Kachru's theory divides the varieties of English used globally into three circles - the Inner Circle consisting of countries where English is the primary language, Outer Circle where it is widely used as a secondary language, and Expanding Circle where it is used predominantly as a foreign language. Studies estimate there were 375 million users in the Inner Circle, 375 million in the Outer Circle, and 750-1000 million in the Expanding Circle as of 2001. English spread from Britain to its colonies and also serves administrative purposes in countries it was adopted in after colonization, contributing to its global influence.

1. WORLD ENGLISH

2. English as a world language
 Who
is a native speaker?
 Is it important?
 What is an error and what
is a difference?

3. KACHRU’S “CIRCLES” THEORY
Many
varieties of
English exist
across the
globe. Kachru
(1992) has
classified
these as
being in the
‘Inner Circle’,
‘Outer Circle’
& ‘Expanding
Circle’

4. Kachru’s Circles
Studies suggest that there were (in 2001) an
estimated:
 375 million users of English in Inner-Circle
societies (English as a 1st language)
 375 million in Outer-Circle societies
(English as a 2nd language)
 750-1,000 million in the Expanding Circle
(English as a Foreign language)
(McArthur, 2001)

5. The spread of English
1.
2.
3.
From the United Kingdom to countries where native English
speakers have settled down in large numbers (Kachru’s Inner
Circle countries, 1992): Australia, Canada, New Zealand,
South Africa, and the United States as a first language for
many
As a second language (Kachru’s Outer Circle, 1992): Examples
- Hong Kong, India, Singapore
Or a foreign language (Kachru’s Expanding Circle, 1992):
Examples - Germany, Hungary, Poland, China, and Japan

6. Reasons for the spread
(Kandiah, 1998):
Colonisation
These were countries formerly colonised by the British
- e.g. India, Singapore, Malta etc.
- English as a language gained importance in the administration of
the country
English served an official purpose within the country in law,
education and government.
‘Global village’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZI1EjxxXKw
( David Crystal on Global English)

7. McArthur’s
Circle of
World English
– a different
way of
representing
the
phenomenon
of World
English.
Is there
really a
‘World
Standard
English’?

8. References



Kachru, B. (1986). The Alchemy of English: The
Spread, Functions, and Models of Non-native
Englishes. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Kandiah, T (1998), ‘Why New Englishes?’ in J A
Foley, et al. (eds.), English in New Cultural
Contexts: Reflections from Singapore (Singapore:
Oxford University Press), pp. 1–40.
McArthur, T.(2001). "World English and World
Englishes: Trends, tensions, varieties, and
standards", Language Teaching Vol. 34: 1.