Saturday, May 29
Globish English
| These days, there is a phenomenon on the use of English namely Globish English. It is first codified by Jean-Paul Nerrierea, a retired vice-president of IBM in the United States. According to Globish English, English has become a lingua franca, which is widely used by non-native speakers in the world and thus it questions the ownership of English and claims that it has become a property shared by countries all around the world. Since many people from business fields use English as their major tool to get their message across, Globish English stresses the importance of communicative approach on the use of English. That means you use simple and common words instead of sophisticated ones, simple syntax instead of complicated one, simple expressions instead of idiomatic, literal words instead of figurative, and keep your sentence short. Based on this basis, you don't say:"I can say in all conscience that my father never lays a finger on my mother," but you say:"I'm pretty sure my father never hurts my mother, physically." You don't say:"If they hate my guts, they can sack me for all I care," but you say:"If they hate me, they can fire me and I don't care at all." You don't say:"I drove my car for all it was worth," but you say:"I drove my car as fast as I can." You don't say:"I have no recollection of chancing upon him somewhere," but you say:"I don't remember I once met him somewhere." You don't say:"If I were in his shoes, I would refrain myself from unraveling all I know about the case," but you say:"If I were in his situation, I would not talk too much." Personally, I don't take a dim view of this phenomenon, oops...It's fine with me. It's all right to embrace, oops...(I'm trying to get used to it) to welcome this idea. So, for English learners it's encouraging because you don't have to trouble yourself learning sophisticated vocabularies or idiomatic expressions, or complicated complex sentences. Simple words and simple expressions will do. For English teachers, forget about impressing your students with sophisticated vocabs and long complex sentences. Simple words and simple expressions will do. So, it's easy for everyone, for learners and for teachers, if communication and being understood are their primary concerns. In conclusion, KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly). As I have said earlier in my status, a genius takes a complex thing and makes it look simple and easy to understand, while an academic does the opposite. What is your opinion of this Globish English thing? You are at liberty to say anything :) If you want to know more about this issue, just Google "Globish English". |
