{"id":17499,"date":"2020-07-16T21:04:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T01:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.pimsleur.com\/?p=17499"},"modified":"2025-11-21T08:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T13:12:52","slug":"what-are-world-englishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/what-are-world-englishes\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are World Englishes?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lingua Franca – Why English is the Global Language<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Picture an English\nspeaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What image pops into\nyour mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An American shop owner,\nperhaps? An Australian teenager, Canadian mother, or British businessman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, these are all valid examples of native English speakers. Replicating these accents is the ultimate aim of many English learners. There is considerable prestige in achieving a flawless British or American accent and dialect<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are\nmillions of citizens who speak fluent English as a second language, who use it\njust as much as \u2018native\u2019 speakers \u2013 every day, in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These groups speak and\nunderstand English to an exceptional level, but are rarely considered to be\nnative speakers because their dialects contain grammar and vocabulary different\nto \u2018conventional\u2019 Anglosphere English. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forms of English spoken in these countries are termed \u201cWorld Englishes<\/strong>\u201d by sociologists and education theorists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in this article, we\u2019ll take a closer look at Indian English and Singapore English. But first, let\u2019s see how English exploded as a global lingua franca.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is English so Widely Spoken?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over two billion\npeople speak English as a first or second language. It is the most studied\nlanguage in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time\never in history, more people speak English fluently as a second language than a\nnative language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of English exploded\nin the 20th<\/sup> century, thanks to many factors, including the breakup\nof the British Empire, the onset of globalization, and the United States\u2019 perennial\nposition as the world\u2019s largest economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because English was deemed vital for international economic success, it was taught in many countries as the primary second language. As a result, new, localized versions of English emerged as linguae francae<\/em> in ethnically diverse regions, whether officially (India, Singapore) or unofficially (Malaysia, Israel). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

English is widely\nspoken in these countries and, for all intents and purposes, the inhabitants\nare native English speakers: learning English from a young age, with extensive\neducation and exposure to the language, and able to express themselves in any\nsituation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Differences Between World Englishes and Anglosphere English<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The only differences\nbetween World English speakers and Anglosphere English speakers are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n