What Flavor Is Your English?

Cindy King — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:00:59 +0000

According to an article on Wired, there will be many, many more non-native English speakers in the world than there are native English speakers. They estimate only 15 percent of the 2 billion people using English by 2020 will indeed be native English speakers.

The reason why there are so many English speakers in the world is because English has become a lingua franca.

But I don’t want to look into the past and go into the reasons why English is used so much in other cultures. I would like to look at the future of this diversity in the English language.

The question that comes to my mind is the whether we will need more “International English” communication. Let me explain.

The cultural differences in the use of the English language add to the complexity of cross-cultural communication. The Wired article referred to earlier speaks of the Chinese “cleaning” up their English signs for the Olympic games. They are “cleaning” up their English to meet native-English standards.

The question is, will the native English “versions” maintain their advantage?

I think this trend will probably have different consequences than in the past.

Here is an example of what happened in the past.

If you have read my blog long enough, you know I have raised my two children in France, in French. So I’m familiar with the French education system. The English taught in school here is the British English. Obviously, we are all part of Europe. But the teachers have very strict guidelines to teach the Queen’s English pronunciations. For those of you who have not lived in England, this is a very “posh” English. Popular English television shows will use this accent in comedy.

Try listening to non-native English speakers striving to speak with a “posh” English accent in all seriousness and very proud of their accomplishments, and keep a straight face. I think this illustrates the use of English as a foreign language as it has happened up until now.

But today the vast majority of the non-native English speakers learn English differently. They use English to live. To work. To communicate. It is not a question of imitating people.

Is this new use of English even a “foreign” language to non-native English speakers? I think their use of English is probably closer to the abbreviated slang my daughters use non-stop to communicated with their friends.

And if this is so, native English speakers will not be able to maintain the dominance of their particular cultural blend of English. There is a strong case for using what I refer to as “International English”.

What is “International English”?

It is simply English devoid of strong cultural flavors and with a carefully reduced vocabulary. The only words used are very easy for a wide range of cultures to understand quickly. These words are distilled after years of exposure and communication with a variety of non-native English speakers.

Why do I think there is a case for “International English”? It is all about good cross-cultural communication. You need to meet on common ground. You can read more on cross-cultural communication on Get International Clients.

It will be interesting to how the use of the English language will evolve over the next decade.

What flavor do you think English will have in the years to come?

What you need to know about International English:

International English Guidelines

Cindy King's International Business Blog » Internationalize your English

What Flavor Is Your English?

More on Internationalizing Your English:

What you need to know about International English:

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides