The rise of world englishes: historical development, global spread, and contemporary debates on english as a global language

The emergence of English as a global language represents one of the most influential linguistic trends of recent times. This article identifies and analyses the various historical, political, economic, technical and educational factors which have led to the growth of English as a world language. From the beginning of Britain's colonial domination in the sixteenth century onwards through the political and economic influence of the United States in the 20th century, English was institutionalised across all continents. In addition to the mechanisms of diffusion identified above, other examples include the press, advertising, radio broadcasting, television, international trade, scientific literature, digital communication technologies etc. We engage with some of the key conceptual frameworks relevant to this study (notably Kachru's "Three Circles" model) and discuss alternative accounts of the global spread of English (such as "linguistic imperialism", or "grassroots" theories of language spread). We particularly focus upon the transition from a single conception of "English" to recognising "world englishes," which illustrates how English is becoming increasingly diversified and localised in post-colonial and global environments. Although English can function as a lingua-franca to facilitate international co-operation, economic mobility, and academic exchange, the rapid expansion of English around the world creates problems related to linguistic equality and endangered languages. Ultimately, we argue that English is not at present a globally-dominant language because of its supposed superior properties as a language, but due to the consequences of long-standing histories of power relationships and current processes of globalisation. Although there are no signs that English will lose its status as a dominant global language anytime soon, its future will undoubtedly involve increased levels of diversification and changing patterns of multilingualism.