MODULE:1 SECTION:A
Question 2: Explain, with examples, how language varies according to the context in which it is spoken or written.
Although English is not the language with the largest numbers of native or ‘first’ language speakers, it has become a lingua franca. A lingua franca can be defined as “a language widely adopted for communication between two speakers whose native languages are different from each other’s and where one or both speakers are using it as a ‘second language’.“ English seems to be one of the main languages of international communication, and even people who are not speakers of English often know words such as bank, computer, hotel, hospital, piano, radio, taxi, television and walkman. There are a number of reasons for the popularity of English as a lingua franca such as colonialism, trade and commerce, travel and tourism, major channel for information exchange, and dominating language in popular culture. Though we have talked about English as one language …show more content…
In extreme case they use another language altogether. In ex-colonial countries the ruling class makes greater impact of their language. Example: English in India and French in Tunisia. In Britain, accent especially reflects social position, but this prevents from regional variations. British English has a regionless upper-class pronunciation, called Received Pronunciation or RP, which enjoys almost universal prestige. But linguists have found no justification for considering one dialect or accent better than another. Some languages have a restricted vocabulary in certain areas, but it seems all languages have the potential to express any aspect of human thought or endeavor. Many languages which have been made national languages such as Hindi, Bahasa Malaysia and Swahili have created thousands of new