International Globish popularity proves one thing: Yes, We Can
By Mark Egan |
May 24, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FROM Barack Obama's simple "Yes We Can" United States presidential campaign slogan to countless Chinese people sending text messages using English letters, Globish is fast becoming the dominant language of this century.
At least that's according to British author Robert McCrum in his new book "Globish: How the English Language Became the World's Language," which expounds on the mishmash of English and other tongues that connects people from Beijing to New York.
McCrum takes the term Globish from Jean-Paul Nerriere, who coined the word in 1995 and has written books on the blunt new form of English that uses about 1,500 words, employs short sentences with simple syntax devoid of idioms and has lots of gesticulations to make up for the lack of nuanced language.
"In the 19th century you had British English, which was international, in the 20th century, American English became the lingua franca," McCrum told Reuters. "Now there is a third phase in the 21st century - the Globish century."
In Globish you say "strange," not eerie, and avoid all jokes, humor and colorful expressions likely to be misunderstood. It is a constantly evolving patois that develops from practical use and includes words and sounds from other languages.
McCrum said business people looking for opportunities in places like China and India should learn Globish because even native English speakers would be at a disadvantage without it.
Protesters involved
People who seek an understanding of Globish need look no further than Obama, how he was raised and how the language he uses transcends borders, according to McCrum.
"He is a classic case; raised (by a mother from) Kansas, lives in Hawaii and Indonesia and of Kenyan stock. And when he speaks ... it requires very little adaptation to make it universally intelligible," he said. "His slogan 'Yes We Can' works anywhere in the world."
McCrum said Japanese language schools used Obama's speeches to teach English. Other examples of Globish, a sort of English as a foreign language on a grand scale, include the call and response teaching of "Crazy English" in China, and the adoption of English slogans by media-savvy protesters everywhere.
McCrum said he started the book after London protests at the Danish Embassy in 2005 during uproar over a newspaper's cartoon of Mohammed, when he saw one Arab protester holding a placard saying "Freedom of Expression, Go to Hell!!"
"This is surreal. Here are people using our Anglo-American liberal tradition to attack the thing which is legitimating their protest. I thought this is the point where the English language and Globish has gone mad," he said.
The use of English placards to make local issues global through exposure on international networks such as BBC and CNN has marked recent political protests in Iran and protests in Greece over the economic crisis there.
McCrum said English became the basis for the world's communication partly because it had long been a mixed language, taking something from each invasion and occupation - Latin from the Romans, a touch of French and German and just a tincture of Swedish.
At least that's according to British author Robert McCrum in his new book "Globish: How the English Language Became the World's Language," which expounds on the mishmash of English and other tongues that connects people from Beijing to New York.
McCrum takes the term Globish from Jean-Paul Nerriere, who coined the word in 1995 and has written books on the blunt new form of English that uses about 1,500 words, employs short sentences with simple syntax devoid of idioms and has lots of gesticulations to make up for the lack of nuanced language.
"In the 19th century you had British English, which was international, in the 20th century, American English became the lingua franca," McCrum told Reuters. "Now there is a third phase in the 21st century - the Globish century."
In Globish you say "strange," not eerie, and avoid all jokes, humor and colorful expressions likely to be misunderstood. It is a constantly evolving patois that develops from practical use and includes words and sounds from other languages.
McCrum said business people looking for opportunities in places like China and India should learn Globish because even native English speakers would be at a disadvantage without it.
Protesters involved
People who seek an understanding of Globish need look no further than Obama, how he was raised and how the language he uses transcends borders, according to McCrum.
"He is a classic case; raised (by a mother from) Kansas, lives in Hawaii and Indonesia and of Kenyan stock. And when he speaks ... it requires very little adaptation to make it universally intelligible," he said. "His slogan 'Yes We Can' works anywhere in the world."
McCrum said Japanese language schools used Obama's speeches to teach English. Other examples of Globish, a sort of English as a foreign language on a grand scale, include the call and response teaching of "Crazy English" in China, and the adoption of English slogans by media-savvy protesters everywhere.
McCrum said he started the book after London protests at the Danish Embassy in 2005 during uproar over a newspaper's cartoon of Mohammed, when he saw one Arab protester holding a placard saying "Freedom of Expression, Go to Hell!!"
"This is surreal. Here are people using our Anglo-American liberal tradition to attack the thing which is legitimating their protest. I thought this is the point where the English language and Globish has gone mad," he said.
The use of English placards to make local issues global through exposure on international networks such as BBC and CNN has marked recent political protests in Iran and protests in Greece over the economic crisis there.
McCrum said English became the basis for the world's communication partly because it had long been a mixed language, taking something from each invasion and occupation - Latin from the Romans, a touch of French and German and just a tincture of Swedish.
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