standard English is considered a second language. Stories are told in Patois and songs and literature are often written in Patois too.

·       Children in rural Jamaica learn Patois from their parents but when they reach age six, they are taught exclusively in English. Speaking in Jamaican English is a sign of achievement, social class and potential. Those who continue with their education will continue to speak Jamaican English, but those who do not will normally continue to speak Patois. Jamaican English is used in education and business settings, whereas Patois is spoken at home and during more informal interactions. 

I. American immigration

II. British and Irish immigration

III. Continental European immigration and British immigration

IV. Highly diverse immigration populations (Europe, Asia, Latin America, USA)

V. Diverse immigration (Chinese immigration peak)

Concerning the sociolinguistics forms, I would like to focus on how different Canadian English is from American English, as it is often claimed that Canadian English is an Americanised variety of English; I will probably focus on semantics.

 

- In 1642 the Dutch sailor Abel Tasman and his crew attempted to land in New Zealand. He was the first European to encounter New Zealand and named it “Nieuw Zeeland” after a Dutch province. 

 

- James Cook, a British navigator, first sailed around the islands in 1769-70. This was the first time that the English people arrived in NZ. 

 

- The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) marked the beginning of a new nation. The Maori ceded sovereignty to Britain but retained much of their land. This ultimately created the foundation for British colonial rule in NZ and English was passed as the first language spoken. This left NZ, in the first half of the 20^th century, tied to Britain by trade, family connections and loyalty to the British throne. 

 

- Maori is rarely spoken in general spoken communication, but loanwords can be seen frequently through NZ English

The transfer from seasonal fisheries to permanent habitation

The joining with Canada after being a relatively isolated British colony for about 400 years

·       Hinglish has been present in Indian society for ten centuries yet has only been identified as recent as 1967 as the modern term of Hinglish, a blend of Hindu and English and some influence from other south Asian languages. 

·       The modern Hinglish language was derived from the various political struggles, conflicts and different agendas that emerged between Indian, British (British Raj) and Pakistan states during the mid-twentieth century. 

·       Hinglish is argued to be a degenerative language as Hindu itself had experienced extensive changes during the political unrest but is further unrecognizable through its adaption in Hinglish. The new generations that use Hinglish are referenced as being less educated as the bilingual nature of the language has dispersed and there is now a sum of people who speak Hinglish without being able to produce correct Hindu or English properly and therefore cannot identify themselves as bilingual. 

There is a societal trend in recent decades to write Hinglish in the script of Roman letter like that of English and to make use of hybrid word combinations not found in native Hindu or English. This provides the notion that Hinglish could potentially branch into an official or vernacular language despite its origins. 
Chloe Murtagh Flood 
19458722.

18349573

LING20060-World Englishes-2020/21

The official and most common spoken language on the The Cayman Islands is British English with a distinctive Caymanian dialect. However, younger Caymanian generations have also adopted certain Jamaican terms and expressions, as Jamaican patios is also spoken there. The Cayman Islands are British territory in the western Caribbean Sea. The language they speak is known as Cayman Creole. Their dialect is shaped and formed through Scottish, Welsh and British dialects mixed with a hint of a Jamaican accent. A recording from the Cayman Islands National museum of elderly individuals from the islands of different race will be used giving this paper a base for phonetic and syntactic investigation along with a sociolinguistic aspect. This will answer the question whether or not Caymanians are proud users of their dialect. This is a very rare dialect used by more or less 66,000 people so the information is scarce, however, I plan on researching it in depth through the available sources.

18349573

 

·      The Islands are believed to have been discovered by Cristopher Columbus.

·      No evidence of indigenous presence was found on the islands.

·      First settlers were pirates, shipwrecked sailors and deserters from Oliver Cromwell’s army in Jamaica.

·      England took formal control of the Cayman Islands, along with Jamaica, as a result of the Treaty of Madrid of 1670.

·      A permanent English-speaking population in the islands dates from the 1730s. 

·      There is racial diversity on the islands as a result of slavery.

·      The Caymans have historically been a tax-exempt destination, and the government has always relied on indirect and not direct taxes. The territory is known for having more businesses than people and is called a popular tax haven. Therefore, it nearly attracts more businessmen than tourists and causes further diversity.

^·              The official language of the Cayman Islands is English (90%), however, Caymanians of Jamaican origin speak in their own vernacular (see Jamaican Creole and Jamaican English). 

·      It is quite commonplace to hear some residents converse in Spanish as many citizens have relocated from Latin America to work and live on Grand Cayman. Spanish speakers comprise approximately between 10 and 12% of the population and is predominantly of the Caribbean dialect. 

^· Tagalog is spoken by about 5% of inhabitants most of whom are Filipino residents with work permits.

·       Borrowing due to population movements and commercial links

·       Phonetic Deletion similar to Scottish, Welsh, British and Jamaican dialects.

Phenomenon of ‘dentalisation’ and ‘alveolarisation’.
The study looks for the reason for the occlusive dental and alveolar pronunciation of the dental fricative consonants of English. Beyond its analysis, a diachronic study of it is carried out, which reveals the clear influence of both historical periods analysed.

‘Perfect Marking’ phenomena.
Analysing the perfect marking of Hiberno-English, its possible sources are searched through two interacting languages, Irish and English 'coming cross the sea'.

·       Borrowing due to population movements and commercial links

·       Phonetic Deletion similar to Scottish, Welsh, British and Jamaican dialects.

 

 

Another observation is the difficulty surrounding grasping the use of the verbal gerund (-ing), instead of using the infinitive to demonstrate the same initial purpose. This rigidity on fluency over grammatical dexterity is commonplace simply due to the status of English as a foreign language to this day. Nonetheless, its 3 million speakers suggest its importance is beyond being an elective language.