Varieties Of English: From The Perspective Of World Englishes

In the late 20th century, the continued world-wide diffusion of English has consolidated its status as an international lingua franc and produced different varieties of English. This makes the panorama of English in the world more diversified than ever, giving rise to the discussion about the nativization and variation of English in different parts of the world, which partly focus on the questions like"With the growth of multiple nativized English varieties around the world, is there or should there be a universal standard of English? If there is, which variety is to be considered as Standard English while others are not?"There has long been a debate over this issue between"sole-standard"and"poly-standard", which are respectively represented by Quirk and Kachru. Quirk attaches great importance to Standard English, claiming that it is the only medium for English teaching and all varieties divergent from Standard English are incorrect or non-standard. Thus, he proposes an exonormative standard for non-native speakers of English. Kachru rebuts Quirk's view by putting forward Three Concentric Circles. In his view, all varieties of English outside the Inner Circle should be recognized and accepted as independent varieties with local norms. Therefore, the standard for non-native speakers should be endonormative.Based on World Englishes Theory, this thesis analyzes the historical development and variation of Standard English in three circles in the process of globalization, especially the issue of the standard of English. Some regional varieties (mostly national varieties in this thesis) of English have been affected by the indigenous language, especially in ENL and ESL contexts, and as some features of these varieties are being institutionalized in their local contexts, the standard of English should be changed to codify the local use of the language. Therefore, the standard of the English varies dynamically with the growth of diversified varieties in different historical, linguistic, social and cultural backgrounds. In Inner Circle countries, a standard national variety of English has been fully developed and widely accepted by natives. In the Outer and Expanding Circle countries, English used by local people exists in the form of a continuum, on which the Standard English only serves as a reference point and coexists with a large number of intermediate sub-varieties. The writer analyzes the history, position, linguistic features, functions and standardization of English in America, India and China, which respectively represent one of the Three Concentric Circles, displaying the diversity of Standard English in both native and non-native countries and the dynamic existence of the standard of English.To take a step further, the writer explores Standard International English as a tool of international communication and its implications for EFL teaching, proposing that we should be more tolerant with all kinds of varieties from a World Englishes perspective, thus know more about various standard varieties of different countries. Following the trend of World Englishes development and for the purpose of international communication, we are supposed to make corresponding adjustments in terms of syllabus design, teaching methodology and teacher training in English teaching according to the national actual conditions.The previous researches concerning the issue of standard of English focus much attention on the conflicts between sole-standard and poly-standards, native standard and local norms. This thesis is intended to demonstrate that these conflicts are not incompatible in that all varieties of English, so-called standard or non-standard, can coexist on a continuum and cooperate for the purpose of intranational and international communication. In this sense, it gives us a new and further understanding of the World Englishes.