The term "new Englishes" is used for the varieties which have developed in the Outer Circle. In a historical and linguistic sense, these varieties are not new in the meaning of history and linguistics. They are called "new" because it is only recently that they have been recognized and accepted in terms of linguistics, although they have a long history of acculturation in geographical, cultural and linguistic background which is different from the English of the Inner Circle. (http://www.victorianweb.org/post/india/hohenthal/2.1.html) Taking Indian English and Singaporean English for an example, English is one of the major languages spoken in both India and Singapore, though the kind of English spoken in both countries has a strong local flavour, and is considered a dialect in its own right. (http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2027.htm)
As a consequence, “new Englishes” are a kind of dialect. The main function of dialect is that people can recognise where they are from by dialect. Therefore, it can distinguish identification of the country by the variation of a global language. (http://datas.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/1/)
There are five characteristics of New Englishes. Firstly, they are used in multilingual and multicultural countries which are culturally different from Britain. Secondly, the spread of New Englishes was through the classroom, and the idea of correctness was controlled by outside influence (teacher’s grammar books). New Englishes tend to play complementary, roles where they are spoken. They are not used in all situations. Thirdly, they are the first language in certain significant social groups, complementing the native languages, which have a first language role in more domestic, everyday situation. Fourthly, for some users, they have begun to have more important role, entering into all aspects of people lives, often together with their own native languages. For example, there are textbooks which are written in English in Singapore, Malaysia and India. Finally, New Englishes are the result of the changes of English, as it adapts itself to handle new objects, relationships and experiences, and develops new things to carry and explain new meanings, cultures and viewpoints. New Englishes are systematic in its own way, and its users can express meanings that are relative to New Englishes. (http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltankw/2262/NE.htm)
The Background of English in Taiwan
Walking the streets of major Taiwanese cities such as Taipei and Kaohsiung, visitors cannot help but notice the great number of English-language schools. Demand for English lessons is not just an urban phenomenon, but a rural one as well. A language school, also known as cram schools, is an essential part of life in Taiwan. Many people attend these schools at least once in their lifetime, from students wanting to improve their English to office and factory workers. As a result, the position of English today in Taiwan is viewed as EFL (English as a foreign language). Why did Taiwan choose English as a foreign language? The phenomenon might be caused by the effect of history, mass communication and politics. There are four main reasons for using the English as a global language in Taiwan.
First of all, since the Industrial Revolution, European countries and America have become more powerful than most Asian countries. Therefore, most Asian governments sent people to study abroad because they wanted to strengthen their competitive ability. Besides this, U.S.A became the strongest country all over the world after World War Two. By colonialism, the local people were exposed to Western culture and economics, even in Taiwan. In order to extend the range of English, America exported the material of teaching English to every country. In addition, there are close relations between America and Taiwan. Therefore, it is difficult to avoid learning English in Taiwan.
(http://datas.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/1/)
Nowadays in Taiwan, most all movies, films, newspapers, magazines, style of clothes and electronic products, are produced or influenced by the West. As a result, English is becoming more important in Taiwan people’s life. Teenagers in particularly regard English as indispensable. If a person does not know English, this will cause problems when trying to find information. (http://datas.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/1/)
Furthermore, a significant number of movies, musicals and pop songs are produced in English. People can open the door to the world of entertainment by being able to watch any Hollywood film in the original version. Accordingly, the media play an important role in developing English. In terms of radio in Taiwan, there are some English stations which include speech, news and music. Furthermore, there are some TV programers to teach English that attract people of all ages from young children to the elderly. In addition to this, there is a diversity of English newspapers which are suitable for each different age and social group. (http://datas.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/1/)
Finally, English is the language of trade and science. Many non-English speakers have sound English language skills to do business, to understand scientific publications and to communicate with people from all over the world. With Taiwan's entry into the WTO (World Trade Organization) the need to use English has increased at it is the primary language of the United States, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It is spoken by one out of every six people in the world, hence it has become the lingua franca of business and travel--essential for communication and survival when travelling around the world. (http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/past/02122071.html) As Taiwan is developing much closer relations with other countries after accessing to WTO, companies now requires employees who speak very fluent English to do overseas business. (http://datas.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/1/) Growing awareness of its worldwide significance has definitely pushed the English craze to even greater heights.
Taiwan English
It is hard to estimate how many dialects of English there are in the world. We have certainly heard of Indian English or 'Hinglish' and Singaporean English or 'Singlish'. But what about a place like Taiwan where English is not a major language, but an auxiliary language often used in education, business, and international communications? Could Taiwan be considered to have its own dialect of English like Taiwan English or Taiwanlish?
Although there are variations in the way each person who is educated in Taiwan speaks English, there is a fairly consistent pattern of pronunciation which is heard. Without doubt, first of all, it is due to the particular pronunciation style of the English teachers which is taught when students start to learn English at junior high school, or more commonly nowadays in primary school; Secondly, many students also learn English at a commercial "cram school". This pronunciation style is influenced by their peers and other English speakers from Taiwan who they come in contact with. (http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2027.htm) Speaking in any other way, even if it is a standard world variety of English, would likely probably produce criticism from classmates, friends and colleagues, simply because it is different or might be considered to be a showing off.
In theory, American English is now the standard for English education in Taiwan. However, Taiwan English sounds very un-American in many ways. Therefore, where did the pronunciation patterns of 'Taiwan English' come from? It is hard to definitely know the origins of the present system, but some people have suggested some ideas about where they might come from. Firstly, Japanese-style pronunciations of English dating back to Taiwan's period of Japanese occupation may have had some influences (1895-1945). Secondly, mainland immigrants brought various mainland Chinese versions of English to Taiwan before 1945 and these could be significant. Thirdly, it might be influenced by old Chinese versions of standard British textbook pronunciations. For example, the lack of postvocalic /r/ in words such as sister and first, and the /ɒ/ sound as in Tom and John dating from the time when the phonetic alphabet was used to teach English, before the KK system of American pronunciation was adopted in Taiwan in 1969. Fourthly, it might be affected by the reinforcement of incorrect pronunciation in English classrooms in all levels of schools. Finally, it might be transferred from the main local languages, such as Mandarin and Southern Min. (http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2027.htm) For example, “Long time no see” is a sentence of Taiwan English, which translated from Mandarin. However, it should be” I haven’t seen you for a long time” in the way of Standard English. Of all these theories, the last one seems to be a particularly strong motivating force behind the rule of Taiwan English.
I have been learning English for 10 years since Junior high school when I was 13 years old. I have not been to an English-language school or cram school and was only educated at school. When I started to learn English as a compulsory course in junior school, I thought that the English was the identical in pronunciation, sounds, grammar and spelling all over the world. Following the teacher’s instruction, we started to learn the KK system of American pronunciation as Taiwan viewed this version as Standard English. I did not know there were any native English-speaking countries in the world, such as British English and Australian English with different pronunciation before going abroad.
My English teachers in junior and senior high school were Taiwanese who had graduated from the department of English. I did not realise that their pronunciation which is un-American way. After been taught in the University by English teacher who was a native American, I understood that the distinction between a non-native and native English teacher. I found the stress and timing of a Taiwanese teacher is very different from an American teacher. Nevertheless, I had learned that way for six years, it was hard to change the stress and timing of Taiwan English for me because I was used to speaking like wrong way. Therefore, in my case, Taiwan English could be considered as result of the particular pronunciation style of the English teacher.
In addition, I have found some interesting things since 2001 when I first went abroad to study English in England. First of all, I became aware that people who come from different countries speak different accents of English. There are so many diverse ways among the native English-speaking countries. For example, there are difference in pronunciation of English between British and American, such as “water” and “can’t”. Besides this, I have met some overseas students who have their own accent of English. For instance, Japanese speak a particular style of English due to the pronunciation of “l” and “r” while Spanish speak English with retroflexion. After communicating with a lot of people who come from all over the world, I am often able to recognise where they come from their own accent of English.
However, how about the situation when I speak English to foreigners? At the beginning, when I talked to native-English people, I did not believe that my English was different from them. Soon, I found out that I speak Taiwan English because of my pronunciation and tone. In particular when I said the word” Zoo”, none of the native-English speakers could understand me. The reason was that I had learnt the pronunciation of “Zoo” to be “ru” and the letter “Z” to be “li” since junior high school in Taiwan. Consequently, I think that Taiwan has its own accent of English because of the KK system of pronunciation used in the country.
Currently, Taiwan is neither a community which speaks English as a second language nor a region which was colonized by Britain. Therefore, it is difficult to state definitely whether Taiwan in a nation of the Outer Circle or Taiwan English is one of the New Englishes due to its characteristics. In spite of New Englishes, Taiwan English can be regarded as one dialect of English in the globe. In my opinion, I think Taiwan English as a dialect of English in his own right. We might call it a national EFL dialect since English is mostly learned as a foreign language in Taiwan.
Conclusion
From the past to present, language is highly variable and continually changing. There is a long history of academic interest in language variation and change, which has recently become more common, with increasing attention paid to the” New Englishes’ spoken in many parts of the world. With the development of New English, more and more dialects of English have been investigated by academics. It is impossible to ignore this phenomenon.
Why is the case particular with English? Due to the reasons of communication, trade and science, education and the relationship with U.S.A, Taiwan chose the English as a foreign language. With the development of language in Taiwan, many ways of using English have been developed which are not Standard English anymore. Because of this, Taiwan English has been studied more and more by linguists. As mentioned above, most Taiwanese have their own style of pronunciation, grammar and writing because of the particular pronunciation style of the previous English teacher who are usually from Taiwan. This phenomenon may be one of reasons causing the feature of Taiwan English. Whatever, the current Taiwan government suggests that English could become a second language in next decade. The question we must ask is what will Taiwan English be like. I believe that it will include new vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation but it thinks it is impossible to predict exactly what the changes will be.
List of Reference
Book
Graddol et al. (1996)., English: history, diversity and change Routledge: London
Web page
Anon (2003)., The sounds and allophones of Taiwan English I [Website] Available at:http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2027.htm[Accessed 2003, 20, November]
Anon (2003)., The sounds and allophones of Taiwan English III [Website] Available at: http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2029.htm[Accessed 2003, 20, November]
Anon (2003)., The New Englishes[Website] Available at: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltankw/2262/NE.htm[Accessed 2003, 1, December]
Liu Louise (2002)., Studying English a national obsession [Website] Available at: http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/past/02122071.html [Accessed 2003, 25, November]
Tsai Ching-Yi (2002)., An observation of English Education through the Phenomenon of the Superior of English Foreign Teacher[Website] Available at: http://datas.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/1/ [Accessed 2003, 22, November]
