Culture Bridges: Week#9/10

World Englishes

RESOURCES21 Accents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgpfSp2t6k

World Englishes Presentation

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sueswift-187265-World-Englishes-Theres-no-thing-English-spread-used-Outer-Circle-Education-ppt-powerpoint/

Speech Accent Archive
http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php

David Crystal - Which English?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XT04EO5RSU

Kachru’s The Concentric Circles
http://manualofstyleandusage.blogspot.com/2008/05/kachrus-three-concentric-circles.html

Different Kinds of Slang: http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/links.htm

African American English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks-9AwRX1Ts

American Dialects: http://aschmann.net/AmEng/

English Dialect Map: http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/lexical-variation/

Ted Talks

Ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania.html

Ted.com/talks/lang/eng/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_not_just_english.html

Discussion Questions

What different variations of English have you experienced as a listener and/or conversation participant?
What can we do as learners and educators to better understand the wide variety of World Englishes?
Is this understanding valued in Korea? Why or Why not?
Should we aim for more standardization or differentiation in English usage and language in general?
What would be the best form of international English?
Do you think English will continue to be considered the global lingua franca for the foreseeable future?

Assignment
Read at least the top item below. Additionally check out some of the additional material (or find your own) about how men and women tend to communicate differently.