Global Englishes and ‘Japanese English’

Abstract

ABSTRACT The unprecedented spread of English requires a rethink of traditional concepts, such as the target speech community, target culture, and native speakers of the language. On the one hand, the global reach of English may be understood as having national or regional English varieties in the world, including ‘Japanese English’, which are expected to represent local speech communities, cultures, and identities. In this understanding, English belongs to all these ‘new’ territories. On the other hand, global encounters through English may be understood as multilingual contact among English users beyond geographical boundaries with no preassigned communities, cultures, identities, or power relations. The concept of native or indigenous English speakers is irrelevant to this understanding. In reference to complexity theory, the current article conjoins both of these understandings and thereby identifies the role of ‘Japanese English’ in present-day communication.