Eurocentric Views of Universal Languages from 1605 to 1828

Itinerario ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-115
Author(s):  
David Mikosz
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
North American ◽  
English Language ◽  
Francis Bacon ◽  
International Language ◽  
Universal Language ◽  
European Tradition ◽  
Language Study ◽  
Noah Webster

This paper will examine how a group of theorists in the European tradition of language study was influenced by non-European and intra-European comparisons of language. These theorists were primarily based in Great Britain, although North American perspectives will also be considered. I shall trace this tradition of understanding from Francis Bacon to the American lexicographer Noah Webster. This way of considering language was initially a tool in the attempt to create a universal language that would enable Europeans to discuss and explain the new worlds then being explored. The context of Europe, however, proved significant in changing this outward looking view, resulting in an attempt to vernacularize the concept of a universal language and to make the English language an international language of discovery.

Word Wars

2021 ◽  
pp. 219-230
Author(s):  
Ralph Keyes
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
English Language ◽  
New World ◽  
Daniel Defoe ◽  
Jonathan Swift ◽  
John Adams ◽  
New Words ◽  
Mother Country ◽  
Noah Webster ◽  
The Many

Pitched battles have long been fought between neology advocates and those who think we have enough words already. Centuries ago language purists such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift railed against the many new words they thought were defiling the English language. Britons and Americans subsequently squabbled fiercely over Americanisms, the neologisms that settlers began to create soon after they arrived in the New World (e.g., foothill, skunk, eel grass). Jefferson’s coinage belittle raised particular hackles in the mother country. Jefferson – a self- proclaimed “friend to neology” – joined John Adams, Noah Webster and others in defending the coinage-rich American version of English that they thought was integral to establishing a sense of independence from the mother country. Guardians of the King’s English in Great Britain considered this attitude impudent. Protecting their national franchise and sense of ethnic privilege proved to be integral to that guardianship.

English as an International Language in Non-Native Settings in an Era of Globalization

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masamichi Sasaki ◽  
Tatsuzo Suzuki ◽  
Masato Yoneda
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
English Only ◽  
International Language ◽  
Language Study ◽  
The Future ◽  
National Attitudes ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Cross National

AbstractLanguage is an unquestionable prerequisite for human communication. As such the study of language is intrinsic to sociology. This paper explores briefly the importance of language study to sociology. The apparent dominance of English as the international language is discussed in some detail. The paper's principal focus is to examine cross-national attitudes about English as the international language of non-English language speaking peoples and of peoples who speak English only as a foreign language. Extensive empirical findings about these attitudes are examined in an effort to predict the future direction of the spread of English as international language. Though many of the findings suggest extraordinary levels of ambivalence about English as international language, the results suggest many opportunities for further study.

Scholarly Publishing in Western Europe and Great Britain

1975 ◽  
Vol 421 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Russak
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
English Language ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Scientific Communication ◽  
World Market ◽  
Universal Language ◽  
Postwar Europe

Postwar Europe has produced a phenomenon of special interest to scholars and scientists: the use of English as the universal language of scientific communication. In the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany, scholarly books and journals are published in English. Huge publishing conglomerates have proliferated, all based on the English language. This medium for presenting knowledge and ideas to a world market has been an essential element of the unprecedented growth of scientific knowledge in our generation. Two other modern elements, the computer and the photocopying machine, have contributed to this growth. Now the computer and the photocopier threaten to destroy copyright—the essential basis for successful publishing— and are forcing traditional scholarly media such as monographs, proceedings publications and specialized journals out of business. Consideration is given to the possible end result that the computer and the photocopier may stifle the traditional forms of communication upon which the scientific community depends. Europe is the first arena in which an accommodation will be reached if the results of scholarship are to be unimpeded.

scholarly journals Czy możliwa jest sprawiedliwość językowa?

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Walter Żelazny
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
First Principle ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
International Language ◽  
Globalizing World ◽  
The University

The author considers the question of who has power in the globalizing world over the “international” language, what benefits do they derive from that, who profits, who loses? According to the calculations of François Grin of the University of Geneva, because of the domination of the English language in the European Union, Great Britain gains annually 17 milliard euros. For comparison, the whole budget for higher education in Poland in 2009 was 15 milliard zloties, that is one quarter of that sum. Linguistic relationships, including those in Europe are a clear example of injustice as it favours native English speakers. As a result, are language and culture categories of social justice, the first principle of a modern state? Why not consider the development of a type of Esperanto?

scholarly journals EAP Learners' Perceptions towards the Use of Tasks in Their Books: Focusing on Needs Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 268
Author(s):  
Maryam Cheraghi Shehni
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
International Language ◽  
Universal Language

The development of English as a universal language led to the emergence of a new field in English language teaching which is called English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Moreover, English is recently considered as an international language, and with advancements in technology, accordingly, there is a widespread growth in demand for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses fluctuating in teaching length and mode. The present study, thus, attempts to consider the EAP Learners' Perceptions towards the use of tasks taught in universities as EAP courses for students and what English skills and abilities are required from them on the job.

More Christian Apocrypha

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Tony Burke
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
North American ◽  
English Language ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time ◽  
Medieval Christianity

Scholars interested in the Christian Apocrypha (CA) typically appeal to CA collections when in need of primary sources. But many of these collections limit themselves to material believed to have been written within the first to fourth centuries CE. As a result a large amount of non-canonical Christian texts important for the study of ancient and medieval Christianity have been neglected. The More Christian Apocrypha Project will address this neglect by providing a collection of new editions (some for the first time) of these texts for English readers. The project is inspired by the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project headed by Richard Bauckham and Jim Davila from the University of Edinburgh. Like the MOTP, the MCAP is envisioned as a supplement to an earlier collection of texts—in this case J. K. Elliott’s The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford 1991), the most recent English-language CA collection (but now almost two decades old). The texts to be included are either absent in Elliott or require significant revision. Many of the texts have scarcely been examined in over a century and are in dire need of new examination. One of the goals of the project is to spotlight the abilities and achievements of English (i.e., British and North American) scholars of the CA, so that English readers have access to material that has achieved some exposure in French, German, and Italian collections.

Repainting the Little Red Schoolhouse

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Rodden
Keyword(s):  
Educational Reform ◽  
English Language ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
German Education ◽  
Language Study ◽  
History Of

This is the first English-language study of GDR education and the first book, in any language, to trace the history of Eastern German education from 1945 through the 1990s. Rodden fully relates the GDR's attempt to create a new Marxist nation by means of educational reform, and looks not only at the changing institution of education but at something the Germans call Bildung--the formation of character and the cultivation of body and spirit. The sociology of nation-building is also addressed.

CLT using CEFR and EIL in Southeast Asia and East Asia in the English language classroom

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822199807
Author(s):  
Joseph Foley
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
World Language ◽  
International Language ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
English Proficiency Index

This article discusses language teaching and the move from a predominantly psycholinguistic to a more sociolinguistic approach through Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), the Common European Framework of Reference Languages (CEFR) and English as an International Language (EIL). The context is four plurilingual and pluricultural societies in Southeast Asia and East Asia, (Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and China). These countries were chosen as they had similarities in the development of CEFR and consequently there were common factors that needed to be addressed in implementing CEFR. According to the English Proficiency Index (2020) a number of countries in the region have been described as being in the category of low or very low with regard to proficiency. To help improve such a situation, given the need for economic development, CEFR was introduced by various Ministries of Education in addition to the already existing official CLT syllabuses. English as an international language has also been widely proposed by a number of researchers, in terms of making teachers, students and educators aware of English as a world language as well as developing an attitudinal change with regard to ‘standard’ English. This article suggests that the basic principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) can be best applied through scaffolding using CEFR and EIL given the reality of teaching in relatively low English language proficiency contexts.

Sa'adyah Gaon

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Brody
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Jewish Culture ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Language Study ◽  
Characteristic Features

Sa'adyah Gaon was an outstanding tenth-century Jewish thinker — a prominent rabbi, philosopher, and exegete. He was a pioneer in the fields in which he toiled, and was an inspiration and basis for later Jewish writing in all these areas. The last major English-language study of his work was published in 1921, long before Genizah research changed the understanding of the time in which he lived. This work, covering Sa'adyah's biography and his main areas of creativity in an accessible way, is a reassessment of an outstanding figure. The opening chapter, on the geonic period that formed the background to Sa'adyah's life, is followed by an overview that brings out the revolutionary aspects of his work and the characteristic features of his writings. Subsequent chapters consider his philosophical works; his Bible commentaries; his pioneering linguistic work; his poetry; his halakhic activity; and his activity as a polemicist, notably against the Karaites. An epilogue sums up his importance in medieval Jewish culture. Particularly valuable features of the book are the copious quotations from Sa'adyah's works, which facilitate familiarity with his style as well as his ideas; the clarity in presenting complex and difficult concepts; the constant assessment of his relationship to his predecessors in his various fields of study and his own unique contributions to each field; and the contextualization of his contribution within the political, cultural, and religious climate of his times so that both revolutionary and conservative elements in his thought can be identified and evaluated.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the intensive English language teaching programme for the fifth grade according to teachers’ views

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 106-124
Author(s):  
Yoones Tavoosy
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Intensive English ◽  
Teaching Programme ◽  
Universal Language ◽  
Intensive Course

With the increase in international exchange of information, language policies of countries have focused especially on the teaching and learning of English, the universal language of communication. The aim of the study is to evaluate the intensive English language teaching programme for the fifth grade according to the teachers’ views. The research is conducted in the phenomenological pattern, one of the qualitative research methods. In the 2018–2019 academic year, data were collected by interviewing with 26 volunteer English teachers in 7 different districts of İstanbul. Descriptive and content analysis methods were used for analysing the data. From the results, most of the teachers generally have expressed positive opinions about the intensive English language course for the fifth grade and its curriculum. This paper recommends that the content should be eased by reducing the number of unit numbers and grammar subjects in the curriculum.   Keywords: Intensive course, English language, teaching programme, programme evaluation, teachers’ views, the fifth grade.

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