World-Wide Demand For English Language

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30103, 10 April 1963, Page 8

World-Wide Demand For English Language

(From th« London Conespondant of "TM Press"]

LONDON, March 29. The future of the English language overseas was a subject of direct practical concern to the British Council as the Govern* ment’s chosen instrument for English*language teaching abroad, said the counciFs director-general (Sir Paul Smker) in an address recently to the Royal Commonwealth Society in London.

“We in the British Council are certain that this country has been presented with an opportunity on a scale perhaps unique in history, the opportunity presented by the world-wide demand tor the English language- The opportunity is of a double kind: on the one hand it offers long-term advantages, both political and commercial, to the British pemrle; on the Other hand, as English is in many countries the key to higher education, it provides us with an unequalled opportunity to help forward the development of the developing countries,” he said. After a survey of five of the main "languages of the world—Chinese, Russian, Spanish, French and English —Sir Paul Sinker said: “One immediately picks out French and English as the two main languages that are exported. They have a ratio of something like one-to-one of outside users to native users. But between the two the export of English in absolute terms is something like five times that of French. Commonwealth

“I think on the whole we can say that in the Commonwealth, English is used as a second language wherever it is not the first language, and that outside the Commonwealth, apart, of course, from the United States of America, it is used as a foreign language, though for certain purposes it is being used as a second language and that kind of use is perhaps increasing. “There are some significant differences between the French and the Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards the export of their respective languages. To the French, the French language has always been not only a language but. even more important, the main vehicle by which their civilisation is carried abroad. In the past I think we too have felt something of the same towards our own language and its export, though not so consciously or keenly.

Shakespeare In Pakistan “We have, of course, taught Shakespeare all over the world and I have been reminded of that on recent tours overseas. I was in Pakistan recently where the Bristol Old Vic was performing to packed houses three English plays, including Shakespeare, and at the same time the Nottingham company have been touring West Africa also playing Shakes-, peare to packed houses. “The Bristol Old Vic said they had never had the kind of audience they had in the sub-continent, where the audience seemed to know Shakespeare even better than the actors themselves. And it was not only in the literary field, but also in the political field, that we exported our ideas through our language. I read recently an Indian novel—not altogether favourable to this country—where one of the characters said: ‘Well at least we’ve got to admit that the English saw the writing on the wall.’ To

which another character replied: ‘Yes. and we must remember they taught us to write on the wall.*

“Another contrast between the two is v«y much to the credit of the French. It has often been remarked ait meetings in the United Nations and elsewhere, that the French of the French-speak-ing African is much better than die English of the English-speaking African.

“I was talking to a very highly-trained professional man from Gambia who was over here for post-graduate study. He told me he had relatives over the border in Senegal. I said, ‘What is the real difference between the education you got from us in Gambia and the education your cousins got from the French in Senegal?’ He replied: The difference is that when I go to visit my relations in Senegal, I find they talk French even at home. I talk Yolof at home and English in my profession.’ “So I asked which did he think was the better; and he replied, ‘Well, I think I prefer the British system because you left us our roots.’ English Variants

“It is notable that all over the world one meets variations of English which really have ceased to be English—Pidgin English, Creole, Krio and so on. I do not think that one meets with such variations of French. And the main reason for the preservation of the purity of French is simply that the French have always had in the field a much larger number, in proportion, of native French teachers than we have had of native English -teachers. “In June the British Council will be having a conference with our opposite numbers from Paris about the teaching of English in French-speaking Africa and the teaching of French in English-speaking Africa. We keep in close touch with them and do our best to learn from them. “The French have always attached much more importance to codification and standardisation of their language at home as well as abroad than we have. So far as the printed word is concerned, English is kept more or less on the tramlines, because there is such a high degree of standardisation in the immense amount of literature published from this country and the United States of America, and other English-speaking countries.

“Even so. one gets the most delightful neologisms from a number off countries. I remember seeing, over the door of a baker's shop in India, the name of the baker, and underneath he had written ‘first class loafer.’ That, I think, was a charming addition to the English language which I hope will be preserved.” The real crux of the problem was pronunciation, he said. “And that leads on to the point that the only solution is through oral teaching.

And it must be teaching by teachers who themaelves weak reaMmbly intelligible English, that is, from this country, from America, from Ajuatrwia, frwn the various countries where it la the mother tongue.” No mechanical aid was any substitute for the Live teacher, he said. On the question of recruitment of British teachers to serve overseas, he said, the numbers were nothing like adequate to the demand, and the British Council was one of the recruiting agencies most directly concerned. One of the most encouraging developments recently had been the development of Voluntary Service Overseas. “Then there is. of course, the need to maintain very close co-operation with the Americans, Australians, and other English-speaking countries. We are always hoping that the Americans will do more and we hold conferences with them at regular intervals. There is no question of competition where the field is so large. The more they do the better we are pleased. “On present evidence, opinions will differ whether English or any other language will ever become the world language, but I believe that for as far ahead as we can see. we in this country now have the opportunity to help to make English the most widely used of the great languages and to keep it reasonably comprehensible.”