This colloquium examines the heightened dynamics of English use in recent years within extant speech communities of the Expanding Circle (EC) (Kachru 1985, 1990). It challenges the long prevailing interpretation of Kachru’s (1990) Three Circles model as static, with English regarded ad infinitum as a Foreign Language in the EC. Exploring distinct contexts within this circle, the panelists show how English in fact is gaining uses as an Additional Language. The analyses draw on the distinct set of socio-historical factors defining the EC, which has the largest number of users yet shortest history of contact.
In continental Europe, there has been a marked increase in the users and uses of the language since World War II. While much current research focuses on the supranational level of English use (i.e. the ELF paradigm), significant range and depth also exist within Europe’s long-established speech communities. Morocco presents an EC context with a distinct colonial history, of French and Spanish rather than British rule. Although the two former colonial languages along with Arabic and numerous local languages remain firmly part of the linguistic repertoire, English is becoming part of those multilingual practices as well. This is evident especially in the educational domain, which signifies the language’s institutionalization in the North African kingdom. In Vancouver, Canada, large numbers of travellers from eastern Asia have been enrolling in private English language courses, which are part of a booming, yet largely unregulated industry. Ironically, within this Inner Circle context these users often engage more in language tourism, as opposed to gaining advanced language acquisition. In France, an analysis of recent print and web advertising demonstrates how English is becoming a de facto language of business. Considering also the growing use of English in higher education, this indicates an on-going shift for the code to become an Additional Language. Another analysis of advertising copy, in the Asian nation of Taiwan, provides an in-depth assessment of increasing English use over a 10-year period. It shows the language’s growing role within the domain, with copywriters demonstrating increasing bilingual ingenuity in using English as an Additional Language in their work.
