Assertiveness and Crisis Communication: A Multidimensional Analysis of English Varieties during COVID-19

This study explores the awareness and attitudes of English teachers in South Korea (ETSK) toward eight selected varieties of English: American English (AmE), British English (BrE), Canadian English (CaE), Singaporean English (SiE), Indian English (InE), Chinese English (ChE), Japanese English (JaE) and Korean English (KoE). Data, consisting of 204 questionnaires and 63 interviews, is collected from both Korean and non-Korean English teachers, from two major regions, Busan Gyeongnam and Seoul Gyonggi in South Korea. The results are analysed using a number of quantitative data analysis methods (e.g., One way ANOVA, Post hoc test, and Crosstab multiple comparison) as well as applying qualitative data analysis. Little statistical differences in both awareness and attitude were found between three categorical groups (i.e., gender, Korean and non-Korean English teachers, area of residence). The findings are presented thematically from the perspective of the paradigm of English as an International Language (EIL), using a theoretical framework incorporating cognitive, affective and behavioural components of attitude (Baker, 1992; Garrett, 2010). The findings indicate that ETSK lack awareness of different varieties of English, as indicated by the frequent statement made by ETSK: ‘I don’t know about these Englishes’. Aspects of phonology appear to be a salient dimension in determining participants’ self-assessment of awareness of different varieties of English. There is a marked preference for Inner Circle varieties of English in attitude. In particular, AmE firmly remains the most sought after English variety in South Korea, being described as ‘the most powerful, practical and the Base of English’. The ideologically laden notion of AmE superiority is deeply rooted in the minds of a large number of ETSK’s, while Expanding Circle English varieties are disfavoured, with JaE in particular, rated as the least favourable. KoE was found to be more favoured than all other selected Outer and Expanding Circle varieties of English, and was considered to be a ‘friendly’ and ‘pleasant’ English, thereby displaying participants’ positive attitude to KoE in the affective component of attitudes. However, because of the internal conflicts found in the behavioural component of participants’ attitudes, they were unwilling to speak in KoE. The presented study confirms the absolute favouritism shown by the Korean Ministry of Education (KME) and ETSK towards Inner Circle varieties of English and towards AmE in particular, as ideal teaching models. The findings indicate that teachers’ lack of awareness may have a negative impact on the way they react to other varieties of English and their lack of awareness would be considered as a kind of ‘handicap’, under which teachers operate with varying degrees of success in international communication. There is a very complex interrelationship within the various factors which influence attitudes towards these issues. The special position of AmE has been allowed to develop uncritically and the stigmatisation of ‘other’ Englishes has deeply penetrated the mindset of ETSK. The findings also suggest that a greater awareness and understanding of language variation and its processes would play a significant role in the development of positive attitudes towards English varieties and to the acceptance of a pluralistic model of the English language. This thesis argues that disclosing and questioning the hidden discursive practices embedded in the English education policy in South Korea may be the first step in changing negative attitudes and in embracing diversified Englishes. The findings are also discussed in relation to the implications that researching awareness and attitude has for pedagogical considerations and for teacher training.

Variational pragmatics, one of the youngest branches of pragmatics, studies the different pragmatic values of items across varieties, and the different realisations of the same pragmatic function across varieties through different forms. Studies on (inter)subjectivity, and on pragmatically sensitive items in general, have started to include Inner Circle, Outer Circle and learners’ varieties of English, also thanks to the increased availability of computerised material. In particular, the expression of stance, one of the crucial functions of several language forms that undergo pragmaticisation, is increasingly the focus of variation studies. The paper aims at contributing to such studies, focusing on the parenthetical construction I'm afraid across texts included in the GloWbE corpus in different varieties of English. This discourse marker shows a range of stance‐expressing functions and a complex pragmaticisation path, as demonstrated by previous studies. The marker appears with widely diverging frequencies across the corpus – the study attempts to map this diversified scenario, which could point to a predominance, in different varieties of English, of different pragmatic strategies for the expression of stance.

World Englishes are spoken today on practically all continents and in a wide range of different social and cultural contexts, with many different contact languages involved. This diversity of input factors quite naturally should make us expect widely different outcomes of the individual evolutionary processes. Contrary to this expectation, however, surprising similarities between many World Englishes have been observed, with respect to both their sociolinguistic settings and their linguistic properties. For example, on the social side we can observe the emergence of a ‘complaint tradition’ (discussed further later), of local varieties of English adopting the role of local identity carriers, and of processes towards codification in a wide range of different countries. In a similar vein, linguistically speaking, phenomena like plural uses of noncount nouns, progressive forms of stative verbs, the formation of hybrid compounds, or the occurrence of innovative (but basically similar) verb complementation patterns have also been found to transcend regional and linguistic boundaries. Of course, this is not to deny the diversity that is also there, naturally and unavoidably. For example, certain regional pronunciation phenomena of English in Nigeria reveal transfer from Yoruba, and some rules of the grammar of colloquial Singaporean English can be accounted for as substrate phenomena from Chinese and other local languages. So an interesting question to ask is, therefore: how can differences or similarities between World Englishes be accounted for by their developmental patterns? To some extent an answer to these questions also depends on definitions and deli-mitations. The older term ‘New Englishes’, as coined by Platt et al. (1984) and others, focused on second-language varieties of the outer circle only, thus circumscribing a relatively more homogeneous and consistent category of language varieties. ‘Postcolonial Englishes’, in contrast, the term preferred by Schneider (2007), also includes native-speaker colonial settler varieties like American or Australian English and emphasizes the common origins of inner and outer circle varieties in shared processes of colonial history and similar postcolonial developmental trajectories. Kachru’s term ‘World Englishes’, the broadest of all, includes all inner circle varieties, has a specialinterest in outer circle (typically second language or ‘L2’) varieties, and recognizes a fuzzy boundary in the expanding circle, encompassing countries where English did not have colonial foundations, but is nevertheless spreading rapidly these days as a ‘foreign’ or an ‘international language’. The question of how similar or different these varieties are also needs to consider these categorial distinctions. Basically, however, a broad understanding of ‘World Englishes’ is adopted here.

Research in world English literatures has concentrated on qualitative measures of analysis in order to understand what is meant by ‘bilingual creativity.’ These measures demonstrate that there are differences in rhetorical and literary style within world English literatures both in the inner and outer circle. Using Biber's multidimensional analysis (1988) to examine a large corpus of world English literatures written in Indian, West African, Britain, Anglo‐American and Mexican American varieties of English, this paper examines whether quantitative analyses can also be insightful and useful in the examination of world English literatures in expanding our understanding of what ‘bilingual creativity’ entails. The results of this study reveal that computational methods of analyzing texts both confirm former research comparing differences between texts written in different varieties of English and also shed new light on differences that exist between these varieties.

Research on the influence of gender on language across different cultures has mostly concentrated on qualitative measures of analysis. These measures demonstrate that there are differences in rhetorical and literary style across world Englishes in both the inner and outer circle. Using Biber’s multidimensional analysis (1988) to examine a large corpus of world English literatures written in Indian, West African, Britain, Anglo‐American and Mexican American varieties of English, this paper examines whether quantitative analyses can also be insightful and useful in the examination of the influence of gender on language and in expanding our understanding of what “bilingual creativity” entails. The results of this study reveal that computational methods of analyzing texts both confirm former research comparing differences between texts written by men and women in different varieties of English and also shed new light on differences that exist between these varieties.

In the modem world of international communication, it is more common for speakers of different varieties of English to come into contact with each other on a daily basis. This can occur not only in face to face communication, but in telephone communication as well. This study investigates the attitudes towards a non-native or Expanding Circle (ECE) variety of English held by telephone customer service representatives at a large American financial institution. The central question of this study asks whether or not these telephone representatives will rate a speaker of a Korean-accented variety of English higher or lower than a speaker of a North American accented variety of English. Each subject listened to three different speech samples. Two of the speech samples were provided by the same informant-one in a North American Variety of English, and one in a Korean-accented variety of English. A third speech sample was provided by a second informant to add space between the other two speech samples. The results show that there is not a consistent pattern of differences in attitudes towards the two speech samples under investigation. There is, however, a suggestion that a common speech community has formed within the subject population, revealing interesting possibilities for the commonalties in scores obtained from the subjects.

One of the challenging issues that has gained much attention, and has in fact sparked much debate, within the emergence and acquisition of World Englishes, is the Native- Non-native accent, especially its relationship with teachers’ and learners’ identity and selection of an appropriate pedagogic model. This paper investigates the attitudes of 260 English teachers from India and Iran as members of Outer and Expanding Circles, respectively. Using a questionnaire, this study measures cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes of teachers towards their own English accents in two circles which include the most users of English in the globalized world. The results show that teachers in the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1992), compared to those in the Outer Circle, had an exonormative orientation, favoring native-speaker and mostly American English pronunciation. Indian teachers were in favor of endonormativity, highly valued their local forms of English while they were in favor of British English. Teachers’ preferences will be discussed with consideration of the historical and political backgrounds of the two countries which might have influenced the construction of teachers’ identity. The results of this study suggest that, together with encouraging and valuing different varieties of English, it is important to acknowledge and promote ways to raise awareness of teachers and learners towards global spread of English.

ABSTRACTThis paper seeks to explore the extent of definite article usage variation in several varieties of English based on a classification of its usage types. An annotation scheme based on Hawkins and Prince was developed for this purpose. Using matching corpus data representing Inner Circle varieties and Outer Circle varieties, analysis was made on approximately 14,000 tokens of the in private dialogue, academic writing and reportage. It was found that the different percentages of usage types in the three registers across the varieties were statistically significant. However there was no clear trend that could be observed in either group. The trends of the varieties, collectively or individually, were so unpredictable that in the end there was no evidence of an overall trend. Register, consistent with Biber et al.'s claim, was instead found to be a better predictor of the usage types of the in the varieties. The classification of the varieties as either Inner or Outer Circle was therefore shown to be less influential in the quantitative variation of the morpheme than previously thought. Nevertheless, a subsequent qualitative analysis showed that the structural and situational categories in the Outer Circle did contain a number of marked usages of the, presenting themselves as the clearest cases of variation in the data.

This article expands research on type nouns by looking at varieties of English other than British and American English. It investigates if the various uses of type nouns established in previous descriptions are also attested in other varieties and with what frequency. It does so by comprehensive corpus research of data extracted from the ICE-corpora and COCA. Special attention will go to the formal as well as semantic characteristics of the various uses of type nouns, their collocational patterns and the division of labour between the various type nouns, i.e. sort, kind and type. Differences and similarities between American English and other varieties are studied and results show, for instance, that the nominal qualifier use of sort/kind of is absent in the other varieties. The corpus study also reveals new patterns like kinda of which have to be considered as non-standard at this point. In addition, it seems that all manner of is making a recovery. Outer and inner circle varieties show differences in terms of the use of sort and kind, such that in outer circle varieties the binominal and postdeterminer uses are more frequent. However, in inner circle varieties, these type nouns are most frequently used as an adverbial modifier or discourse marker. The study confirms the general tendency that elements typically shift from propositional uses to non-propositional ones and argues that taking a global view is necessary in type noun research.

The relationship between language and culture is complex and the subject of several chapters in this Handbook (e.g. Chapters 2, 30, and 32 this volume). This chapter will consider how different varieties of English reflect the culture and pragmatic norms of their speakers. While different varieties of English can be distinguished by their distinctive use of morphosyntactic and phonological features, although many share non-standard forms, it is the reflection of the local culture and the pragmatic norms of its speakers that really create a distinctive variety of English. This process has been called acculturation (Kachru 2005; Sridar 2012) which is the process by which a language takes on the cultural cloak of its speakers. In the case of varieties of English, acculturation is often accompanied by deculturation, where the new variety of English divests itself of cultural references to older varieties, such as British English. And when the new varieties of English are postcolonial, this typically occurs at what Schneider has called the ‘nativisation’ stage of a new variety of English, a stage at which ties with the country or origin are weakening and interethnic contacts are strengthening (2007, 2010: 381) Acculturation is accomplished through several means. These are presented below, along with examples.

Changes in the modal domain in different varieties of English as potential effects of democratization

This introductory chapter makes the case for a detailed study comparing the speech rhythm of an Outer Circle variety of English, Educated Indian English, with an Inner Circle variety, British English. There are now more people around the world who speak an Outer Circle variety of English (usually as a second language) than an Inner Circle variety. Outer Circle varieties of English differ from Circle varieties (such as English in Japan or Germany), in that in the Outer Circle, English is used mainly for communication within the country, whereas in the Expanding Circle, it is used mainly for international communication. Due to its internal functions, the varieties spoken in the Outer Circle have undergone a process of indigenisation, leading to the emergence of new norms that differ from the varieties spoken in the Inner Circle. Many Outer Circle varieties have been studied empirically with regard to their syntax, lexis and pragmatics, but large-scale phonological studies are rare. For Indian English, there is a particular need for a large-scale study on its speech rhythm, to determine whether Indian English is more syllable-timed than British English.

2013). It details research carried out on the production and perception of speech rhythm in Indian English (IndE) and British English (BrE) among students at two Universities in Hyderabad, India, at the start of this decade, the development of "a multidimensional model of rhythm" (Fuchs, 2016: 4), and of an approach to speech rhythm perception research which modifies existing practice.From the outset, and just by reading the Preface to the volume (Fuchs, 2016: v-vii), one gets a sense of the enthusiasm Fuchs has for India, the people, the variety, and the research he has undertaken.This is a promising opening to what is basically a write-up of a research study, boding well for the rest of the book, and leading on to the introductory chapter in which the scene is set.The book is organised into eight chapters, as follows: a) Chapter 1 is a general introduction, outlining the available research at the time the study was undertaken and justifying the book's focus on speech rhythm in IndE, i.e., the lack of work on prosodic features of the variety.It also serves to situate the study firmly in a World Englishes paradigm, referring to Kachru's (1985) terminology of Inner, Outer and Expanding Circles, and Schneider's Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes (2003, 2007).b) Chapter 2 starts by giving a historical and social description of English in India, including an account of the different varieties of IndE and of the Dravidian and Aindo-Aryan languages spoken.It further elaborates on IndE with respect to Kachru and Schneider's models, before going on to give a comparison of the phonologies of BrE and IndE based on existing descriptions.

This review analyses the use of memes as a messaging strategy for resilience and crisis communication. Memes utilise the viral nature to convey messages rapidly and efficiently when employed as a communications tactic. This makes memes an essential tool in marketing strategy for resilience and crisis communication. This review is underpinned with the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), which was developed by W. Timothy Coombs. Memes have evolved into powerful communication tools capable of conveying complex emotions, ideas, and social commentaries with remarkable speed and reach. They can quickly spread messages, counteract misinformation, and foster a sense of community among those affected. Memes have demonstrated their value in resilience communication by offering a platform for expressing shared experiences and fostering emotional connections. They empower individuals and communities to cope with adversity, using humour and relatability to make complex concepts more accessible. Memes contribute to the promotion of resilience by reinforcing social bonds and enabling people to find solidarity in difficult situations. Their capacity to resonate culturally and emotionally ensures that they remain relevant and impactful in digital communication. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the role of memes in engaging audiences, building community, and promoting resilience will likely become even more pronounced, solidifying their place as central tools in both crisis and resilience communication strategies. It was concluded that memes are essential marketing strategy tools for resilience and crisis communication.

This chapter evaluates the available evidence on the question of whether Outer Circle varieties of English tend to be more syllable-timed than Inner Circle varieties. Although a wide range of rhythm metrics has been proposed, research on the speech rhythm of varieties of English has concentrated on a small number of duration-based measures (described in Chap. 4). Results based on these metrics suggest that Outer Circle varieties are overall more syllable-timed than Inner Circle varieties. Previous research has furthermore failed to take into account the possibility of rhythmic differences between speaking styles, and the influence of methodological choices such as the exclusion or inclusion of word-final syllables or vowels in the calculation of the rhythm metrics. This prompts the conclusion that the present study needs to control for these factors and determine their influence on the results. Furthermore, following a multidimensional model of speech rhythm, Indian English might be more syllable-timed than British English on a number of different levels or acoustic correlates of rhythm. The chapter concludes with a set of hypotheses on differences in the production of speech rhythm in educated IndE and BrE. These hypotheses are for the most part based on previous descriptions of Indian English as more syllable-timed than British English, which suggests that it has less variability in a range of acoustic correlates of prominence.