Ecology of English in Saudi Arabia - Literature review Example

Running head: Ecology of English in Saudi Arabia Institution Course Name Date of submission Introduction The study of languages mostly is described by the people who speak the language henceforth called speakers. The different functions of the language are rarely told. Linguists are more interested in studying and analysing the rules that govern the language such as grammar phonology and the like as opposed to language ecology. Haugen (2001) defines language ecology as “the study of interactions between any given language and its environment” (57). Haugen contributes to write that the environment of a language does not constitute the rules that govern it but rather the society of the speakers. Part of this environment thus comprises of the minds of the speakers and the association with other languages preferably those spoken by other speakers. This is fairly rooted in the perception that language is a living organism that undergoes all the life processes such as birth and death. This report will thus expound on the ecology of the English language in Saudi Arabia where Arabic is most widely spoken using a case study approach. Classification of English English is one of the major worldwide languages and the most widely spoken in the west. However, its use and popularity has spread to other parts of the world. In Europe, the UK is the main representatives of the language where it originated. In North and South America, Canada and the USA is where it is mainly spoken. However, English has gained increased popularity in China and the Middle East including Saudi Arabia. Earlier in the 20th century, the spread of the English language was through colonialism. Proficiency in the language of the colonizers was highly regarded and awarded by the colonialists while the local languages were suppressed (Thiong’o 1969, 202). Pennycook (1998, 133) cites Jacob Grimm, who in 1832 said that 'the English language ...may with all right be called a world-language; and, like the English people, appears destined hereafter to prevail with a sway more extensive even than its present over all the portions of the globe.' In Saudi Arabia, English has grown in popularity especially for the young generation who associate the language with a higher social status (Yamani 2000, 58). Crystal (1997, 106) identifies seven reasons why people would love to learn English as a second language namely; historical reasons, internal political reasons, intellectual reasons, practical reasons, external economic, entertainment reasons and some wrong reasons. In Saudi Arabia, the growth in the popularity of English is driven by a variety of factors. As aforementioned, the young people are doing it mostly for entertainment reasons in order to appear hip. The western culture personified by Hollywood and its celebrities. Other Saudis are doing it for external economic reasons. The latter is brought about by the fact that the world super power, the US, has many business and trade opportunities that continue to attract even the Saudi people. Again, many Saudis are keen on learning in the western universities and hence the need to learn English which is the teaching language in most of these learning institutions. English related to Arabic The use of English language in Saudi Arabia implies that the English language spoken in that country is exposed to a different environment, specifically Saudi Arabia’s national culture and the Arabic language. The influence that the Saudi Arabian environment will have on the English spoken in that country will not only be seen in the spoken language but also in the teaching practice. Dobson (2000, 61) writes that culture cannot be ignored in the teaching of foreign language because language and culture cannot be separated. However, the author recognises that this is a sensitive area and hence must be approached carefully. He continues to warn that “it is taken for granted in most educational settings that learning a foreign language also means understanding the way of life of another linguistic group” (Dobson 2001, 63) something that many Saudi Arabian are not ready to do. An empirical view of majority of Saudi Arabians learning English or speaking the language in the country are keen on protecting their culture and condemning westernised cultural behaviours such as dress code. Nonetheless, learning about a new culture does not amount to practicing the new culture. Learner and user The terms learner and user have been widely used in the teaching of second languages. The learner in most cases is assumed to have a different mother tongue other than the learnt language. The user on the other hand is presumably the native speaker of the language being learnt, in this case English. However, the term native has been objected by different quarters. Haugen (2001, 157) writes that English teachers who are not native speakers of the language face difficulties in getting jobs both in native In Saudi Arabia, English is used for a variety of reasons among the local Arabic speakers, who also happen to be highly religious. Sharifian ( 2009, 12) cites Srah Zafar Khan who conducted a study exploring the use and the teaching of the English language in Saudi Arabia. She approached the study with an aim of displaying the high level of imperialism in the use of English as an international language which aims at preserving the “pure English” or the original English. This is depicted by the use of TOEFL tests by some tertiary colleges in the country for placement and advancement purposes though the test has little relevance for communicative purpose in the country. Research indicates that a particular language obtains varieties depending on the ecology. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, the English used is not the same as the English used elsewhere. Pakir (1997, 173) says that there are standard languages and then their variations. He continues to say the analysis of the Diaspora of English must put regional and social context as a core consideration. Furthermore, there is the issue of distance of English and the local languages used. Pakir say that for languages that share the Roman alphabet with, the perceived distance between English and such a language would be short. For English and Arabic, the distance between the two is large and hence there is an expected wider variation of the English used in Saudi Arabia. Advantages of English use The use of English as a language holds many advantages. Pennycook notes that over 160 airlines use English as the official languages. In countries such as Hong Kong, which is a world business hub, English is used as the standard language. In fact, English is the second most widely used language in world after Chinese Mandarin. However, English is used in the widest geographic region in the world spreading from Africa to the Falklands. The global perception of superiority of English is also obvious in English. In Saudi Arabia, English speakers are highly regarded and assumed to be more educated than others. Pennycook captures this by saying that “the notion of English as some pure, Anglo-Saxon language, the idea that English and English-speakers have always been open, flexible and integrationist, and the belief that because of their vast vocabulary, speakers of English are the ablest thinkers” (1969, 140). However, The perceived superiority of English is a hindrance to the growth and development of other local languages, specifically Arabic in Saudi Arabia. English is also perceived to be a medium of obscenity and westernization, a perceived threat to the status quo of a highly religious society in Saudi Arabia. The use of foreign language as indicated by Mesthrie et al (2000, 157) is a sign of lost culture. Therefore, increased use of English in Saudi Arabia erodes the role of Arabic as a tool of nationalism and also undermines the role of Arabic as a cultural symbol. Therefore, English speakers in Saudi Arabia are likely to be perceived as culturally “lost” or westernized. Domains English is Saudi Arabia plays a very big social role especially among the youth. Fishman (2000, 469) conducted a research in Saudi Arabia to investigate how Saudi people perceived the use of English. Nearly 60% of the respondents in his study perceived the use of the English language as a sign of prestige in scholarly matters. However, the use of the language does not interfere with one’s religion. Another 42.6% of the respondent agreed that increased proficiency in English among the Saudi people makes the country more advanced. Islam as a religion encourages its followers to learn foreign languages in order to spread the religion. This implies that religious leaders are at the fore front in using English in order to communicate with non-Muslims. There are other instances and areas where English is widely used. As aforementioned, some colleges use TOEFL tests as entry requirements. Fishman et al however, write that English is a basic requirement for persons pursuing higher education. In fact, three universities use English as the language of instruction. These universities are King Abdullah University of science and technology, Arab Open University and King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals. However, English is also used in airlines, and hospitals or foreign firms with a global workforce (Sharifian 2009, 12). The media on one hand has also plays a role in promoting the use of English in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Gazette is the only national paper that uses English. In other countries where English is not a native language, they usually have more publications in English. India for example has over 300 newspapers in English (Pennyccok 1994, 13). This is a pointer to the relatively lower popularity of English in Saudi Arabia. Concurrent languages Saudi Arabia is largely a monolingual society using Arabic for official and non-official communication. However, there are a variety of dialects of Arabic distributed geographically. The main ones are Hijazi Arabic (western coast, Taif, Mecca and Medina), Najdi Arabic (Riyadh and the north central areas) and Shargi Arabic (Eastern region). The Hijazi dialect is the recognised official version of Arabic that is used for commercial and government functions and is also the most widely understood. This dialect is not very pure as it borrows some words from other dialects such as Jordanian and Palestinian. However, Hijazi enjoys prestige by virtue of its conservatism and closeness to classical Arabic. The dialect is however facing competition as the language of commercial purposes. The influx of foreigners in the oil industry has popularised English as the new business language. Learning institutions and more international schools have take to the teaching of the English language and even using it for instruction purposes especially in mathematics and sciences. Heading internal varieties: The history of English in KSA is relatively short. This implies that the language has not had enough time to produce internal dialects. However, other countries such as India have developed internal varieties of English guided by the different social and cultural environments of the people. In other countries where English is a second language such as Philippines, internal varieties are plenty. The most common variety in Philippines is Carabao (Travlang, n.d.). Written traditions Given that there no internal varieties of English, there are no known written traditions of English used in KSA. The English used in the country is guided by standard British English and the strong Islamic culture. For instance, males and females cannot learn in the same class. Again, a female instructor cannot teach male students and vice versa. This could imply that there is potential for the English in Saudi Arabia to develop differently along gender lines. The written traditions of the country are guided by the Hijazi dialect which is also used by the Royal family. The government however, is keen on promoting use of English as it seeks to revolutionalize the education system which is currently based on Islamic culture. Standardised The use of English in KSM is largely restricted to academic circles, workplaces, hospitals and airlines. The language is relatively young and still developing. As such, there are no established local varieties of the language hence there are no standardization initiatives apart from the regular English standards. In other countries, there are standardised varieties of English where some are standardised and others are not. In Philippines for instance, English has been standardised to the local environment. The Pilipino-English code-switching is rule governed where syntactic constraints operate on code switching on the word, phrase, and clause. The standard Filipino English differs from standard American English in its sound system and its use of expressions (Travlang n.d.). Institutional support Saudi Arabia has been enjoying consistent economic growth and social development. Much of this can be attributed to increased human capital and technology transfer from western based organizations. These organizations have embarked on intensive human resources training including the English Language. Majority of these organisations also place their Saudi employees in Britain and other English speaking nations to boost their prowess in the language and different cultures of the world through exchange programs. In the 2011/2012 academic year, the government made English language a mandatory subject in public primary schools starting from grade 4. The government argues that this will improve the country’s competitiveness in the global village. Again, the English language is portrayed as bridging gap between world cultures and the highly conservative Arabic culture strongly rooted in Islam. The attitudes of its users towards English The use of a specific language can create a variety of perceptions depending on the society’s culture. Thiong’o brings out this issue in explaining the perceptions of learning and speaking English among his fellow tribesmen in one of the Kenyan villages. Mesthrie et al (2000, 157) also bring up this issue of language use attitude in a number of countries. As such, use of foreign languages is almost guaranteed of an attitude. In KSM, the government support of English learning and teaching has helped diffuse any potential negative attitudes towards the use of English among the native Arabic people. English speakers in KSM are regarded highly. Among the youth, speaking English is considered hip. Around academic circles, fluency in English is perceived as brightness or academic prowess. This has worked to the benefit of the language and support of government programs to increase the use of English. In other places, such as colonial Kenya, use of English in the villages was looked down upon as abandonment of local cultures in pursuit of the white man’s culture (Mesthrie et al 2000, 157; Thiong'o 1969, 202). Typology For Saudi Arabia English, the institutional support by government and private players will take English higher. Its use is bound to grow tremendously both in the medium and long term. However, the use of English in the native English speaking countries is arguably on the decline. Pessimists even predict the death and disappearance of English same way as Latin. Phillipson (1992, 143) however, claims that English as a language will grow as more and more people seek to attain a second language. In fact, mathematical predictions indicate that by 2070, the number of English users would be over 10 billion, which is not feasible given that the world population is unlikely to be 10 billion by then. Conclusions Linguists and sociological experts paint different pictures about the prospects of English. Pessimists on one hand argue that English is headed for a decline. They compare the increased popularity of English globally to the popularity of Latin in the in 18th century and its demise in the 20th and 21st century. Optimists on the other hand predict that the use and popularity of English globally will grow. While there a different views on the direction of English on the global stage, one thing is obvious going by the current trends; use of English in Saudi Arabia is on the rise. As its use grows, there is potential of internal varieties to develop. The growth of KSM English is supported by various reasons as indicated by the paper. However, the most important element that supports increased use of English in the kingdom is the government support and education policy of including making the subject mandatory in primary schools. References Crystal, David (1997). World English. In Crystal, D. (ed.). The Cambridge encyclopedia of language / David Crystal. Cambridge; London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 106- 111 Dobson, Akemi. (2001). Teaching of culture within foreign language teaching and its relationship to nationalism. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 25(1), 63-73 Fishman, Joshua A. (2000). Who speaks what language to whom and when? In Wei (ed.) The bilingualism reader. 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Distributed by University of Hawai`i Press, pp. 169-181 Pennycook, Alastair. (1994). The world in English. In Pennycook, A. (ed.). The cultural politics of English as an international language, London; New York: Longman, pp. 1-37. Pennycook, Alastair. (1998). Images of the self: our marvelous tongue. In Pennycook, A. (ed.). English and the discourses of colonialism. London: Routledge, 1998. pp. 133- 159. Phillipson, Robert. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism: Theoretical Foundations. In Robert Phillipson (ed). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Cap 3, pp. 38-77. Sharifian, F. (2009). English as an international language: perspectives and pedagogical issues. London: Multilingual Matters Thiong'o, N. (2000). The language of African literature. In Burke, L., Crowley, T. & Girvin, A. (eds). The Routledge language and cultural theory reader. London: Routledge, Cap. 46, pp. 434-443. Travlang. (n.d.). Reytrieved from http://www.travlang.com/dl/fsi-sampler/Saudi_Arabic_-_Intro_Pronunciation_Lesson_1.pdf Yamani, M. (2000). Changed identities: the challenge of the new generation in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh: Royal Institute of International Affairs. Read More