LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH USED IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

For this to be possible, English as a second language has to be discussed, and features of vocabulary in some countries of Asia in particular will thus be discussed.. 4 LIST OF ABBREVIAT

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN VIỆT NGA

Field: English Language Code: 60220201

Supervisor: PhD Do Kim Phuong

Hanoi, 2017

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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled LEXICAL FEATURES OF ENGLISH USED IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor PhD

Do Kim Phuong for the useful comments, remarks and engagement through the learning process of this master thesis

Furthermore, I would like to thank her for introducing me to the topic as well as for the support on the way

Also, my sincere thanks go to the lecturers of Hanoi Open University, lecturers

of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies of Hanoi Open University, my colleagues and friends who help the study to be fulfilled and willingly share their precious time during the process of conducting this thesis

Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their continuous support and encouragement throughout entire process, both by keeping me harmonious and

helping me putting pieces together I will be grateful forever for their support

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ABSTRACT

As English has constantly been spreading around the world as a global language,

it is no longer a language restricted to countries where it is spoken as the first language (mother tongue) Its spread is obviously seen in Southeast Asia, a sub-region of Asia which includes eleven multiethnic, multicultural and multilinguistic countries In the region, English can be classified into two groups: as a second language, or as a foreign language Particularly, English has developed into new varieties called “New Englishes” such as Singapore English, Brunei English, Philippine English, and Malaysian English

The objectives of this study are to provide overviews of the lexical features of English in Southeast Asian countries, and how the countries fit into this model Besides, the future of English in Southeast Asia is speculated basing on its future in the world and on the current language situation in the region For this to be possible, English as a second language has to be discussed, and features of vocabulary in some countries of Asia in particular will thus be discussed

The important element in this study is the various implications of the role of English in Asia on English language practices These implications lead to suggesting some possible suggestions for effective approaches to communicating English effectively in some Southeast Asian countries

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LIST OF ABBREVIATION

AmE: American English

BrE: British English

MaE: Malaysia English

SgE: Singapore English

StE: Standard English

ESL: English as a Second Language: learning English in an English

speaking country

EFL: English as a Foreign Language: learning English in a non-English

speaking country

WE : World of English

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1.1.1: 10 most spoken languages in the world

Figure 2.2.1 : Three concentric Circles of English- Kachru (1997)

Table 1: Distribution of features borrowed from Malay

Table 2: Semantic modification of Malay loanwords

Figure 4.2.1: The three levels of the lectal continuum (Baskaran)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale for the study………9

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study ……….11

1.3 Research questions……… 12

1.4 Methods of the study……….12

1.5 Scope of the study ………12

1.6 Significance of the study ……… 13

1.7 Design of the study ……… 13

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ………15

2.1 Review of the previous study………15

2.2 An overview of “New English” ……… 16

2.2.1 Term of varieties of English……… 19

2.2.2 Some general features of English in Asia……… 23

2.3 Theory of linguistics.……… 25

2.3.1 Lexical features ……… 26

2.3.2 Chapter 3: LEXICAL FEATURES OF MALAYSIAN, SINGAPOREAN ENGLISH……….………38

3.1 Features of vocabulary in Malaysia English……… 38

3.2 Features of vocabulary in Singaporean English……… 44

3.3 The lexical differences between in some varieties of English used in Southeast Asian and Standard English……… 46

3.4 Summary……… 53

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Chapter 4: APPLICATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN ENGLISH IN

REALITY ……… …54

4.1 Implications for regional multilingualism ……… …….…….54

4.2 Implications of using some varieties of Southeast Asian English in working cross culture………57

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION……… 60

5.1 Concluding remarks ……….60

5.2 Limitation of the study ……….61

5.3 Recommendations/Suggestions for further study ……….……… 61

REFERENCES ……….62

APPENDIX………63

Appendix 1 Status of English, historical background and number of speakers in Asian countries ……… 63

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study

English has spread in many parts of the world The increase in the number of those learning it and using it has been the most noticeable example of its expansion in this century It has become the most important international language and is the most commonly taught as a second or foreign language in the world Recent facts from the Internet show that there are about 780 million users of English of whom about 380 million are native speakers, about 300 million are second language speakers, and about

100 million are foreign language speakers

The spread of the English language has not gone unnoticed in today’s world English has found its way to every continent and many of the remotest areas in the world The English language has not, however, remained the same, in terms of grammar, pronunciation and lexis, in the countries where it has spread Each country

or each linguistic area has shaped the language to fit its own communicational needs Therefore, the English language is slightly different in each of the areas it has spread

to, though there are also similarities between the varieties

Figure 1.1.1: 10 most spoken languages in the world

It is important to be aware of these different English varieties spoken and written around the world and therefore also realize that the original varieties, namely British

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English and American English, are not the only ones spoken nowadays These varieties of English, which are spoken around the world are also called New Englishes among researchers and the term is generally used when referred to post-colonial varieties of English

It should not be forgotten either that today there are actually more non-native English in the world than native ones This is due to the fact that the English language has spread around the world and is nowadays used as a lingua franca These New Englishes are therefore not to be left unnoticed Despite the fact that varieties of English, which is considered a very important branch of English language, is investigated and studied by many of lexicologists In addition, English varieties and New Englishes and even Asian English have been studied fairly extensively in general This study was undertaken because studies on Philippines English, Malaysian English and Singaporean English are quite few in number Also, the author found that most of users often care for vocabulary while communicating in English which there are many problems for people as an international language One of the most difficulties of people working abroad is probably problems in identifying and understanding various varieties of English Among them, the varieties of English vocabulary cause a lot of troubles Varieties of English include many phenomena such as words spelling, pronunciation, meaning, etc These are complicated phenomena for learners of English People are always confused in the case of English in some Asian countries which are somehow different from standard English that they have learnt So it is very necessary to work in depth with the English varieties to help these people have an overview and avoid confusing when facing it The purpose of the study is to find out what are the lexical features of some major varieties of English in Asia The varieties

in Asia the study focuses on is getting an idea of vocabularies in Malaysian English and Singaporean English In addition, these items are different from the original varieties, British English and American English or the English-speaking world at large In other words, this study would like to point out the differences in Malaysian English and Singaporean English and the original varieties in terms of vocabulary Moreover, as stated above, Malaysian English and Singaporean English have not been extensively studied and therefore the study is of importance in shedding a little light on

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the features of Malaysian English and Singaporean English in terms of their vocabulary Besides, the author has been very interested in different varieties of English for some time and the author is fascinated by the idea that a culture of a given country can have an effect on a language which is not native to the country and therefore also have an enormous influence on its vocabulary The author’s interest in Malaysian English and Singaporean English in particular is mainly due to personal interest with the country’s culture, nature and people In terms of Malaysian English and Singaporean English, the author is eager to learn more about the influence of Standard English on Malaysian English and Singaporean English Hence, as conducting the study will also gain more information about Malaysian English and Singaporean English and learn more about Malaysia and Singapore culture in general with hope the study on Malaysian English and Singaporean English is able to show some features of the vocabulary in these countries and therefore contribute to the knowledge of Malaysian English and Singaporean English and perhaps also to English varieties in Asia in general Also, the results of the study contribute to the study of Malaysian English and Singaporean English in terms of their vocabulary It will provide learners and users of English with new information and can be useful for Vietnamese people in understanding and using English varieties when working in

these Asian countries With all these reasons, the study and entitle: ‘Lexical features of English used in Southeast Asian countries’ is chosen and carried out

1.2 Aims of the study

This research is conducted aiming at finding out linguistic features of some major varieties of English in Asia such as Philippines English, Malaysian English and Singaporean English in terms of their vocabularies, thus helping Vietnamese people to

improve their English proficiency when working in such Asian countries

1.3 Objectives of the study

To achieve the aims mentioned-above, the following objectives are put forwards: (1) Describing the features of vocabulary of Malaysian English and Singaporean English;

(2) Pointing out differences between the vocabulary of Malaysian English and Singaporean English and Standard English;

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(3) Suggesting some possible implications of Malaysian English and Singaporean English in terms of their vocabularies for Vietnamese people working in Asian countries

1.4 Research questions

The study is carried out to show the following research questions:

1 What are the lexical features of Malaysian English and Singaporean English in terms of phonological, word formation and stylistic features?

2 What are the differences among Malaysian English and Singaporean English and Standard English in terms of lexicology?

3 What are the possible implications of Malaysian English and Singaporean English for Vietnamese people working in Asian countries?

1.5 Methods of the study

In order to achieve the aim of the study, three methods including descriptive, contrastive, quantitative and qualitative methods are used in analyzing lexical features

of the English used in Malaysia and Singapore:

- Descriptive method: To describe lexical features of Malaysian English and Singaporean English

- Quantitative and qualitative methods: analyze the data collected from various sources printed publications as dictionaries, books, magazines, articles, etc

- Contrastive method: To find out the differences among Malaysian English and Singaporean English and Standard English in terms of lexicology

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1.6.1 Academic scope

Varieties of English are a very attractive field for researchers and there are many issues related to it, however, due to the required framework of the thesis, limitation of time and knowledge, the study just focus on linguistic features of some varieties of English in Asia, namely Malaysian English and Singaporean English, in terms of their vocabulary All the rest relating to other linguistic aspects of English such as grammar, phonology, etc are to be left for the further researches The study is focused on the

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features of vocabulary in Singaporean English and Malaysian English Illustrated

examples in the study are selected merely from literatures works, books and Internet

1.6.2 Social scope

In the process of communicating in English, we recognize that people sometimes have the difficulties in understanding or using different words of different English varieties So it is very necessary to work in depth with this to help people who work in Asian countries be aware of differences in terms of vocabulary between some varieties

of English in Asia and avoid confusing when facing it

1.7 Significance of the study

1.7.1 Theoretical significance

The study is expected to help people to know some linguistic features involved in English varieties in general and English varieties in Asia in particular In addition, in this study, the writer wish to point out, describe and analyze the features in terms of vocabulary of some major English varieties in Asian countries

1.7.2 Practical significance

With the purpose of making a study on the linguistic features of some major varieties

of English in Asia, the study will be able to provide Vietnamese people who work in Asian countries the features of some major varieties of English in Asia in terms of vocabulary This study may help them in facing with English varieties in Asia and may be a contribution

to the understanding and using English varieties to some extent

1.8 Design of the study

With the purpose of creating an easy-understanding research, this `paper is divided into five chapters:

Chapter 1 is Introduction presenting the rationale, the aims, the scope, the methods, the design of the study

Chapter 2 entitled Literature review refers to the overview of some studies on English varieties of scholars worldwide, provides the basic knowledge about the theory of Kachru on “Three circles of English” and pointing out some features of English in some Asian countries

Chapter 4 is Application of Southeast Asian English in reality

Chapter 5 with the title of Conclusion is the last chapter which reviews and emphasizes what have studied, points out the limitation of the study and provide some suggestions which may pave the way for further research References, Bibliography and Appendices come at the end of the thesis

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of the previous study

It is universally acknowledged that English is globally accepted language as being used first, second, third or a foreign language in most countries The reason behind this fact is related to colonialism in the 19th century and the spread of technology in this century in which English is used as the language of science worldwide for over a century In addition, English has become the focus of attention for many scholars worldwide The interest in the English language no longer concentrates only on the original varieties, British English and American English More and more studies are being conducted on the new varieties, especially the post-colonial varieties of English such as Nigerian English, Singaporean English, Indian English and Philippines English Furthermore, the comparative studies of different English varieties have become a major area of academic research as well The growing interest is partly due to the pioneering work of scholars such as Manfred Görlach, Sidney Greenbaum and Braj Kachru In addition, numerous books and articles have been written describing the different varieties of English spoken around the world today

Studies on varieties of English have been conducted in all areas of language As Melchers and Shaw (2003) observe, there is variation at all levels of language in new varieties In other words, they differ from each other in terms of spelling, phonetics or phonology, morphology, syntax, the lexicon and discourse Therefore, varieties of English have been studied in terms of their characteristic vocabulary, differences in pronunciation and distinct features of grammar

Usually the distinctiveness or deviation in the new varieties has been compared

to the original varieties, often to British English and American English However, the deviances are not treated as errors or mistakes, but instead they are recognized as characteristic features of a particular variety Therefore, by studying the distinct features of new variety it has also been possible to determine them as varieties of English in their own right One fairly popular way of approaching and learning about a

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variety is to study their lexicon Several studies, for instance, by Dubey (1991) and Tent (2000), have investigated and analyzed the characteristic vocabulary of a specific variety The lexis of some varieties, for example, Indian English, has been studied more extensively than others and even dictionaries have been compiled of the findings The interest in lexis is justified because, as pointed out by Platt, Weber and Ho (1984), a new variety of English inevitably creates a whole range of new expressions

in order to fulfill the communicative needs of the speakers Therefore, studying lexical items in a particular variety is likely to be rewarding as well, at least in terms of finding those items in a variety

A specific area of interest in the vocabulary studies are loanwords According to Yang (2005), borrowing in the studies of New Englishes has been recognized as a valuable part of nativization and therefore it is also widely studied Moreover, as Görlach (1998) states, borrowings are the most conspicuous features illustrating lexical innovation in a variety and therefore widely studied

Preshous (2001) studied the lexical features of Malaysian English by analyzing texts from several Malaysian newspapers and other sources He observed that Malay loanwords are frequently incorporated in the text Furthermore, Preshous (2001) presented words that have acquired a distinct meaning in Malaysian English compared

to other Englishes

In sum, Englishes have used very similar strategies when forming the lexis of the new variety and a significant number of new words have been incorporated into the lexis of new varieties This suggests that the vocabulary of the original varieties, British English and American English, has not been adequate for the people

to express themselves in their new socio-cultural environments

2.2 Review of theoretical background

2.2 An overview of World Englishes

Many models on World Englishes have been posited by scholars in the past

twenty years (e.g Kachru, 1992; McArthur,1998; Schneider, 2003 & 2007) The most

influential model of the spread of English is Kachru’s model of World Englishes The

theory of Kachru “Three circles of English” is chosen for theoretical framework of this

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thesis In this model the diffusion of English is captured in terms of three Concentric Circles of the language: The Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle Kachru’s (1985) pioneering model for world English spread and usage has been widely used as a framework for the study of World Englishes His idea was that the spread of English could “be viewed in terms of three concentric circles representing the types of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages”

Kachru’s Model of World Englishes (1997) argued that new models for the teaching of English relevant to linguistic input, methodology, norms and identity have been proposed to explain and imply the spread and diffusion of English as a global language diversified in several nativized dialects known as world Englishes

Figure 2.2.1: Three concentric Circles of English- Kachru (1997)

Firstly, according to this model, the Inner Circle refers to the traditional bases of English as the primary language; The Inner Circle refers to native-English-speaking countries such as the UK, North America, New Zealand and Australia, who use English as their primary language These are norm providing, or in other words, endocentric

Secondly, the Outer Circle represents the spread of English in nonnative contexts, where it has been institutionalized as an additional language The Outer

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Circle is made up of post-colonial countries in which English, though not the mother tongue, has for a significant period of time played an important role in education, governance, and popular culture The Outer Circle includes those countries where English was spread as a second language through colonization, e.g India, Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines Here English has official status and functions It has already undergone some acculturation and nativization, and there is a creative literature written in the local variety of English, hence these are termed norm-developing countries

Thirdly, the Expanding Circle, with a steady increase in the number of speakers and functional domains, includes nations where English is used primarily as a foreign language The Expanding Circle refers to those nations where English has the status of

a foreign language, such as China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Egypt and Korea These are norm-dependent, or exocentric, generally looking to “StE” for their norms The use

of English in these societies is generally restricted to limited domains such as science and education

Consequently, Kachru’s three concentric circles model of English have been accepted as a standard ontology for defining and categorizing world Englishes into Inner Circle (native), Outer Circle (ESL) and Expanding Circle (EFL) varieties The diffusion of English and the resultant varieties induce cross cultural and cross linguistic universalization of the English language in a cause and effect cycle Kachru (1997) argued that new models for the teaching of English relevant to linguistic input, methodology, norms and identity have been proposed to explain and imply the spread and diffusion of English as a global language diversified in several nativized dialects known as world Englishes

In replacing the original English as a native language (ENL), English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) terminology with the concepts in his model, Kachru emphasizes that English belongs to all who use it; that

“norms and standards should no longer be determined [solely] by Inner Circle/ENL contexts” (Schneider,2003)

It acknowledges a growing pluricentrality (Foley, 1988), hence coinage of the

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new plural term ‘Englishes’ Recently there has been some criticism of Kachru’s model, as it cannot be used as a precise tool for classification For instance, some areas have both Inner Circle and Outer Circle populations, such as South Africa, while the line between Outer and Expanding Circles is not always clear

2.2.1 Terms of varieties of English

The terminology within the literature is highly controversial Some authors prefer the term dialect; others prefer the term variety or variation In this paper the term variety and varieties in the plural is used, because it is less stigmatized As the terminology is so controversial, it is very difficult to find an appropriate definition for the term variety, and impossible to find a universal one Bauer (2002) defines variety

as an academic term used for any kind of language production, whether we are viewing it as being determined by region, by gender, by social class, by age or by our own inimitable individual characteristics

Varieties of English are the different kinds of English used around the world Often these are geographically based The varieties are more or less similar and while most English speakers can understand each other, there are occasional problems A standard variety exists from which other varieties are distinguished British English originating in south-east England is what is regarded as the StE which is promoted in schools and is expected to be used by broadcasters and officials

The status of being the standard arises not from linguistic perfection, but from the social, economic and political context in which it is used This variety is codified

in dictionaries, style books and grammars and hence, people think this variety should

be used in formal settings This leads to the fact that the standard variety is associated with education, higher social and income groups and the greatest prestige (Burridge & Mulder, 1998) StE is one variety of modern English, alongside a wide range of nonstandard varieties StE may be distinguished from non-standard varieties according

to a relatively small number of linguistic features, exemplified in the following incomplete list:

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The house that Bill built The house what/as Bill built

Nobody said anything Nobody said nothing

He ran really quickly He ran real quick

Almost all these differences consist of alternative ways of expressing the same meaning, and in almost every case the differences are linguistically trivial and show no communicative advantage either for standard or for nonstandard For example, the

sentences “He ain't done nothing” and “He hasn't done anything” are different ways

of expressing the same meaning, each of which follows a clear set of grammatical principles It is not the case that non-standard shows worse logic or less care in speaking, any more than this would be true of French

English and French are very different linguistic systems, and similarly, standard and non-standard varieties of English are slightly different linguistic systems

In discussing language variation, it is conventional to distinguish between dialects (varieties that differ in terms of pronunciation, grammar, lexis, semantics) and accents (varieties that differ just in terms of pronunciation)

According to this distinction, StE is a dialect that may be spoken in a range of accents, including Received Pronunciation (RP) and regional accents A distinction may also be made between standard or nonstandard varieties which based on the social and regional background of speakers and registers, associated with particular contexts

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of use, for example, the language of law, education and casual chat between friends There is, however, a relationship between these different dimensions of variation, in that StE is commonly associated with more formal registers such as those

of law and education though it also has a range of casual registers like any other dialect While it is possible to identify some linguistic characteristics of standard and non-standard varieties of English, as in the list above, the relationship between these varieties is more complex than the list suggests:

• While some non-standard features are widespread, for example, “Nobody said nothing” , or “He ran real quick”, many are local so they vary from place to place, for example, “We had us tea”- us for standard our, this found in Yorkshire, Central and

East Lancashire and parts of the East Midlands

• Equally important is the regional variation in StE, with small but recognizable differences even between England/Wales and Scotland for example, standard Scottish

English “That mustn’t be true” meaning the same as StE “That may not be true”

Differences within StE also occur because informal StE is different from formal writing

• Forms such as “between you and I”, which are hard to classify as

either standard or non-standard

• There are also considerable overlaps between varieties because differences between standard and nonstandard varieties are relatively small

• All varieties, including StE, change over time (e.g the older “Have you any children?” is giving way to “Have you got any children?” or “Do you have any children?”)

• Individual speakers vary in the way they use language, and may also shift between varieties for stylistic effect Varieties of language, therefore, do not exist

as discrete, fixed, unified entities, and indeed ‘StE’ may be better regarded linguistically as an idealization Varieties of English is also a widely used term, which emphasizes the subdivisions of the English language

According to McArthur (2003), it is considered a safe term, because it allows language scholars to be less specific about the kind of speech and usage whereas dialect would require more specific social distinctions Furthermore, the term dialect

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fails when English as a world language is discussed It is totally inadequate, for instance, when referring to African-American English and Spanglish, a hybrid of Spanish and English

The reason for this is that the traditional dialect criterion of regionality cannot be applied to these two cases; both ‘Englishes’ are spoken in various parts of the United States and therefore do not refer to just one particular region Researchers have come

up with different terms of referring to the many varieties of English spoken in the world today Braj Kachru introduced the term World Englishes in the 1970s and in

1985 World Englishes became the name of a journal which was founded and is edited by Braj Kachru Kachru points out that the concept of World Englishes includes both native and non-native languages and it belongs equally to everyone who uses it Around the same time Kachru categorized these Englishes according to their uses into three circles: inner, outer and the expanding circle

co-The inner circle includes countries such as Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand, where English is the first language of the people The outer circle includes countries where English is an official language and has an extended range of uses, for instance, in education The expanding circle consists of countries where English is learned as a foreign language Platt, Weber and Ho (1984) introduce another term to refer to different Englishes, which is New Variety This term, as defined by them, suggests that there are somewhat recognizable varieties spoken and written by groups

of people in the world

However, not all speakers of English always speak a New English Schneider (1997) emphasizes that this term is generally used when referring to post-colonial varieties as spoken in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand These New Englishes include, for instance, Philippines English, Singaporean English, Nigerian English and Sri Lankan English

However, Platt, Weber and Ho (1984) remind that it is difficult to define this term and that there are always borderline cases that do not neatly fit into categories According to Gunnel Melchers and Philip Shaw (2003), “the varieties

of English spoken in outer circle countries have been called New Englishes” but the

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term is controversial Singh (1998) and Muwee (2000) argue that it is meaningless, in

so far as no linguistic characteristic is common to all and only New Englishes and all varieties are recreated by children from a mixed pool of features, so all are 'new' in every generation These points are certainly true, and it is important to avoid suggesting that the new varieties are inferior to the old ones Nevertheless, the Englishes of India, Nigeria, and Singapore and many other outer-circle countries do share a number of superficial linguistic characteristics which, taken together, make it convenient to describe them as a group separately from America, British, Australian, New Zealand, and many other varieties

The spread of English can be viewed in terms of the “old Englishes”, the “new Englishes” and English as a foreign language variety Apart from “old Englishes” and English as a foreign language variety, the new Englishes, on the other hand, have two major features, in that English is only one of two or more codes in the linguistic repertoire and that it has acquired an important status in the language of such multilingual nations

Also in functional terms the “new Englishes” have extended their functional range in a variety of social, educational, administrative, and literary domains in India, Malaysia and Singapore would be examples of countries with 'new Englishes’ The definitions of terms given above all define the English language which is used around the world in slightly different ways For instance, world Englishes, the term introduced

by Braj Kachru includes, both native and nonnative varieties, whereas New English emphasizes the post-colonial varieties spoken, for example, in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia For these slight difference in meaning of terms The term “New English” or the plural form, are used when referring to Indian English, Malaysian English and Singaporean English or Standard Indian English, Malaysian English and Singaporean English or to the other varieties of English spoken in Asia or other parts of the world; also, the term “Standard English”, “Original Variety” or “Original Varieties” for English in British and America are used in the thesis These terms are thought to best fit the particular context

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2.2.2 Some general features of English in Asia

Over the past fifty years, the English language has come to play an increasingly important role within the Asian region In societies such as Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, English serves many functions within these societies as a co-official language

in such domains as government, law and education Over recent decades, however, the importance of English has changed even in these societies, as a result of educational, economic and cultural forces linked to globalization Asia is geographically an extremely large area with dozens of different nations Melchers and Shaw (2003) state that there are several hundred languages spoken in South Asia, however, many of them by very small numbers The dominant languages are Indo-Aryan which are related to Hindi and Urdu

in the north, Dravidian languages such as Tamil in the south, and English as an colonial language in most areas Thus, English has a major role in Asia and it is used

ex-in many different areas of life Moreover, as McArthur (2003) notes, Asia is different from other major continents in terms of English speakers, because it has no large population of native English speakers On the other hand, as Qiong (2004) points out, there are 350 million English users in Asia, which more or less adds up to the same number if the population of the United States, Canada and Britain are combined This, therefore, is no small number and should not be overlooked The countries of Asia have a long history with English because several of them have been part of the British Empire and even the United States Furthermore, Kachru (1994) adds that originally the English language was introduced to Asia over two centuries ago It states that English is used to communicate both within a nation and between nations in Asia; English, thus, has become a popular link language between different language groups For instance, people in Southern India prefer English to Hindi in intra national communication In other words, English has become the international and intra national language of the countries in Asia Moreover, McArthur (2003) states that English spoken in Asia is a language in its own right; in other words, it has been thoroughly indigenized According to Kachru (1996), the English language has thus established a position in these countries and developed new models and norms Asia provides an integrated profile of English within the ‘concentric circles’ model of the spread of English This model is said to be more dynamic model than the standard

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version, and allows for all manner of shadings and overlaps among the circles The

‘inner circle’ is represented by Australia and New Zealand, where English functions primarily as a first language The ‘outer circle’ is represented by, for example, India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, where English is used as an institutionalized additional language; and the ‘expanding circle’ is represented by, for example, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea, where English is used primarily as a foreign language All three circles of English present in Asia have certain shared features such as all the varieties are transplanted varieties and these varieties comprise the formal and functional distinctiveness of the various varieties of English By and large the Asian Englishes are separate from one another The term ‘Asian Englishes’ would seem to imply a degree of unity among the varieties of English which it refers to Many of the linguistic features listed below occur in some specific Asian Englishes

2.3 Theory of linguistics

2.3.1 Lexical features

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, the science of language The term

“Lexicology” is composed of two Greek morphemes: lexis meaning “word, phrase” and logos which denotes “learning, a department of knowledge” Thus, the literal meaning of the term Lexicology is the science of the word” The literal meaning, however, gives only a general notion of the aims and the subject matter of this branch

of linguistic science, since all its other branches also take account of words in one way

or another approaching them from different angles Phonetics, for instance, investigating the phonetic structure of language, its system of phonemes and intonation patterns, is concerned with the study of the outer sound form of word Grammar, which is inseparably bound up with the lexicology, is the study of the grammatical structure of language It is concerned with the various means of expressing grammatical relations between words and the patterns after which words are combined into word groups and sentences

Lexicology as a branch of linguistics has its own aims and methods of scientific research, its basic task being a study and systematic description of vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and current use Lexicology is concerned with

it exists at a given time, for instance, at the present time It is special descriptive lexicology that deals with the vocabulary and vocabulary units of a particular language

at a certain time A course in modern English lexicology is therefore a course in special descriptive lexicology, its object of study being the English vocabulary as its exists at the present time

The diachronic approach in term of special lexicology deals with the changes and the development of vocabulary in the course of time It is special historical lexicology that deals with the evolution of the vocabulary units of a language as time goes by An English historical lexicology would be concerned, therefore, with the origin of English vocabulary units, their changes and development, the linguistic and extralinguistic factors modifying their structure, meaning and usage within the history of the English language

Borrowed words (or loan words or borrowing) are words taken over from another language and modified according to the patterns of the receiving language

In many cases, a borrowed words especially one borrowed long ago is practically indistinguishable from a native word without a thorough etymological analysis, The number of borrowings in the vocabulary of a language and the role played by them is determined by the historical development of the nation speaking the language The most effective way of borrowing is direct borrowing form another language as the results of contacts with the people of another country or with their literature But a word may also be borrowed indirectly not form the source language but through another language When analyzing borrowed words one must distinguish between the two terms “source of borrowing” and “origin of borrowing” The first term is applied

to the language from which words was immediately borrowed, the second – to the language to which the word may be ultimately traced

There are many theories about phonological cognition Some theories see it as the result of domain-general mechanisms, such as analogy over a Lexicon Other theories locate it in an encapsulated module that is genetically specified, and has innate propositional content In production, this module takes as its input phonological material from a Lexicon, and refers to syntactic and morphological structure in producing an output, which involves nontrivial transformation In some theories, the output is instructions for articulator movement, which result in speech sounds; in other theories, the output goes to the Phonetic module In perception, a continuous acoustic signal is mapped onto a phonetic representation, which is then mapped onto underlying forms via the Phonological module, which are then matched to lexical entries

Exactly which empirical phenomena phonological cognition is responsible for depends on the theory At one extreme, it accounts for all human speech sound patterns and realization At the other extreme, it is little more than a way of abstracting over speech sounds In the most popular Generative conception, it explains some sound patterns, with other modules (e.g., the Lexicon and Phonetic module) accounting for others There are many types of patterns, with names such as

“assimilation,” “deletion,” and “neutralization”—a great deal of phonological research focuses on determining which patterns there are, which aspects are universal and which are language-particular, and whether/how phonological cognition is responsible for them

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Phonological computation connects with other cognitive structures In the Generative T-model, the phonological module’s input includes morphs of Lexical items along with at least some morphological and syntactic structure; the output is sent

to either a Phonetic module, or directly to the neuro-motor interface, resulting in articulator movement However, other theories propose that these modules’ computation proceeds in parallel, and that there is bidirectional communication between them

The study of phonological cognition is a young science, so many fundamental questions remain to be answered There are currently many different theories, and theoretical diversity over the past few decades has increased rather than consolidated

In addition, new research methods have been developed and older ones have been refined, providing novel sources of evidence Consequently, phonological research is both lively and challenging, and is likely to remain that way for some time to come

2.3.3 Stylistic features

The study of style can be traced back to the literacy scholarships of the Greeks and Romans in the fifth century BC in which rhetoric was the dominant art This discipline was a set of rules and strategies which enables rhetors and orators to speak well, in others word to use language that is fully decorated with all the figures and tropes to bring about changes in the feelings and opinions of the audience That is, it is the way one could be persuasive to audience, influential to the political life or effective

in churches As it was meant for the purpose of impressing or affecting others emotionally, this linguistic activity has acquired rhetoric signification and so, undoubtedly, is viewed as rhetorical stylistics The search for effect upon the hearers may be recognized as the practical functions of language or what Jacobson (1960) has termed later on as the cognitive function, as the emphasis was to arouse certain attitudes and feelings on the audience In this regards Murray (1976: 9) writes: The notion that style is applied ornament had its origin, no doubt, in the tradition of the schools of rhetoric in Europe; and in its place in their teaching the conception was monstrous as it is today For the old professor of rhetoric were exclusively engaged in instructing their pupils how to expound an argument or arrange a pleading

It may be clear by now that ancient practices of language use strive to achieve in

a perfectly deliberate and analyzable fashion (…) the job or persuasion, instruction, ornamentation or dissimulation The organic theory, which holds the view that any alternation in form, will suffer a propositional defect, is dismissed in this tradition Rather they believe that there can be various styles of conveying the same proposition, and so form and content are two separate entities Thus, the tradition of eloquence considerably perpetuated itself and the form and content separation dominated the literacy movement up to the 18th century where the emphasis was on the effective and attractive use of language Adopting Quintillion’s conception of style that custome is the most mistress of language, the study of the 15th and 16th centuries emphasize, beside adhering to the classical grammar, spelling, and rhetorical fabrics: the revival of old English words; and the free use of language which was marked by perspective syntax and word order

2.4 Linguistic features of English in some Asian countries

2.4.1 Linguistic features of English in Malaysia

More than 300 million people in the world speak English and the rest sometimes seem to or are trying to At the same time, English is spoken in8 many different varieties in dependence to the country, as what it is known throughout as the World

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Englishes The British introduced English to Malaysia more than two centuries ago It became the most important language for generations and it is often associated with power and prestige However, in post-British era, when Malaysia became independent

in 1957, English was made the second language in conjunction with the promotion of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language After independence, Bahasa Malaysia became the language of education and administration in Malaysia However, in 2002 the government decided to use English to teach science and mathematics in primary and secondary schools The reason for this change was to take advantage of globalization, but in 2009 it went back to Bahasa Malaysia because of the shortage of teachers who were able to teach in English, and the fear that the students’ command of their first language was at risk English is often used in business and workplace Then, in the 1990s, spurred by the government's objective to push the nation into globalization, the importance of English increased As the second language of the country, English is used by Malaysians in various

domains such as administration, education, business and communication The multi-ethnicity of Malaysian citizens contributes to the unique characteristics of English as spoken by Malaysians, and this is known as Malaysian English To find something more about Malaysian English and the features of the language, first thing noted should be that there are too few scientific papers on this particular variety of English, especially considering the fact that the Outer Circle varieties constantly grow

in the number of speakers as well as linguistically As Siew Imm (2009) proposes, “the influences of the Malay language contribute to some of the most remarkable characteristics of Malaysian English today”, and these features are the ones to distinguish this variety of English from other native and nonnative varieties Because

of this linguistic acculturation, a number of linguists differentiate three Malaysian English sociolects, these primarily being called “Acrolect”, “Mesolect” and “Basilect” (Baskaran, 1987)

2.4.2 Linguistic features of English in Singapore

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Singapore English refers to varieties of the English language spoken in Singapore, of which there are two main forms – Standard Singapore English (StSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (better known as

Singlish) Singapore English can be classified into Standard Singapore English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) The language consists of three sociolects, they are Acrolect, Mesolect, and Basilect Both Acrolect and Mesolect are regarded as Singapore English, while Basilect is considered as Singlish

- Acrolect; there is no significant and consistent difference from the features of Standard British English;

- Mesolect; it has some features distinct from St AmE;

- Basilect (Singlish) For more educated Singaporeans with a higher level of prestige, they tend to speak the Standard Singapore English (the Acrolect) On the other hand, and typically in less prestigious circles, Singaporeans who are not fluent in Standard English speak Singlish (the Basilect) The constant use of both St SgE and Singlish has resulted in the gradual emergence of a Mesolect, an intermediate form of Singapore English, between formal and informal Singapore English Although Standard Singapore English is mainly influenced by British English and, recently, American English, there are other languages that also contribute to its use on a regular basis The majority of Singaporeans speak more than one language, with many speaking three to four Most Singaporean kids are brought up bilingual They are introduced to Malay, Chinese, Tamil, or Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) as their native languages, depending on their families' ethnic backgrounds and/or socioeconomic status They also acquire those languages from interacting with friends

in school and other places

Naturally, the presence of other languages in Singapore has influenced Singapore English, something particularly apparent in Singlish

2.4.3 Cultural characteristics of Malaysia and Singapore

2.4.3.1 Cultural characteristics of Malaysia

Malaysia is a multi–ethnic, multicultural, and multilingual society, and the many ethnic groups in Malaysia maintain separate cultural identities The society of

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Malaysia has been described as "Asia in miniature".The original culture of the area stemmed from its indigenous tribes, along with the Malays who moved there in ancient times Substantial influence exists from the Chinese and Indian cultures, dating back to when trade with those countries began in the area Other cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, and British The structure of the government, along with the racial balance of power caused by the idea of a social contract, has resulted in little incentive for the cultural assimilation of ethnic minorities

in Malaya and Malaysia The government has historically made little distinction between "Malay culture" and "Malaysian culture"

The Malays, who account for over half the Malaysian population, play a dominant role politically and are included in a grouping identified as bumiputra Their native language, Bahasa Malaysia, is the national language of the country By definition of the Malaysian constitution, all Malays are Muslims The Orang Asal, the earliest inhabitants of Malaya, formed only 0.5 percent of the total population in Malaysia in 2000, but represented a majority in East Malaysia In Sarawak, most of the non-Muslim indigenous groups are classified as Dayaks, and they constitute about

40 percent of the population in the state Many tribes have converted to Christianity The 140,000 Orang Asli, or aboriginal peoples, comprise a number of different ethnic communities living in peninsular Malaysia

The Chinese have been settling in Malaysia for many centuries, and form the largest ethnic group The first Chinese to settle in the Straits Settlements, primarily in and around Malacca, gradually adopted elements of Malaysian culture and intermarried with the

second-Malaysian community and with this, a new ethnic group called emerged, the Peranakan

("Straits Chinese") These Chinese have adopted Malay traditions while maintaining elements of Chinese culture such as their largely Buddhist and Taoist religion The more common Chinese varieties spoken in Peninsular Malaysia are Cantonese, Mandarin,

Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, and Fuzhou

The Indian community in Malaysia is the smallest of the three main ethnic groups, accounting for about 10 percent of the country's population They speak a variety of South Asian languages.[1] Tamils, Malayalees, and Telugu people make up

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over 85 percent of the people of Indian origin in the country Indian immigrants to Malaysia brought with them the Hindu and Sikh cultures This included temples and Gurdwaras, cuisine, and clothing Hindu tradition remains strong in the Indian community of Malaysia A community of Indians who have adopted Malay cultural practices also exists in Malacca Though they remain Hindu, the Chitties speak Bahasa Malaysia and dress and act as Malays

Some Eurasians of mixed European and Malay descent live in Malaysia A small community in Malacca are descendants of former Portuguese colonists who married Malay women While they have adopted Malay culture, they speak their own language and are Catholics

Each ethnic group has its own underlying culture that separates it from the others, and they have achieved different levels of integration The Chinese have integrated with Malay culture in a number of areas, including parts of Terengganu, and they form Malayanised groups such as the Baba Chinese in Malacca and the Sino-Kadazan of Sabah Their years under combined British rule brought some joint sense

of identity to all the ethnic groups, with English ideas and ideals providing some unifying features A joint Malaysian culture can be seen in the symbiosis of the cultures of the people within it

2.4.3.2 Cultural characteristics of Singapore

Singapore is an immigrant country; ethnic groups are mainly composed of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and European Asian, so there are rich cultural diversities and a variety of religious believes, and which are fully respected and have a good development We can find that from Singapore national holiday, such as the Chinese lunar New Year, Christian Christmas day and Good Friday, the Vesak Day of Buddhism and Islam Lasser Bairam and Singapore National Day, all of which are ruled to be statutory holidays

Singlish is spoken in Singapore, mainly affected by British English, but recently the affection of American English has become more and more big A lot of vocabulary and grammar are from Fujian Dialect, Mandarin and Malay, which has a characteristic

of Creole, and pronunciation has their own characteristics Simple to say, Singapore

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English consist of English words, mixed grammar, Chinese tone and intonation as the main body Note that Singlish is not the official language in Singapore and they use British English in formal occasions

Singapore is the world’s fourth largest international financial center and also one

of the important services and shipping centers in Asia The same as all the big cities, the local people’s life race is very fast, which can be reflected from various aspects, such as the pedestrians in a hurry on the road, the fast Singlish, the clerk having three meals at the food court, even abbreviations which is created also to a faster pace

“Kiasu” from Hokkien, have a meaning of afraid of losing It also refers to the behavior of loving to take some petty gain because of being afraid of losing Later other ethnic groups in Singapore also grasp the essence of the “Kiasu”, so it is carried forward and become popular on the island, even extending to a noun, a adjectives, a verb, and even an interjection, which has become a personality feature of Singaporean For example, “Kiasu” parents refer to those who let the children go to cram school in order to improve the child’s academic performance It is the same for Chinese all over the world

Singapore people particularly like using acronyms Roads, buildings, or government agencies, financial institutions, or the name of the political parties, social organizations, even the dirty words all use abbreviations, so it’s not surprising names use acronyms You must have certain knowledge of abbreviations to not get lost, such

as the MRT – the Mass Rapid Trans, MOE – the ministry of education, the SBS – Singapore bus service, GST – goods and services tax

2.6 Summary

This chapter has established the framework of the theoretical background from which the linguistic features of varieties of English in general, varieties of English in Asian countries in particular and other related concepts to the matter of this thesis have been introduced The World Englishes are rapidly changing worldwide The use of English in the Outer and Expanding Circle societies continues its rapid spread, while

at the same time new patterns of language contact and variety differentiation emerge The different varieties range from English in the Inner circle societies such