The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : "Asia holds key to future of English language"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

"Asia holds key to future of English language"

Vani Doraisamy

India's comparative competency in the language vis-à-vis China is being challenged, says expert

David Graddol. — Photo: Vino John.

CHENNAI: It looks as if the Asian charge may get the best out of one of the last surviving colonial legacies.

A series of new findings on the way English is learnt and spoken around the world by linguist David Graddol shows countries such as China and India will probably determine the future of English language.

Mr. Graddol, who questioned the notions of "apparent unassailability" of English as a global language in his best-selling book, `The Future of English?' (1997), has now come out with another work, `English Next.'

The writer/broadcaster/researcher/consultant argues that Asian countries will determine the way English is being used globally in industry, commerce and the Internet in the decades ahead. Both books were published by the British Council, which organised the launch of his second venture here on Thursday. The book factors in issues such as change in economy, technology and demography to look at why the demand for English has grown globally.

"More and more countries are now rethinking English not as a foreign language but as a basic skill. Where earlier English was private sector business, in many countries it has now become public sector policy. English in its new global form is emerging as the world's lingua franca," Mr. Graddol told The Hindu in a pre-launch interview.

But then India's comparative competency in the language, vis-à-vis China, is rapidly being challenged too. "The growth of English in China is the reverse of what is happening in India. Though India has been playing the English card in establishing its global leadership in outsourcing and BPO, the number of professional English speakers in China is growing at a faster rate than in India," Mr. Graddol says.

The reason? India's enduring colonial legacy, which has made English the language of the elite, makes it "very difficult to undo subtle educational and social mechanisms that have made English socially stratified." China, on the other hand, has no such baggage, looking at the language more instrumentally in terms of what needs to be done for continued economic growth and taking a long-term view.

"As the world is becoming increasingly multi-polar and the rise of China and India is becoming more significant, the whole world is having to adjust to [this]. Asia and the European Union are extremely important [in this context] as anyone who wants to do business with them has to learn to use English," he said. Within Asia itself, interactions between China and India could be the new determinant.

"The big growth avenue is the use of English as lingua franca by non-native speakers. Increasingly, interactions in English in the future will be amongst non-native speakers. India and Indian English will have an important role to play in this in terms of exporting the way English is being taught," Mr. Graddol said.

After launching `English Next' in key Indian cities, he will follow it up with a launch in China.

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