In this essay, I will attempt to describe what I understand about native speaker, lingua franca, context of situation and code-mixing. I will first give the definition of these concepts and then, I will try to discuss some of the problems or ambiguities in their definition.

Today, English is used by at least 750 million people, and barely half of those speak it as a mother tongue. Those who do speak it as a mother tongue are known as native speakers of English. In this century, there are more non-native speakers of English than there are native speakers. Native speakers of English are usually British or Americans. Most of the non-native speakers of English come from countries which were mostly former British colonies like Kenya, Malaysia and Australia.

However, it is still quite difficult to give an exact definition of a ‘native’ or ‘non-native’ speaker. For example, in India and Singapore, some non-native speakers become familiar with English from an early age and use the language routinely (Pakir, 1991).

In Singapore, from personal experience, ther

The spread of English to different parts of the world and its use as an ‘international’ language (or lingua franca), is seen as beneficial, purely instrumental, or a threat. English is regulated in several countries in order to protect other languages and cultures. C.K.Ogden’s Basic English (1932), involved the implementation of an artificial language and the use of an existing natural language as an international lingua franca. It became very influential. The linguistic analysis on which it was based was closely linked to the development of systemic-functional linguistics and the framework of analysis of Michael Halliday. It is also used in the restricted report-and-control language of ‘Airspeak’ (used for air traffic control) or ‘Seaspeak’ (used in maritime navigation).

Kachru also pointed out that although English is essential for cross-cultural communication, English also forms part of a bi- or multilingual speaker’s ‘repertoire’ alongsid4e other languages and that it is simply not possible for non-native speakers to be in constant touch with native models. Kachru suggests that while Quirk expresses concerns about the use of English, he takes no account of such sociolinguistic realities.

We can already see today that the English language has become the international lingua franca. It is used globally as it is recognised by many. It is used in the advancement of technology, economic trade and it has been seen to improve communication among many nations. Kachru (1991) stresses that those who make policy decisions about English language teaching need to consider the ‘realities’ of how English is used and how its speakers feel about it. He has pointed out that although English is the lingua franca for many, it is usually used for communication between non-native speakers rather than between native and non-native speakers.

It is the same for their teachers. While in class, a teacher uses good spoken English because it is her duty to role model it to her pupils. She does not continue to do the same once she is with her close friends or with her family members. She feels more relaxed and feels less conscious of her pronunciation that even mother tongue is included in her conversations – code-mixing. She does try to maintain a proper casual way of pronouncing her words if she has young children who are learning how to talk. Sometimes, even with her young children she may use code-mixing because they may not understand some words in Eng

Some topics in this essay:
Indians Sometimes, Rudolph Quirk1988, Basic English, Labov American, Standard English, Dialect Context, Malay Indian, Kachru English, India Singapore, Michael Halliday, mother tongue, lingua franca, non-native speakers, speakers english, english language, native speakers, native speakers english, native speaker, english standard, standard english, context situation, english standard english, english lingua franca, speak mother tongue, ckogden’s basic english,