English as a second language

The English of India is for the most part English as a second language. So too in the other Commonwealth countries not already mentioned, in Africa and Asia alike; and also in Pakistan, the Philippines, and various other countries. (And so too for French-speaking Canadians and for Afrikaans-speaking and many black South Africans.) In all these areas, English as a second language (sometimes as an alternative official language) enjoys great prestige, and fulfils an essential role in the educational and economic life of the nation.

It tends to be the language of much of the country's broadcasting, many of its newspapers, and often novels and other works of literature too; of secondary and higher education, the higher courts of law, and the civil service; and of international business contacts, of course.

For reasons of national pride, various Com­monwealth countries have made official attempts to reduce the role of English in national life and to promote an indigenous language in its place. This policy has perhaps succeeded to some extent in Tanzania, where Swahili is widely understood. In a country such as India, however, where Hindi has to compete with so many other local languages, English has remained fairly resilient. Malaysia, after independence, attempted to pro­mote Bahasa Malaysia as a national language, in­troducing it as the medium of primary education in the mid-1960s, and of secondary education in the mid-1970s. It is used to some extent in the universities too (and plans are afoot to substitute it for English in the federal and supreme courts). But the short-term effect has been a decline in examination performance, with the result that Malaysian students are now at a greater dis­advantage than previously in securing university places in Britain or North America. An intensified programme of English-teaching is the planned remedy, though many educationalists, more radically, would prefer a return to the use of English as the medium of instruction.

English as a second language has traditionally been modelled on British English (understandably enough, since most of the countries using it were once part of the British Empire). The major exception is the Philippines, where American English is adopted as the model.