One particular construct in the Kachruvian paradigm that has been both influential and controversial has been the modeling of English worldwide in terms of the "Three Circles of English" (the "Inner," "Outer," and "Expanding" Circles).
The Three Circles model was first published by Kachru out of a conference held for the fiftieth anniversary of the British Council in 1985. This model was developed as a way to group the varieties of English around the world. Kachru (1985), in his model, portrays the spread of English in terms of three circles that represent "the type of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages" (p. 12). World Englishes are divided in Kachru’s model into three concentric circles: inner circle, outer circle, and expanding circle.
The Three Circles model was first published by Kachru out of a conference held for the fiftieth anniversary of the British Council in 1985. This model was developed as a way to group the varieties of English around the world. Kachru (1985), in his model, portrays the spread of English in terms of three circles that represent "the type of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages" (p. 12). World Englishes are divided in Kachru’s model into three concentric circles: inner circle, outer circle, and expanding circle.
- The inner circle is made up of countries, such as the USA, UK, and Canada, where English, spoken as a native language, is said to be ‘norm providing’.·
- The outer circle is made up of countries, such as India, Nigeria, and Malaysia, where English, spoken as a second language, is said to be ‘norm developing’.
- The expanding circle is made up of countries, such as China, Israel, and Taiwan, where English, spoken as a foreign language, is said to be ‘norm dependent’.
As I have mentioned before, the varieties of English –Englishes and English based Creoles- spoken in the Caribbean date back to the seventeenth Century, specifically to 1655 in the case of Jamaica. In Jamaica, English was introduced to the country through colonization, and the county is still tied to the colonizer linguistically and culturally. A first consideration of the linguistic situation in Jamaica would categorize the country within the outer circle, being a former colony; while a closer look would classify the country within the inner circle, since English is used by many Jamaicans as a first or native language. This proves why Kachru deliberately left out Jamaica from his model.
According to Bolton(2006), The world Englishes paradigm is not static, and neither are the rapidly changing realities of language use worldwide. The use of English in Outer and Expanding-Circle societies continues its rapid spread, while at the same time new patterns of language contact and variety differentiation emerge. (p. 14)
According to Barber, Beal ,and Shaw (2009), “In Jamaica, an English-based creole exists alongside Standard English, and their mutual influence during the past three centuries has led to a whole spectrum of usage, a ‘postcreole continuum’ ”(p. 245). Most speakers can move as they wish towards both ends of the continuum depending on the context. Educated speakers or those of higher economic status tend to use the standard end of the spectrum –acrolectal- to show their status, while the basilectal end –less standard form- can be used to show ethnic identity or group membership or just to covey a certain amount of sincerity. The intermediate varieties –mesolects- found in the continuum are considered dialects of English; as opposed to the acrolects representing Standard Jamaican English, and the basilects representing creole.
Languages in Jamaica |
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"English is the official language in Jamaica as in all the anglophone Caribbean islands. It is the linguistic badge, which one wears when one wants to identify with a certain level of sophistication, of linguistic competence, and of having ‘arrived’ in a highly stratified society" (Pollard, 1998, p. 9).
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“Jamaican Creole, and English-related Creole is the language of the people. It is the language they use in day-to-day relaxed situations. It is the language Jamaicans of all classes turn to when they are away from home and feel the need to establish their identities” (Pollard, 1998, p. 9).
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