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The two authors conducted a small empirical study to attempt to find support for − or evidence against − the view that international tests of English language proficiency are unfair to speakers of non-standards forms of English, since these tests privilege standard forms. We explore the question of whose norms should be imposed in these tests, and what the consequences for test-takers are if the norm imposed by the test is not the “normal” variety accepted in their own society. Data used for the study are written texts by English learners from six language backgrounds, scored by raters from their own language backgrounds as well as by native American English raters. Interesting patterns emerge, but we conclude that the complexity of the variables involved, the small n-size, and the inherent unreliability of scoring productive samples prevent any definitive claims being made. 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Singapore is unique in that it has not only embraced English as one of its official languages, but has made the language of its colonizers the de facto working language of the nation and the sole medium of instruction in all its schools, while assigning its other three official languages, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, an L2 status in the school curriculum. With the use of English institutionalized in almost all domains of life, present- day Singaporeans grow up as ‘English-knowing’ bilinguals, acquiring English in the process of its use and interaction in school, in the playground, in the workplace, and increasingly in the home as well, making them native speakers of their variety of English. This raises interesting questions with regard to the ownership and authority of Singaporean speakers, and as to their legitimacy as mother-tongue speakers of the language. Drawing on Higgins' (2003) study on speakers' orientations towards English norms of Inner and Outer Circle countries, we examined Singaporean speakers' degree of ownership of their English norms along the dimensions of age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class. In this paper we discuss some data from this ongoing study relating specifically to the language use of Singapore's Indian community, with a focus on how they positioned themselves in the process of articulating their orientations to English norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the fact that Nigerian Pidgin (NP) is probably the language with the highest population of users in Nigeria, it does not enjoy official recognition and is excluded from the education system. It lacks prestige because it is seen by many Nigerians as a “bad” form of English and associated with a socially deprived set of people. This paper explores the possibility of empowering NP (and its speakers) by raising the value of the language through status planning, especially in the education system. On the way to realising this goal, it analyses the attitudes of 200 educated Nigerians towards its use as well as towards steps aimed at empowering it. The results show that, although there is no consensus as to whether NP should be granted official status, a large majority of respondents did not favour its use in education. The study highlights three major problems associated with the promotion of NP: (1) lack of economic value, (2) perceived effects on the local languages, and (3) the effect of the use of NP on English language proficiency. The study discovers that empowering 1 NP is a challenge, which will be very difficult to overcome in the near future, and it suggests the way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was an account of the frequency of English elements in Macedonian commercial naming. Questions of the extent and creativity of English name use in relation to business types and Macedonian cities guided the research. The data were 9,548 entries from the online version of the Macedonian Yellow Pages. Results suggest English names were significantly more likely to be found in the capital than in all the other cities in Macedonia, and business enterprises related to leisure/entertainment/media. Orthographic, formative, and semantic types of creativity were identified in the processes of transliteration, word/phrase formation, and style. English is the most dominant foreign language used in commercial names because of its associations with globalization and modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions about intranational uses of English tend to follow the predominant theme of international uses, namely communication between people who do not have the same native language (L1). But how often do compatriots who share an L1 speak L2 English with each other? In other words, how many of a country's bilinguals are also colinguals? If citizens are not speaking English with each other, does it make sense for their educators, literati, or politicians to claim that they have their own national variety? Is spoken discourse the prime mover that generates independent canons? That is, does abundance or lack of speech interaction in intranational contexts act as a touchstone for separating norm-providing varieties (e.g. Indian English) from norm-dependent varieties (e.g. so-called “Japanese English”)? These questions serve to reinforce the tripartite classification of Kachru's model, with a focus on the similarities between the Inner and Outer Circles, counterbalancing the tendency to combine the Outer and Expanding Circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on a paper written by Martin Schell which suggests that a post-Kachruvian framework for coming to terms with the emergency of Outer Circle speech communities as norm-providing as opposed to norm-dependent. He adds that Schell directs their attention to an area of inquiry which has been overlooked for far too long when studying the development of the varieties in the Expanding Circle.

The author comments on the paper written by Martin Schell on the study of the english language and colingualism. She says that Schell's paper remains a proposal, since it relies on the author's anecdotes and personal observations of limited situations and scenarios. He says that Schell's colingualism is a useful addition to the terms needed to discuss world Englishes situations.