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English as an Asian language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2003

Tom McArthur
Tom McArthur
Affiliation:
Head of English at Cathedral School in Bombay/Mumbai, India, Associate Professor of English as a Second Language at the Université du Québec in Canada, a Fellow at the University of Exeter (teaching lexicography), a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and a Distinguished Visiting Professor of English in the College of Languages and Cultures of Xiamen University, Fujian, China.
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This article discusses the current role of English not only as a world but as an Asian language. Beginning with a consideration of the views of Graddol (1997) on the role of English in Asia, especially in relation to Chinese, it discusses the situation of English in the various parts of the continent: Central, West, South, and East, noting that the language plays a distinct role in each. It also notes the vast and increasing influence of the language despite the fewness of its native speakers in the world's largest continent, drawing attention to the disproportionate influence of three small indigenous communities of more or less native-speakers: the Anglo-Indians, the East Indians, and many Filipinos. It then considers a range of countries throughout the continent, concluding with comments on Singapore and East Asia, and the vast numbers of users of English in China and India alone.

Type
Original Article
Information
English Today , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , April 2003 , pp. 19 - 22
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press