english-as-an-international-language
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Comparative Sociology Volume 5 issue 4 also available onlinecopy 2006 Koninklijke Brill NV Leiden see wwwbrillnl
English as an InternationalLanguage in Non-Native
Settings in an Era of Globalization
Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Abstract
Language is an unquestionable prerequisite for human com-munication As such the study of language is intrinsic to socio-logy This paper explores briefly the importance of languagestudy to sociology The apparent dominance of English as theinternational language is discussed in some detail The paperrsquosprincipal focus is to examine cross-national attitudes aboutEnglish as the international language of non-English languagespeaking peoples and of peoples who speak English only as aforeign language Extensive empirical findings about these atti-tudes are examined in an effort to predict the future directionof the spread of English as international language Thoughmany of the findings suggest extraordinary levels of ambivalenceabout English as international language the results suggestmany opportunities for further study
Key words English language linguistic attitudes cross-nationalanalysis empirical study
Introduction
Language is an unquestionable prerequisite for human communicationLanguage is an ldquoindispensable and universal component of the culturalsystem of all societiesrdquo (Barber 19823) As such language is an intrinsicelement of sociology (cf Hertzler 1965 Mesthrie et al 2000) indeed anexcellent exemplar of Durkheimrsquos ldquosocial representationsrdquo (Durkheim 1938)
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 381
382 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
This paper will explore briefly the importance of language study to soci-ology In the course of this discussion we will also explore the claimsof some who believe the dominance of English as an international lan-guage is only transitory We will then turn to this paperrsquos principal focuswhich is to examine English as an international language (or perhapsthe international language) We will focus especially on the attitudes aboutEnglish as an international language of non-English language speakingpeoples and of peoples who speak English only as a second (or even thirdand so on) language Extensive empirical findings will be examined inan effort to predict the future direction of the spread of English as inter-national language
There is extensive literature on language and this literature has myriadfoci ranging from social to political to economic even to military andbeyond And it is easy to see that a major consideration in much of thediscussion of language concerns language dominance What makes onelanguage become dominant over others What drives language dominanceCertainly political and economic circumstances play a major role as onelanguage emerges over others throughout history (see eg Bailey 1985Barber 1982 Crystal 1997 Firth 1970 Hertzler 1965 Kachru 1986)At the same time this paper is considering the question of internationallanguage dominance in the context of globalization a phenomenon whichhas changed things very distinctly from the time of the Roman Empirefor instance or even the era of British colonialism In terms of directcommunication for example the telephone and the internet (email inparticular) have made daily communication throughout the world a sim-ple straightforward even incidental means of human communicationSuch communications require language and most often they require acommon language for convenience if for no other reason
English as International Language
English is undeniably the dominant ldquointernational languagerdquo at least atpresent Indeed Kachru (1986) pointed out that there are more non-native than native users of English in the world According to Power(2005) non-native English speakers now outnumber native ones 3 to 1(also see Strevens 1982 Smith 1983 and Quirk and Widdowson 1985)We will discuss later the potential for English to remain dominant Howdid English get where it is today Brumfit (19821 also cf Lieberson1982 Noss 1983 Bryson 1990 Pennycook 1994 and Crystal 2004) sum-marizes well the source of Englishrsquos present dominance in the following
English is an international language in that it is the most widespread mediumof international communication both because of the number and geographical
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 382
English as an International Language bull 383
spread of its speakers and because of the large number of non-native speak-ers who use it for part at least of their international contact The predom-inance of English is mainly the result of two periods of world dominationby English speaking nations British imperialism in the nineteenth centuryand the economic influence of the United States in the twentieth centuryThe combination of political influence and technological superiority acquiredthrough these two successive movements has given English an advantageover other major imperial languages such as French or Spanish while therelative geographical restrictions of Russian Chinese in its many forms orArabic have made these languages less influential internationally
There is a difference between English as international language and pre-vious languages that had dominant characteristics (such as Latin (seeWright 2004)) and of course that difference arises because we are nowdealing with the context of globalization The extraordinarily widespreaduse of daily international communication in this context means that thedominant language at present is used on a much more universal andwidespread scale than ever before
The worldness of English in both its global and local senses implies rela-tionships to the larger world and to the local context different from thoseof other languages Given the dominant position of English in the world andits connections both to inequitable economic systems and to the dominanceof certain forms of culture and knowledge there are inevitable questions tobe asked here concerning language and inequality (Pennycook 199434ndash35)
In this paper our ldquoquestionsrdquo about language and inequality will bederived from the empirical work to be discussed shortly This work con-cerns peoplersquos attitudes toward English as international language and itsdominance These directly target the issues of the apparently inherentinequalities suggested by Pennycook
This dominance though was not inevitable Historical circumstanceswere such that English coincidentally arose as international language asdominant (cf Melchers and Shaw 2003) Smith (19832) considers Englishan ldquointernational auxiliary languagerdquo This begins to suggest a set ofscholars who view English dominance in a different light Another hintof this suggestion is given by Pennycook (19949) who states that Englishldquois seen as neutral because it is assumed that once English has in somesense become detached from its original cultural contexts (particularlyEngland and America) it is now a neutral and transparent medium ofcommunicationrdquo Bickley (198287) goes so far as to say that ldquoEnglishdoes not lsquobelongrsquo to any one group of people The use of English isalways culture-bound but the English language is not bound to anyspecific culture or political systemrdquo
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 383
384 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
So at least some scholars consider that the social and cultural accou-trements of English have lost much of their association with the domi-nant international language As Kachru (1986vii) puts it ldquoWhetherthese are real or imagined is not important what is vital is the pub-lic attitude toward English the love-hate relationship with the languagerdquo[emphasis added]
Other scholars have focused on English dominance as ldquolinguistic cap-italrdquo Linguistic capital is not unlike social capital cultural capital oreconomic capital (cf Bourdieu 1976 1977 Bourdieu and Passeron 1990)As such English ldquocontinues to provide unprecedented power for mobil-ity and advancement to those native and non-native users who possessit as a linguistic toolrdquo (Kachru 198614)
Nonetheless as the world globalizes so too does communication hencea single language becomes nearly imperative That this language hadimperialist origins becomes less and less an issue in its universal deploy-ment Not everyone agrees with this sentiment however (cf Quirk 1987)Deneire (1993172) for example states that ldquoResistance to Western dom-ination in general and to American imperialism in particular has led toa revival of ethnonationalisms and to a rejection of English in favor ofnational languagesrdquo Thus English as international language becomesembroiled in the debate over Westernization a subject principally beyondour present scope
Some scholars including Fishman (199827) argue that English dom-inance will ldquoeventually wane in influencerdquo (also cf Al-Dabbagh 2005)In a long-term historical perspective this is undoubtedly true based uponpast history Many of these scholars focus on the notion of regionaliza-tion and see English dominance waning in the face of a potential riseof regional emphases However at present no substitute languages appearon the horizon
Ironically it could be globalizationrsquos technology sector that ultimatelycontributes to the wane of English dominance Machine or automaticlanguage translation technology has had an amazingly rocky historyMany thought the world would have access to universal translators inthe 1970s or 1980s They have yet to come to fruition however as withmany technologies it is only a matter of time If universal and accurateautomatic translation were available then reliance on a single dominantlanguage would certainly wane perhaps along with it English dominance
Attitudes toward English as International Language
What do non-English speaking or non-native English speaking peoplefeel about English as the international means of communication the
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 384
English as an International Language bull 385
dominant language Do these people want to learn English Do thesepeople feel ldquoenvious resentful or angryrdquo (Crystal 19972) Crystal (19972)goes on to state
These feelings are natural and would arise whichever language emerged asa global language They are feelings which give rise to fears and fearslead to conflict Political differences over language economics educationlaws and rights are a daily encounter for millions Language is always inthe news and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global languagethe more newsworthy it is
Clearly the sources of feelings about language are extremely broad inscope including for instance economics politics the law policy mak-ing and so on Effectively this broad-based derivation is treated by thescience of sociolinguistics (see eg Kachru 1986 1991 Baker 1992Berns 1992 Ammon 1994 Pulcini 1997) Kachru (1991) called attitudes(toward language) unplanned or invisible forces which can in effectbecome invisible policies From a somewhat different perspective Cooperand Fishman (19778) have pointed out that ldquoLanguage attitude is some-times studied in its own right and sometimes in connection with its rela-tionship to language behaviorrdquo These types of study of language attitudesare at least characteristically if not fundamentally different from theempirical studies being reported here As Cooper and Fishman (19778)also point out ldquoMost research on the relationship between language atti-tude and second-language achievement has concentrated on the moti-vational aspects of language attitude or on the attitudes toward nativespeakers of the target languagerdquo Language proficiency is often cited andstudied in this regard however the present work does not speak to issuesof motivation achievement proficiency or competency
Indeed very little empirical work has ever before focused on the issueof Englishness on the rise of English to the status of international lan-guage as the principal conduit for international communications Whatthese and many other implied speculations have heretofore lacked isempirical evidence in general and evidence about attitudes toward Englishas international language in particular (For further information on atti-tudes toward English among different nations see eg Berns 1988 Prideand Liu 1988 Pennington and Yue 1994 Shim 1994 Iwasaki 1994Yong and Campbell 1995 van Essen 1997 Pulcini 1997 and Spolskyand Shhamy 1999)
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386 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Empirical Study and Analysis
Between 1996 and 1998 Tokyorsquos National Language Research Instituteconducted nationwide cross-national personal interview surveys among28 nations aimed at among other things determining the nationsrsquo degreesof tolerance for English both intra- and internationally Sampling meth-ods for most of these nations were probability sampling and quota sam-pling techniques (for details on the samplings for each surveyed nationsee Suzuki Yanagihara and Yoneda 2003) The original questionnaire(see National Language Research Institute 1999) included 58 questionscovering a number of themes and topics which included onersquos languageenvironment onersquos mother tongue language in general and onersquos atti-tudes toward foreign languages toward English and toward Japanese
For purposes of the results we present here 25 nations (except theUnites States Australia and the United Kingdom where the mothertongue is English the so-called ldquoinner circlerdquo see Kachru 1985) wereincluded in the analysis (see Figure 1) India the Philippines Nigeriaand Singapore are considered the so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo (see Kachru l985)This so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo refers to a group of nations with compar-atively low level prevalence of English usage Brazil Argentina MongoliaTaiwan China Korea Japan Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Egypt IsraelTurkey Italy Spain Portugal France Germany Holland Hungary andRussia are considered to be in the so-called ldquoexpanding circlerdquo (seeKachru 1985) where the prevalence of English usage is higher andincreasing Note that these nations ldquodo not have a history of coloniza-tion by members of the inner circlerdquo (Crystal 199754)
Crosstabulations and correspondence analyses were conducted Theseven questions involved in this particular study are listed in Table 1Table 1 shows that the analyses described here involve Questions 7 810 11 12 18 and 19 These numbers will be used throughout the fol-lowing discussion to denote the questions as their results are discussedThe percentage distributions for each of the 7 questions for each of the25 nations are shown in Tables 2 through 8
Table 2 shows the crosstabulation for Question 7 by nation The bul-lets on the left indicate nations whose respondents said ldquoNordquo to the ques-tion about preference for their mother tongue when talking with foreignersin their own nation much more often than ldquoYesrdquo In other words inSingapore the Philippines Nigeria and Egypt respondents were muchless likely to prefer using their mother tongue to communicate with for-eigners while in their own nations Respondents in nearly all other nationsanswered ldquoYesrdquo 60 or more percent of the time (with the exception ofIndia at 53 percent) Indeed many of the other respondents answeredldquoYesrdquo 80 to 90 percent of the time These findings are consistent with
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 386
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
382 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
This paper will explore briefly the importance of language study to soci-ology In the course of this discussion we will also explore the claimsof some who believe the dominance of English as an international lan-guage is only transitory We will then turn to this paperrsquos principal focuswhich is to examine English as an international language (or perhapsthe international language) We will focus especially on the attitudes aboutEnglish as an international language of non-English language speakingpeoples and of peoples who speak English only as a second (or even thirdand so on) language Extensive empirical findings will be examined inan effort to predict the future direction of the spread of English as inter-national language
There is extensive literature on language and this literature has myriadfoci ranging from social to political to economic even to military andbeyond And it is easy to see that a major consideration in much of thediscussion of language concerns language dominance What makes onelanguage become dominant over others What drives language dominanceCertainly political and economic circumstances play a major role as onelanguage emerges over others throughout history (see eg Bailey 1985Barber 1982 Crystal 1997 Firth 1970 Hertzler 1965 Kachru 1986)At the same time this paper is considering the question of internationallanguage dominance in the context of globalization a phenomenon whichhas changed things very distinctly from the time of the Roman Empirefor instance or even the era of British colonialism In terms of directcommunication for example the telephone and the internet (email inparticular) have made daily communication throughout the world a sim-ple straightforward even incidental means of human communicationSuch communications require language and most often they require acommon language for convenience if for no other reason
English as International Language
English is undeniably the dominant ldquointernational languagerdquo at least atpresent Indeed Kachru (1986) pointed out that there are more non-native than native users of English in the world According to Power(2005) non-native English speakers now outnumber native ones 3 to 1(also see Strevens 1982 Smith 1983 and Quirk and Widdowson 1985)We will discuss later the potential for English to remain dominant Howdid English get where it is today Brumfit (19821 also cf Lieberson1982 Noss 1983 Bryson 1990 Pennycook 1994 and Crystal 2004) sum-marizes well the source of Englishrsquos present dominance in the following
English is an international language in that it is the most widespread mediumof international communication both because of the number and geographical
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 382
English as an International Language bull 383
spread of its speakers and because of the large number of non-native speak-ers who use it for part at least of their international contact The predom-inance of English is mainly the result of two periods of world dominationby English speaking nations British imperialism in the nineteenth centuryand the economic influence of the United States in the twentieth centuryThe combination of political influence and technological superiority acquiredthrough these two successive movements has given English an advantageover other major imperial languages such as French or Spanish while therelative geographical restrictions of Russian Chinese in its many forms orArabic have made these languages less influential internationally
There is a difference between English as international language and pre-vious languages that had dominant characteristics (such as Latin (seeWright 2004)) and of course that difference arises because we are nowdealing with the context of globalization The extraordinarily widespreaduse of daily international communication in this context means that thedominant language at present is used on a much more universal andwidespread scale than ever before
The worldness of English in both its global and local senses implies rela-tionships to the larger world and to the local context different from thoseof other languages Given the dominant position of English in the world andits connections both to inequitable economic systems and to the dominanceof certain forms of culture and knowledge there are inevitable questions tobe asked here concerning language and inequality (Pennycook 199434ndash35)
In this paper our ldquoquestionsrdquo about language and inequality will bederived from the empirical work to be discussed shortly This work con-cerns peoplersquos attitudes toward English as international language and itsdominance These directly target the issues of the apparently inherentinequalities suggested by Pennycook
This dominance though was not inevitable Historical circumstanceswere such that English coincidentally arose as international language asdominant (cf Melchers and Shaw 2003) Smith (19832) considers Englishan ldquointernational auxiliary languagerdquo This begins to suggest a set ofscholars who view English dominance in a different light Another hintof this suggestion is given by Pennycook (19949) who states that Englishldquois seen as neutral because it is assumed that once English has in somesense become detached from its original cultural contexts (particularlyEngland and America) it is now a neutral and transparent medium ofcommunicationrdquo Bickley (198287) goes so far as to say that ldquoEnglishdoes not lsquobelongrsquo to any one group of people The use of English isalways culture-bound but the English language is not bound to anyspecific culture or political systemrdquo
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 383
384 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
So at least some scholars consider that the social and cultural accou-trements of English have lost much of their association with the domi-nant international language As Kachru (1986vii) puts it ldquoWhetherthese are real or imagined is not important what is vital is the pub-lic attitude toward English the love-hate relationship with the languagerdquo[emphasis added]
Other scholars have focused on English dominance as ldquolinguistic cap-italrdquo Linguistic capital is not unlike social capital cultural capital oreconomic capital (cf Bourdieu 1976 1977 Bourdieu and Passeron 1990)As such English ldquocontinues to provide unprecedented power for mobil-ity and advancement to those native and non-native users who possessit as a linguistic toolrdquo (Kachru 198614)
Nonetheless as the world globalizes so too does communication hencea single language becomes nearly imperative That this language hadimperialist origins becomes less and less an issue in its universal deploy-ment Not everyone agrees with this sentiment however (cf Quirk 1987)Deneire (1993172) for example states that ldquoResistance to Western dom-ination in general and to American imperialism in particular has led toa revival of ethnonationalisms and to a rejection of English in favor ofnational languagesrdquo Thus English as international language becomesembroiled in the debate over Westernization a subject principally beyondour present scope
Some scholars including Fishman (199827) argue that English dom-inance will ldquoeventually wane in influencerdquo (also cf Al-Dabbagh 2005)In a long-term historical perspective this is undoubtedly true based uponpast history Many of these scholars focus on the notion of regionaliza-tion and see English dominance waning in the face of a potential riseof regional emphases However at present no substitute languages appearon the horizon
Ironically it could be globalizationrsquos technology sector that ultimatelycontributes to the wane of English dominance Machine or automaticlanguage translation technology has had an amazingly rocky historyMany thought the world would have access to universal translators inthe 1970s or 1980s They have yet to come to fruition however as withmany technologies it is only a matter of time If universal and accurateautomatic translation were available then reliance on a single dominantlanguage would certainly wane perhaps along with it English dominance
Attitudes toward English as International Language
What do non-English speaking or non-native English speaking peoplefeel about English as the international means of communication the
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 384
English as an International Language bull 385
dominant language Do these people want to learn English Do thesepeople feel ldquoenvious resentful or angryrdquo (Crystal 19972) Crystal (19972)goes on to state
These feelings are natural and would arise whichever language emerged asa global language They are feelings which give rise to fears and fearslead to conflict Political differences over language economics educationlaws and rights are a daily encounter for millions Language is always inthe news and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global languagethe more newsworthy it is
Clearly the sources of feelings about language are extremely broad inscope including for instance economics politics the law policy mak-ing and so on Effectively this broad-based derivation is treated by thescience of sociolinguistics (see eg Kachru 1986 1991 Baker 1992Berns 1992 Ammon 1994 Pulcini 1997) Kachru (1991) called attitudes(toward language) unplanned or invisible forces which can in effectbecome invisible policies From a somewhat different perspective Cooperand Fishman (19778) have pointed out that ldquoLanguage attitude is some-times studied in its own right and sometimes in connection with its rela-tionship to language behaviorrdquo These types of study of language attitudesare at least characteristically if not fundamentally different from theempirical studies being reported here As Cooper and Fishman (19778)also point out ldquoMost research on the relationship between language atti-tude and second-language achievement has concentrated on the moti-vational aspects of language attitude or on the attitudes toward nativespeakers of the target languagerdquo Language proficiency is often cited andstudied in this regard however the present work does not speak to issuesof motivation achievement proficiency or competency
Indeed very little empirical work has ever before focused on the issueof Englishness on the rise of English to the status of international lan-guage as the principal conduit for international communications Whatthese and many other implied speculations have heretofore lacked isempirical evidence in general and evidence about attitudes toward Englishas international language in particular (For further information on atti-tudes toward English among different nations see eg Berns 1988 Prideand Liu 1988 Pennington and Yue 1994 Shim 1994 Iwasaki 1994Yong and Campbell 1995 van Essen 1997 Pulcini 1997 and Spolskyand Shhamy 1999)
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 385
386 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Empirical Study and Analysis
Between 1996 and 1998 Tokyorsquos National Language Research Instituteconducted nationwide cross-national personal interview surveys among28 nations aimed at among other things determining the nationsrsquo degreesof tolerance for English both intra- and internationally Sampling meth-ods for most of these nations were probability sampling and quota sam-pling techniques (for details on the samplings for each surveyed nationsee Suzuki Yanagihara and Yoneda 2003) The original questionnaire(see National Language Research Institute 1999) included 58 questionscovering a number of themes and topics which included onersquos languageenvironment onersquos mother tongue language in general and onersquos atti-tudes toward foreign languages toward English and toward Japanese
For purposes of the results we present here 25 nations (except theUnites States Australia and the United Kingdom where the mothertongue is English the so-called ldquoinner circlerdquo see Kachru 1985) wereincluded in the analysis (see Figure 1) India the Philippines Nigeriaand Singapore are considered the so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo (see Kachru l985)This so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo refers to a group of nations with compar-atively low level prevalence of English usage Brazil Argentina MongoliaTaiwan China Korea Japan Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Egypt IsraelTurkey Italy Spain Portugal France Germany Holland Hungary andRussia are considered to be in the so-called ldquoexpanding circlerdquo (seeKachru 1985) where the prevalence of English usage is higher andincreasing Note that these nations ldquodo not have a history of coloniza-tion by members of the inner circlerdquo (Crystal 199754)
Crosstabulations and correspondence analyses were conducted Theseven questions involved in this particular study are listed in Table 1Table 1 shows that the analyses described here involve Questions 7 810 11 12 18 and 19 These numbers will be used throughout the fol-lowing discussion to denote the questions as their results are discussedThe percentage distributions for each of the 7 questions for each of the25 nations are shown in Tables 2 through 8
Table 2 shows the crosstabulation for Question 7 by nation The bul-lets on the left indicate nations whose respondents said ldquoNordquo to the ques-tion about preference for their mother tongue when talking with foreignersin their own nation much more often than ldquoYesrdquo In other words inSingapore the Philippines Nigeria and Egypt respondents were muchless likely to prefer using their mother tongue to communicate with for-eigners while in their own nations Respondents in nearly all other nationsanswered ldquoYesrdquo 60 or more percent of the time (with the exception ofIndia at 53 percent) Indeed many of the other respondents answeredldquoYesrdquo 80 to 90 percent of the time These findings are consistent with
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 386
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 383
spread of its speakers and because of the large number of non-native speak-ers who use it for part at least of their international contact The predom-inance of English is mainly the result of two periods of world dominationby English speaking nations British imperialism in the nineteenth centuryand the economic influence of the United States in the twentieth centuryThe combination of political influence and technological superiority acquiredthrough these two successive movements has given English an advantageover other major imperial languages such as French or Spanish while therelative geographical restrictions of Russian Chinese in its many forms orArabic have made these languages less influential internationally
There is a difference between English as international language and pre-vious languages that had dominant characteristics (such as Latin (seeWright 2004)) and of course that difference arises because we are nowdealing with the context of globalization The extraordinarily widespreaduse of daily international communication in this context means that thedominant language at present is used on a much more universal andwidespread scale than ever before
The worldness of English in both its global and local senses implies rela-tionships to the larger world and to the local context different from thoseof other languages Given the dominant position of English in the world andits connections both to inequitable economic systems and to the dominanceof certain forms of culture and knowledge there are inevitable questions tobe asked here concerning language and inequality (Pennycook 199434ndash35)
In this paper our ldquoquestionsrdquo about language and inequality will bederived from the empirical work to be discussed shortly This work con-cerns peoplersquos attitudes toward English as international language and itsdominance These directly target the issues of the apparently inherentinequalities suggested by Pennycook
This dominance though was not inevitable Historical circumstanceswere such that English coincidentally arose as international language asdominant (cf Melchers and Shaw 2003) Smith (19832) considers Englishan ldquointernational auxiliary languagerdquo This begins to suggest a set ofscholars who view English dominance in a different light Another hintof this suggestion is given by Pennycook (19949) who states that Englishldquois seen as neutral because it is assumed that once English has in somesense become detached from its original cultural contexts (particularlyEngland and America) it is now a neutral and transparent medium ofcommunicationrdquo Bickley (198287) goes so far as to say that ldquoEnglishdoes not lsquobelongrsquo to any one group of people The use of English isalways culture-bound but the English language is not bound to anyspecific culture or political systemrdquo
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 383
384 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
So at least some scholars consider that the social and cultural accou-trements of English have lost much of their association with the domi-nant international language As Kachru (1986vii) puts it ldquoWhetherthese are real or imagined is not important what is vital is the pub-lic attitude toward English the love-hate relationship with the languagerdquo[emphasis added]
Other scholars have focused on English dominance as ldquolinguistic cap-italrdquo Linguistic capital is not unlike social capital cultural capital oreconomic capital (cf Bourdieu 1976 1977 Bourdieu and Passeron 1990)As such English ldquocontinues to provide unprecedented power for mobil-ity and advancement to those native and non-native users who possessit as a linguistic toolrdquo (Kachru 198614)
Nonetheless as the world globalizes so too does communication hencea single language becomes nearly imperative That this language hadimperialist origins becomes less and less an issue in its universal deploy-ment Not everyone agrees with this sentiment however (cf Quirk 1987)Deneire (1993172) for example states that ldquoResistance to Western dom-ination in general and to American imperialism in particular has led toa revival of ethnonationalisms and to a rejection of English in favor ofnational languagesrdquo Thus English as international language becomesembroiled in the debate over Westernization a subject principally beyondour present scope
Some scholars including Fishman (199827) argue that English dom-inance will ldquoeventually wane in influencerdquo (also cf Al-Dabbagh 2005)In a long-term historical perspective this is undoubtedly true based uponpast history Many of these scholars focus on the notion of regionaliza-tion and see English dominance waning in the face of a potential riseof regional emphases However at present no substitute languages appearon the horizon
Ironically it could be globalizationrsquos technology sector that ultimatelycontributes to the wane of English dominance Machine or automaticlanguage translation technology has had an amazingly rocky historyMany thought the world would have access to universal translators inthe 1970s or 1980s They have yet to come to fruition however as withmany technologies it is only a matter of time If universal and accurateautomatic translation were available then reliance on a single dominantlanguage would certainly wane perhaps along with it English dominance
Attitudes toward English as International Language
What do non-English speaking or non-native English speaking peoplefeel about English as the international means of communication the
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 384
English as an International Language bull 385
dominant language Do these people want to learn English Do thesepeople feel ldquoenvious resentful or angryrdquo (Crystal 19972) Crystal (19972)goes on to state
These feelings are natural and would arise whichever language emerged asa global language They are feelings which give rise to fears and fearslead to conflict Political differences over language economics educationlaws and rights are a daily encounter for millions Language is always inthe news and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global languagethe more newsworthy it is
Clearly the sources of feelings about language are extremely broad inscope including for instance economics politics the law policy mak-ing and so on Effectively this broad-based derivation is treated by thescience of sociolinguistics (see eg Kachru 1986 1991 Baker 1992Berns 1992 Ammon 1994 Pulcini 1997) Kachru (1991) called attitudes(toward language) unplanned or invisible forces which can in effectbecome invisible policies From a somewhat different perspective Cooperand Fishman (19778) have pointed out that ldquoLanguage attitude is some-times studied in its own right and sometimes in connection with its rela-tionship to language behaviorrdquo These types of study of language attitudesare at least characteristically if not fundamentally different from theempirical studies being reported here As Cooper and Fishman (19778)also point out ldquoMost research on the relationship between language atti-tude and second-language achievement has concentrated on the moti-vational aspects of language attitude or on the attitudes toward nativespeakers of the target languagerdquo Language proficiency is often cited andstudied in this regard however the present work does not speak to issuesof motivation achievement proficiency or competency
Indeed very little empirical work has ever before focused on the issueof Englishness on the rise of English to the status of international lan-guage as the principal conduit for international communications Whatthese and many other implied speculations have heretofore lacked isempirical evidence in general and evidence about attitudes toward Englishas international language in particular (For further information on atti-tudes toward English among different nations see eg Berns 1988 Prideand Liu 1988 Pennington and Yue 1994 Shim 1994 Iwasaki 1994Yong and Campbell 1995 van Essen 1997 Pulcini 1997 and Spolskyand Shhamy 1999)
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 385
386 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Empirical Study and Analysis
Between 1996 and 1998 Tokyorsquos National Language Research Instituteconducted nationwide cross-national personal interview surveys among28 nations aimed at among other things determining the nationsrsquo degreesof tolerance for English both intra- and internationally Sampling meth-ods for most of these nations were probability sampling and quota sam-pling techniques (for details on the samplings for each surveyed nationsee Suzuki Yanagihara and Yoneda 2003) The original questionnaire(see National Language Research Institute 1999) included 58 questionscovering a number of themes and topics which included onersquos languageenvironment onersquos mother tongue language in general and onersquos atti-tudes toward foreign languages toward English and toward Japanese
For purposes of the results we present here 25 nations (except theUnites States Australia and the United Kingdom where the mothertongue is English the so-called ldquoinner circlerdquo see Kachru 1985) wereincluded in the analysis (see Figure 1) India the Philippines Nigeriaand Singapore are considered the so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo (see Kachru l985)This so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo refers to a group of nations with compar-atively low level prevalence of English usage Brazil Argentina MongoliaTaiwan China Korea Japan Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Egypt IsraelTurkey Italy Spain Portugal France Germany Holland Hungary andRussia are considered to be in the so-called ldquoexpanding circlerdquo (seeKachru 1985) where the prevalence of English usage is higher andincreasing Note that these nations ldquodo not have a history of coloniza-tion by members of the inner circlerdquo (Crystal 199754)
Crosstabulations and correspondence analyses were conducted Theseven questions involved in this particular study are listed in Table 1Table 1 shows that the analyses described here involve Questions 7 810 11 12 18 and 19 These numbers will be used throughout the fol-lowing discussion to denote the questions as their results are discussedThe percentage distributions for each of the 7 questions for each of the25 nations are shown in Tables 2 through 8
Table 2 shows the crosstabulation for Question 7 by nation The bul-lets on the left indicate nations whose respondents said ldquoNordquo to the ques-tion about preference for their mother tongue when talking with foreignersin their own nation much more often than ldquoYesrdquo In other words inSingapore the Philippines Nigeria and Egypt respondents were muchless likely to prefer using their mother tongue to communicate with for-eigners while in their own nations Respondents in nearly all other nationsanswered ldquoYesrdquo 60 or more percent of the time (with the exception ofIndia at 53 percent) Indeed many of the other respondents answeredldquoYesrdquo 80 to 90 percent of the time These findings are consistent with
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 386
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
384 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
So at least some scholars consider that the social and cultural accou-trements of English have lost much of their association with the domi-nant international language As Kachru (1986vii) puts it ldquoWhetherthese are real or imagined is not important what is vital is the pub-lic attitude toward English the love-hate relationship with the languagerdquo[emphasis added]
Other scholars have focused on English dominance as ldquolinguistic cap-italrdquo Linguistic capital is not unlike social capital cultural capital oreconomic capital (cf Bourdieu 1976 1977 Bourdieu and Passeron 1990)As such English ldquocontinues to provide unprecedented power for mobil-ity and advancement to those native and non-native users who possessit as a linguistic toolrdquo (Kachru 198614)
Nonetheless as the world globalizes so too does communication hencea single language becomes nearly imperative That this language hadimperialist origins becomes less and less an issue in its universal deploy-ment Not everyone agrees with this sentiment however (cf Quirk 1987)Deneire (1993172) for example states that ldquoResistance to Western dom-ination in general and to American imperialism in particular has led toa revival of ethnonationalisms and to a rejection of English in favor ofnational languagesrdquo Thus English as international language becomesembroiled in the debate over Westernization a subject principally beyondour present scope
Some scholars including Fishman (199827) argue that English dom-inance will ldquoeventually wane in influencerdquo (also cf Al-Dabbagh 2005)In a long-term historical perspective this is undoubtedly true based uponpast history Many of these scholars focus on the notion of regionaliza-tion and see English dominance waning in the face of a potential riseof regional emphases However at present no substitute languages appearon the horizon
Ironically it could be globalizationrsquos technology sector that ultimatelycontributes to the wane of English dominance Machine or automaticlanguage translation technology has had an amazingly rocky historyMany thought the world would have access to universal translators inthe 1970s or 1980s They have yet to come to fruition however as withmany technologies it is only a matter of time If universal and accurateautomatic translation were available then reliance on a single dominantlanguage would certainly wane perhaps along with it English dominance
Attitudes toward English as International Language
What do non-English speaking or non-native English speaking peoplefeel about English as the international means of communication the
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 384
English as an International Language bull 385
dominant language Do these people want to learn English Do thesepeople feel ldquoenvious resentful or angryrdquo (Crystal 19972) Crystal (19972)goes on to state
These feelings are natural and would arise whichever language emerged asa global language They are feelings which give rise to fears and fearslead to conflict Political differences over language economics educationlaws and rights are a daily encounter for millions Language is always inthe news and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global languagethe more newsworthy it is
Clearly the sources of feelings about language are extremely broad inscope including for instance economics politics the law policy mak-ing and so on Effectively this broad-based derivation is treated by thescience of sociolinguistics (see eg Kachru 1986 1991 Baker 1992Berns 1992 Ammon 1994 Pulcini 1997) Kachru (1991) called attitudes(toward language) unplanned or invisible forces which can in effectbecome invisible policies From a somewhat different perspective Cooperand Fishman (19778) have pointed out that ldquoLanguage attitude is some-times studied in its own right and sometimes in connection with its rela-tionship to language behaviorrdquo These types of study of language attitudesare at least characteristically if not fundamentally different from theempirical studies being reported here As Cooper and Fishman (19778)also point out ldquoMost research on the relationship between language atti-tude and second-language achievement has concentrated on the moti-vational aspects of language attitude or on the attitudes toward nativespeakers of the target languagerdquo Language proficiency is often cited andstudied in this regard however the present work does not speak to issuesof motivation achievement proficiency or competency
Indeed very little empirical work has ever before focused on the issueof Englishness on the rise of English to the status of international lan-guage as the principal conduit for international communications Whatthese and many other implied speculations have heretofore lacked isempirical evidence in general and evidence about attitudes toward Englishas international language in particular (For further information on atti-tudes toward English among different nations see eg Berns 1988 Prideand Liu 1988 Pennington and Yue 1994 Shim 1994 Iwasaki 1994Yong and Campbell 1995 van Essen 1997 Pulcini 1997 and Spolskyand Shhamy 1999)
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 385
386 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Empirical Study and Analysis
Between 1996 and 1998 Tokyorsquos National Language Research Instituteconducted nationwide cross-national personal interview surveys among28 nations aimed at among other things determining the nationsrsquo degreesof tolerance for English both intra- and internationally Sampling meth-ods for most of these nations were probability sampling and quota sam-pling techniques (for details on the samplings for each surveyed nationsee Suzuki Yanagihara and Yoneda 2003) The original questionnaire(see National Language Research Institute 1999) included 58 questionscovering a number of themes and topics which included onersquos languageenvironment onersquos mother tongue language in general and onersquos atti-tudes toward foreign languages toward English and toward Japanese
For purposes of the results we present here 25 nations (except theUnites States Australia and the United Kingdom where the mothertongue is English the so-called ldquoinner circlerdquo see Kachru 1985) wereincluded in the analysis (see Figure 1) India the Philippines Nigeriaand Singapore are considered the so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo (see Kachru l985)This so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo refers to a group of nations with compar-atively low level prevalence of English usage Brazil Argentina MongoliaTaiwan China Korea Japan Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Egypt IsraelTurkey Italy Spain Portugal France Germany Holland Hungary andRussia are considered to be in the so-called ldquoexpanding circlerdquo (seeKachru 1985) where the prevalence of English usage is higher andincreasing Note that these nations ldquodo not have a history of coloniza-tion by members of the inner circlerdquo (Crystal 199754)
Crosstabulations and correspondence analyses were conducted Theseven questions involved in this particular study are listed in Table 1Table 1 shows that the analyses described here involve Questions 7 810 11 12 18 and 19 These numbers will be used throughout the fol-lowing discussion to denote the questions as their results are discussedThe percentage distributions for each of the 7 questions for each of the25 nations are shown in Tables 2 through 8
Table 2 shows the crosstabulation for Question 7 by nation The bul-lets on the left indicate nations whose respondents said ldquoNordquo to the ques-tion about preference for their mother tongue when talking with foreignersin their own nation much more often than ldquoYesrdquo In other words inSingapore the Philippines Nigeria and Egypt respondents were muchless likely to prefer using their mother tongue to communicate with for-eigners while in their own nations Respondents in nearly all other nationsanswered ldquoYesrdquo 60 or more percent of the time (with the exception ofIndia at 53 percent) Indeed many of the other respondents answeredldquoYesrdquo 80 to 90 percent of the time These findings are consistent with
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 386
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 385
dominant language Do these people want to learn English Do thesepeople feel ldquoenvious resentful or angryrdquo (Crystal 19972) Crystal (19972)goes on to state
These feelings are natural and would arise whichever language emerged asa global language They are feelings which give rise to fears and fearslead to conflict Political differences over language economics educationlaws and rights are a daily encounter for millions Language is always inthe news and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global languagethe more newsworthy it is
Clearly the sources of feelings about language are extremely broad inscope including for instance economics politics the law policy mak-ing and so on Effectively this broad-based derivation is treated by thescience of sociolinguistics (see eg Kachru 1986 1991 Baker 1992Berns 1992 Ammon 1994 Pulcini 1997) Kachru (1991) called attitudes(toward language) unplanned or invisible forces which can in effectbecome invisible policies From a somewhat different perspective Cooperand Fishman (19778) have pointed out that ldquoLanguage attitude is some-times studied in its own right and sometimes in connection with its rela-tionship to language behaviorrdquo These types of study of language attitudesare at least characteristically if not fundamentally different from theempirical studies being reported here As Cooper and Fishman (19778)also point out ldquoMost research on the relationship between language atti-tude and second-language achievement has concentrated on the moti-vational aspects of language attitude or on the attitudes toward nativespeakers of the target languagerdquo Language proficiency is often cited andstudied in this regard however the present work does not speak to issuesof motivation achievement proficiency or competency
Indeed very little empirical work has ever before focused on the issueof Englishness on the rise of English to the status of international lan-guage as the principal conduit for international communications Whatthese and many other implied speculations have heretofore lacked isempirical evidence in general and evidence about attitudes toward Englishas international language in particular (For further information on atti-tudes toward English among different nations see eg Berns 1988 Prideand Liu 1988 Pennington and Yue 1994 Shim 1994 Iwasaki 1994Yong and Campbell 1995 van Essen 1997 Pulcini 1997 and Spolskyand Shhamy 1999)
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 385
386 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Empirical Study and Analysis
Between 1996 and 1998 Tokyorsquos National Language Research Instituteconducted nationwide cross-national personal interview surveys among28 nations aimed at among other things determining the nationsrsquo degreesof tolerance for English both intra- and internationally Sampling meth-ods for most of these nations were probability sampling and quota sam-pling techniques (for details on the samplings for each surveyed nationsee Suzuki Yanagihara and Yoneda 2003) The original questionnaire(see National Language Research Institute 1999) included 58 questionscovering a number of themes and topics which included onersquos languageenvironment onersquos mother tongue language in general and onersquos atti-tudes toward foreign languages toward English and toward Japanese
For purposes of the results we present here 25 nations (except theUnites States Australia and the United Kingdom where the mothertongue is English the so-called ldquoinner circlerdquo see Kachru 1985) wereincluded in the analysis (see Figure 1) India the Philippines Nigeriaand Singapore are considered the so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo (see Kachru l985)This so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo refers to a group of nations with compar-atively low level prevalence of English usage Brazil Argentina MongoliaTaiwan China Korea Japan Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Egypt IsraelTurkey Italy Spain Portugal France Germany Holland Hungary andRussia are considered to be in the so-called ldquoexpanding circlerdquo (seeKachru 1985) where the prevalence of English usage is higher andincreasing Note that these nations ldquodo not have a history of coloniza-tion by members of the inner circlerdquo (Crystal 199754)
Crosstabulations and correspondence analyses were conducted Theseven questions involved in this particular study are listed in Table 1Table 1 shows that the analyses described here involve Questions 7 810 11 12 18 and 19 These numbers will be used throughout the fol-lowing discussion to denote the questions as their results are discussedThe percentage distributions for each of the 7 questions for each of the25 nations are shown in Tables 2 through 8
Table 2 shows the crosstabulation for Question 7 by nation The bul-lets on the left indicate nations whose respondents said ldquoNordquo to the ques-tion about preference for their mother tongue when talking with foreignersin their own nation much more often than ldquoYesrdquo In other words inSingapore the Philippines Nigeria and Egypt respondents were muchless likely to prefer using their mother tongue to communicate with for-eigners while in their own nations Respondents in nearly all other nationsanswered ldquoYesrdquo 60 or more percent of the time (with the exception ofIndia at 53 percent) Indeed many of the other respondents answeredldquoYesrdquo 80 to 90 percent of the time These findings are consistent with
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 386
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
386 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Empirical Study and Analysis
Between 1996 and 1998 Tokyorsquos National Language Research Instituteconducted nationwide cross-national personal interview surveys among28 nations aimed at among other things determining the nationsrsquo degreesof tolerance for English both intra- and internationally Sampling meth-ods for most of these nations were probability sampling and quota sam-pling techniques (for details on the samplings for each surveyed nationsee Suzuki Yanagihara and Yoneda 2003) The original questionnaire(see National Language Research Institute 1999) included 58 questionscovering a number of themes and topics which included onersquos languageenvironment onersquos mother tongue language in general and onersquos atti-tudes toward foreign languages toward English and toward Japanese
For purposes of the results we present here 25 nations (except theUnites States Australia and the United Kingdom where the mothertongue is English the so-called ldquoinner circlerdquo see Kachru 1985) wereincluded in the analysis (see Figure 1) India the Philippines Nigeriaand Singapore are considered the so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo (see Kachru l985)This so-called ldquoouter circlerdquo refers to a group of nations with compar-atively low level prevalence of English usage Brazil Argentina MongoliaTaiwan China Korea Japan Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Egypt IsraelTurkey Italy Spain Portugal France Germany Holland Hungary andRussia are considered to be in the so-called ldquoexpanding circlerdquo (seeKachru 1985) where the prevalence of English usage is higher andincreasing Note that these nations ldquodo not have a history of coloniza-tion by members of the inner circlerdquo (Crystal 199754)
Crosstabulations and correspondence analyses were conducted Theseven questions involved in this particular study are listed in Table 1Table 1 shows that the analyses described here involve Questions 7 810 11 12 18 and 19 These numbers will be used throughout the fol-lowing discussion to denote the questions as their results are discussedThe percentage distributions for each of the 7 questions for each of the25 nations are shown in Tables 2 through 8
Table 2 shows the crosstabulation for Question 7 by nation The bul-lets on the left indicate nations whose respondents said ldquoNordquo to the ques-tion about preference for their mother tongue when talking with foreignersin their own nation much more often than ldquoYesrdquo In other words inSingapore the Philippines Nigeria and Egypt respondents were muchless likely to prefer using their mother tongue to communicate with for-eigners while in their own nations Respondents in nearly all other nationsanswered ldquoYesrdquo 60 or more percent of the time (with the exception ofIndia at 53 percent) Indeed many of the other respondents answeredldquoYesrdquo 80 to 90 percent of the time These findings are consistent with
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 386
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 387
Figure 1
Kachrursquos (1985) ldquoConcentric Circles of Englishrdquo
the fact that Singapore the Philippines and Nigeria are outer circlenations Egypt is an exception as is India to some extent
Table 3 shows the crosstabulations for Question 8 by nation Here thebullets are used to denote those nations that most frequently (35 percentor more) answered ldquoForeign Languagesrdquo to Question 8 These wereSingapore Holland India the Philippines Israel Turkey and EgyptOf course the responses to this question as can be seen in the tableare somewhat dictated by the percentages of respondents in these nationswho cannot speak any other language andor those who have no oppor-tunities to speak with foreigners In Nigeria for instance three-quartersof all respondents said they could not speak any foreign languages
Table 4 depicts the crosstabulations for Question 10 by nation Responseswere grouped into three categories mother tongue English and ldquoothermajor languagesrdquo This table presents the results for those who selectedEnglish and those who did not In terms of the indispensability of Englishfor international communication in the future virtually all respondents
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 387
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
388 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 1Survey questions used for the analysis
Question 7 Would you likeprefer to use your mother tongue when talking with for-eigners in your country 1 = yes 2 = no
Question 8 Which language your mother tongue or any foreign language do youtend to use when talking with foreigners in your country Please chooseone from this card The card showed the following options
1 My mother tongue because I cannot speak any foreign languages2 My mother tongue although I can speak foreign languages3 Foreign languages4 No opportunity to talk with foreigners
Question 10 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for international communication in the futureRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 11 Including your mother tongue what languages do you think will be essen-tial or indispensable for communication within your country in the future Respondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 12 Including your mother tongue what languages would you like your chil-dren to learn If you do not have children what languages would youchoose if you did have childrenRespondents simply listed language(s) in answer to this question (multiplechoices)
Question 18 English is said to be the worldrsquos dominant or most influential languagetodayDo you agree or disagree agree = 1 disagree = 2
Question 19 What do you think about English being the worldrsquos dominant or mostinfluential language today The possible responses were
1 I think it is good that English is dominant2 I do not think it is good that English is dominant but I see no alternative3 I do not think it is good that English is dominant and I think more
should be done to use other languages
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 388
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 389
Table 2Crosstabulations of Question 7 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 389
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
390 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 3Crosstabulations of Question 8 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 390
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 391
Table 4Crosstabulations of Question 10 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 391
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
392 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
from all nations referenced English an average of 91 percent of the time Only Brazil answered English less than 80 percent of the time (at72 percent)
Question 11 (see Table 5) asked respondents what languages theythought would be indispensable for international communication in thefuture within their own nation Here again responses were grouped intothree categories mother tongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquoThis table presents the results for those who selected English and thosewho did not Bullets in Table 5 denote those nations where respondentsanswered English less often than average (the average for English was60 percent) These nations include Argentina Spain Portugal RussiaIndonesia Taiwan China and Japan with responses for ldquoEnglishrdquo rang-ing from 16 to 49 percent Clearly this result is far from unanimousregarding respondentsrsquo feelings about English usage in the future Thereis certainly little question but that regional languages remain strong counterparts to English Such languages include Spanish PortugueseIndonesian Russian Chinese Japanese Hindi and Arabic (cf Fishman1982 Al-Dabbagh 2005)
Table 6 shows the crosstabulations for Question 12 by nation Question 12simply asked respondents what language they would like their childrento learn Here too responses were grouped into three categories mothertongue English and ldquoother major languagesrdquo This table presents theresults for those who selected English and those who did not It is notablethat nearly 88 percent of all respondents from all 25 nations selectedEnglish Outliers are not marked on Table 6 but a close inspectionreveals that Brazil Portugal Indonesia and Taiwan all had respondentsselecting a language other than English more than 20 percent of thetime (with Taiwan at a striking 34 percent)
Question 18 (Table 7) simply asked whether respondents agreed ordisagreed with the statement that ldquoEnglish is said to be the worldrsquos dom-inant or more influential language todayrdquo Respondents from the 25different nations agreed about 89 percent of the time As in the previ-ous table outliers are not marked however if we select 19 percent asthe cutoff point for those disagreeing we identify the following nationsHungary Portugal Russia India and China These nations disagreedwith the statement about English quite a bit more often than did theremaining 20 nations
The last table Table 8 depicts the results of crosstabulations forQuestion 19 by nation Respondents were asked how they felt aboutEnglish being the worldrsquos dominant or most influential language todayThey could answer that (a) they think it is good that English is domi-nant (b) they do not think it is good that English is dominant but they
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 392
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 393
Table 5Crosstabulations of Question 11 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 393
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
394 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 6Crosstabulations of Question 12 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 121 PM Page 394
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 395
Table 7Crosstabulations of Question 18 by nation
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 395
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
396 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Table 8Crosstabulations of Question 19 by nation
see no alternative or (c) they do not think it is good that English is dom-inant and they think more should be done to use other languagesInterestingly 59 percent chose the first and simplest answer that it isgood that English is dominant Twenty-two percent chose the secondoption while seventeen percent chose the third Here again outliers areshown by bullets and include those nations whose respondents answeredldquoNot good and other languagesrdquo more than 24 percent of the time
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 396
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 397
These nations include Brazil Argentina France Spain Russia Turkeyand Egypt Also notable in this crosstabulation are the responses ofKorea China and Japan with percentages for ldquoNot good but no alter-nativerdquo ranging from 34 to 57 percent Exceptionally low percentagesfor ldquoGoodrdquo are seen for Argentina Spain and Japan
From these findings we can conclude that in general although theEnglish language is regarded as the international language how theimportance of the English language is regarded in given nations hassignificant impact on the results for these 25 nations
Correspondence analysis is a statistical technique which is useful forthose who collect categorical data for example data collected in socialsurveys The method is particularly helpful in analyzing crosstabular datain the form of numerical frequencies and results in elegant but simplegraphic displays in Euclidean space thereby facilitating rapid under-standing of the data The correspondence analyses yielded the resultsshown in Figures 2a and 3 Figure 2a depicts the actual numeric posi-tions of the 25 nations with reference to the results for Questions 7 8and 19
Using Questions 7 8 and 19 we identify three clusters A B and Cas shown in Figure 2b Cluster A is composed of nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language when talking with foreigners whodo not think Englishrsquos dominance is good and who advocate greater useof other languages Cluster A nations include Brazil Argentina RussiaFrance Hungary and Spain Cluster B is composed of nations whosespeakers tend to use their native language when talking with foreignersand who do not think Englishrsquos dominance is good but feel that thereis no alternative Cluster B nations include Japan Korea China andGermany Cluster C is composed of nations whose populace uses Englishwhen talking with foreigners and who think English dominance is goodCluster C nations include Singapore Egypt the Philippines India IsraelHolland and Nigeria
Between Clusters A and B there are several nations with mixed elementssuch as those that do not think that English dominance is good and thatthink more should be done to use other languages and those that donot think that English dominance is good but that see no alternative
From Figure 2a we can see that the X axis partitions the responsecategories of Questions 7 and 19 The positive side is composed of thosenations that prefer to use English when talking with foreigners in theirown nations and that think English dominance is good The negativeside is composed of those nations that use their mother tongue whentalking with foreigners in their own nations and do not speak any for-eign languages The Y axis partitions those nations that think that English
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 397
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
398 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Bra
zil
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Po
rtu
gal
Vie
tnam Ger
man
yC
hin
a
Ko
rea
Jap
an
Thai
lan
d
Ind
on
esia
Turk
ey Taiw
an
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Sin
gap
ore
Egyp
tN
iger
ia
Ho
llan
d
Ind
iaIs
rael
Arg
enti
ne
Arg
enti
ne
Ru
ssia
Ru
ssia
Spai
nSp
ain
Fran
ceH
un
gar
y
Hu
ng
ary
Fig
ure
2a
Corr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
7
8
and 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 398
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 399
Clu
ster
C
Clu
ster
A
Clu
ster
B
8 6 4 2 00
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6
ndash8 ndash1
0ndash
50
05
10
15
Fig
ure
2b
Thre
e cl
uster
s bas
ed o
n Q
ues
tions
7
8
and 1
9 f
or
25 n
atio
ns
Clu
ster
A
is co
mpose
d of
nat
ions
whos
e sp
eake
rs ten
d to
use
their
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with f
ore
ign-
ers w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
-
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
ho ad
voca
te
grea
ter
use
ofoth
er l
angu
ages
Clu
ster
B is co
mpose
d o
f nat
ions
whose
spea
kers
ten
d to u
se thei
r
nat
ive
langu
age
when
tal
king
with
fore
igner
s a
nd w
ho d
o n
ot th
ink
Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce is
good b
ut
feel
that
ther
e is n
o a
lter
nat
ive
Clu
ster
C i
s co
mpose
d o
f
nations
whose
popula
ce
use
s Engl
ish w
hen
tal
king
with fo
reig
ner
s an
d w
ho
thin
k Engl
ishrsquos d
om
inan
ce
is g
ood
Countrie
s w
ith m
ixed
ele
men
ts su
ch a
s
those
whic
h d
o n
ot th
ink
that
Engl
ishrsquos
dom
inan
ce is go
od an
d w
hic
h th
ink
more
should
be
done
to u
se o
ther
lan
-
guag
es
and t
hose
whic
h d
o n
ot
thin
k
that
Engl
ishrsquos dom
inan
ce is go
od but
whic
h s
ee n
o a
lter
nat
ive
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 399
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
400 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
Sin
gap
ore
10 8 6 4 2 ndash0
ndash2
ndash4
ndash6 ndash
6ndash
4ndash
2ndash
02
46
8
Isra
elH
olla
nd Th
aila
nd
Ph
ilip
pin
es
Vie
tnam Tu
rkey
Ger
man
yNig
eria
Ital
y
Mo
ng
olia
Fran
ce
Ko
rea
Spai
n
Ind
iaEg
ypt H
un
gar
y
Ch
ina
Arg
enti
ne
Jap
an
Ind
on
esia
Taiw
an
Ru
ssia
Po
rtu
gal
Bra
zil
Fig
ure
3C
orr
esponden
ce a
nal
ysis f
or
25 n
atio
ns
using
Ques
tions
8
10
11
12 a
nd 1
9
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 400
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 401
dominance is not good but that see no alternative (bottom) and thosethat also think that English dominance is not good and that think moreshould be done to use other languages (upper)
Next we focus more on the environment of English language usageby introducing a different set of questions For this analysis we usedQuestions 8 10 11 12 and 19 (see Figure 3) Here the X-axis can beinterpreted as an indication of greater or lesser tolerance for English asa foreign language with the negative side of the axis suggesting greatertolerance for English as a foreign language and the positive side sug-gesting lesser tolerance (To estimate the degree of tolerance Question 11ldquoIncluding your mother tongue what languages do you think will beessential or indispensable for communication within your country in thefuturerdquo was used) With regard to the Y-axis we can think of this asan indication of attitudes toward English as an international languageversus the use of English as it is perceived that there is no other alter-native for international communication Thus the negative (bottom) halfof the axis suggests nations that would rather see languages other thanEnglish used for international communications but that see no alterna-tive to English while the positive (top) half of the axis suggests nationsmore comfortable with English as the dominant international languageand that use English when talking with foreigners in their own nations
In sum the crosstabulation and correspondence analyses revealed threepatterns (a) nations whose speakers use their native language when speak-ing with foreigners who do not think English dominance is good andwho advocate greater use of other languages (b) nations whose speak-ers tend to use their native language with foreigners and who do notthink English dominance is good but feel that there is no alternativeand (c) nations whose populace uses English when speaking with for-eigners and who think English dominance is good
Conclusion
These findings would appear to validate speculation about English beingor becoming the dominant international language in our globalizingworld and elucidating the actual attitudinal trends among nations regard-ing this phenomenon These findings are certainly consistent with thegeneral claim about English usage as international language The findingsfurther suggest that there are no immediate competitors to Englishpresently on the horizon indicating that English will continue to dom-inate international communication in the foreseeable future
As Pennycook (19948) has pointed out those who use English as aforeign language are ldquothe hardest to estimate [in numbers] but clearly
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 401
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
[the] fastest growing section of world speakers of Englishrdquo As this studyhas shown though many of these English as foreign language users arenot especially happy about it Indeed the data described here reinforcean extraordinary degree of ambivalence andor discontent about usingEnglish
While this study has provided a wealth of new information about atti-tudes toward English as international language the study too has per-haps raised more questions than it has answered Nonetheless this suggeststhat opportunities for further study should be strikingly apparent Andthese opportunities include not only further analyses of the NationalLanguage Research Institutersquos vast survey data but also new data gath-ering opportunities
References
Al-Dabbagh Abdulla 2005 ldquoGlobalism and the Universal Languagerdquo English Today21(2)3ndash12
Ammon Ulrich 1994 ldquoThe Present Dominance of English in Europerdquo Sociolinguistica81ndash14
Bailey Richard W 1985 ldquoThe Idea of World Englishrdquo English Today 11ndash5Baker Colin 1992 Attitudes and Language Clevedon Multilingual MattersBarber Bernard 1982 ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Language Spread Studies in Diffusion and Social
Change edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington Indiana University PressBerns Margie 1988 ldquoThe Cultural and Linguistic Context of English in West Germanyrdquo
World Englishes 737ndash49mdashmdash 1992 ldquoSociolinguistics and the Teaching of English in Europe beyond the 1990srdquo
World Englishes 113ndash14Bickley Verner 1982 ldquoThe International Uses of English Research in Progressrdquo In
English for International Communication edited by Christopher Brumfit Oxford PergamonPress
Bourdieu P 1976 ldquoThe School as a Conservative Force Scholastic and CulturalInequalitiesrdquo Pp 192ndash200 in Schooling and Capitalism edited by R Dale G Eslandand M MacDonald London Routledge and Kegan Paul
mdashmdash 1977 ldquoThe Forms of Capitalrdquo In Education Culture Economy Society edited by A H Halsey H Lauder P Brown and A S Wells Oxford Oxford University Press
Bourdieu P and JC Passeron 1990 Reproduction in Education Society and Culture (2ndedition) London Sage
Brumfit Christopher 1982 ldquoEnglish as an International Language I What Do WeMean by lsquoEnglishrsquordquo In English for International Communication edited by ChristopherBrumfit Oxford Pergamon Press
Bryson Bill 1990 Mother Tongue The English Language London Penguin booksCooper Robert L and Joshua A Fishman 1977 ldquoStudy of Language Attitudesrdquo The
Bilingual Review iv7ndash34Crystal David 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Pressmdashmdash 2004 The Language Revolution Cambridge Polity PressDeneire Marc Gerard 1993 ldquoDemocratizing English as an International Languagerdquo
Word Englishes 12169ndash178
402 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 402
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
English as an International Language bull 403
Durkheim Emile 1938 Rules of Sociological Method Glencoe IL Free PressEssen Arthur van 1997 ldquoEnglish in Mainland Europe ndash a Dutch Perspectiverdquo World
Englishes 1695ndash103Firth JR 1970 The Tongues of Men and Speech 1937 Oxford Oxford University PressFishman Joshua A 1998 ldquoThe New Linguistic Orderrdquo Foreign Policy 11326ndash34Hertzler Joyce O 1965 A Sociology of Language New York Random HouseIwasaki Yasufumi 1994 ldquoEnglishization of Japanese and Acculturation of English to
Japanese Culturerdquo World Englishes 13261ndash272Kachru Braj B 1985 ldquoStandards Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism The English
Language in the Outer Circlerdquo Pp 11ndash30 in English in the World edited by RandolphQuirk and HG Widdowson Cambridge Cambridge University Press
mdashmdash 1986 The Alchemy of English The Spread Functions and Models of Non-native EnglishesOxford Pergamon Press
mdashmdash 1991 ldquoLiberation Linguistics and the Quirk Concernrdquo English Today 253ndash13Lieberson Stanley 1982 ldquoForces Affecting Language Spread Some Basic Propositionsrdquo
Pp 37ndash62 in Language Spread edited by Robert L Cooper Bloomington IndianaUniversity Press
Melchers Gunnel and Philip Shaw 2003 World Englishes Oxford Oxford UniversityPress
Mesthrie Rajend Joan Swann Andrea Deumert and William L Leap 2000 IntroducingSociolinguistics Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press
National Language Research Institute 1999 Attitudes toward Japanese Language ATentative Codebook Tokyo National Language Research Institute
Noss RB (ed) 1983 Varieties of English in Southeast Asia Singapore Singapore UniversityPress
Pennington Martha C and Francis Yue 1994 ldquoEnglish and Chinese in Hong KongPre-1997 Language Attitudesrdquo World Englishes 131ndash20
Pennycook Alastair 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language LondonLongman
Power Carla 2005 ldquoNot the Queenrsquos Englishrdquo Newsweek March 747ndash59Pride John B and Liu Ru-Shan 1988 ldquoSome Aspects of the Spread of English in
China since 1949rdquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 7441ndash70Pulcini Virginia 1997 ldquoAttitudes toward the Spread of English in Italyrdquo World Englishes
1677ndash85Quirk Randolph 1987 ldquoThe Question of Standards in the International Use of Englishrdquo
Pp 229ndash241 in Language Spread and Language Policy Issues Implications and Case Studiesedited by PH Lowenberg Georgetown University Round Tables on Language and LinguisticsWashington DC Georgetown University Press
Quirk Randolph and HG Widdowson (eds) 1985 English in the World Teaching andLearning the Language and Literatures Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Shim Rosa Jinyoung 1994 ldquoEnglishized Korean Structure Status and Attitudesrdquo WorldEnglishes 13225ndash244
Smith Larry E (ed) 1983 Readings in English as an International Language Oxford PergamonPress
Spolsky Bernard and Elana Shohamy 1999 ldquoLanguage in Israeli Society and EducationrdquoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language 13793ndash114
Strevens Peter l980 Teaching English as an International Language Oxford Pergamon Pressmdashmdash 1982 ldquoWorld English and the Worldrsquos Englishes Or Whose Language Is It
Anywayrdquo Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 5311418ndash431
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 403
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
Suzuki Tatsuzo RyozoYanagihara and Masato Yoneda 2003 ldquoInternational Census onJapanese Language Usage ndash Sampling Design and Survey Conducted among SurveyedNationsrdquo Behaviometrika 587ndash29
Yong Zhao and Keith Cambell 1995 ldquoEnglish in Chinardquo World Englishes 14377ndash390Wright Roger 2004 ldquoLatin and English as World Languagesrdquo English Today 20(4)3ndash13
404 bull Masamichi Sasaki Tatsuzo Suzuki and Masato Yoneda
COSO 54_f4_381-404I 111606 122 PM Page 404
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