Standard Issue Of English Language: Reflection From Singapore English

Should we continue to uphold the native English standards when more people in the world do not necessarily conform to them when they are using English? The emerging new Englishes with their distinctive features, established identities, and a speaking population of no less than the so-called native English call for a rethinking of the adoption of English language standard, especially for the non-native English learners. This thesis makes an attempt to analyze the present situation of English use, and explore the English language utilization norms and the implications of the emerging new Englishes for English classrooms in Chinese higher education.The first chapter presents with the situation of English language today and the debate concerning the standard of it. Of the two articulate voices, one is for an exonormative native standard, which is believed by its advocates able to increase learners' social and geographical mobility and further their career prospects. However, the opposite view shows an adequate respect and tolerance to the new Englishes and hence is in favor of an endonormative standard for the ESL learners.The second chapter takes Singapore English as an example to investigate its distinctive features, its status in the country, its wide use and Singaporean's adoption as far as standard of English is concerned. The study indicates that English in Singapore has developed into an important variety with its unique features both linguistically and culturally speaking, and an endonormative standard is actually adopted by the Singaporeans.Following it up in the third chapter is a tentative attempt at the English language utilization norms. A dynamic continuum with one end of the maximum acceptability and the other minimum acceptability is suggested by the writer to decide whether an English variety is acceptable or not. A concerted effort of the variety's learnability, usefulness, appropriateness, intelligibility and power will determine the point of it on the continuum.The last chapter explores the implications of the emerging new Englishes and maintains that a pragmatic flexible choice should be advocated for English teaching and learning in China, i.e. adopting a wide enough spectrum on the norm continuum in terms ofreceiving and a much narrower span closing to the upper end of the continuum (i.e. maximal acceptability) to achieve a wider and better communication in terms of use. Meanwhile, curriculum in Chinese higher education is to be tailored so that students can raise adequate awareness and develop necessary knowledge and skills as far as new Englishes are concerned. The methods and materials in English classrooms are yet to catch up with the new challenges that new Englishes provide. Efforts should also be made in assessment to minimize and eliminate the negative effect imposed by native standards. All these boil down to a calling for the English teachers' further improvement so as to gain a professionally appropriate level of knowledge about new Englishes.