Postcolonial Englishes moving towards/past endonormativity: A survey of literature on attitudes and implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36950/lpia-01-02-2025-2Keywords:
attitudes, implications, postcolonial nativised Englishes, endonormativity, policy, AfricaAbstract
In each postcolonial multilingual environment, a nativised and standardising form of English is commonly used in the country's educational system, administration, and media, rather than Standard British English (SBE). Despite research indicating that teachers struggle to effectively teach SBE and learners consistently fail to acquire its features, educational authorities in these countries continue to promote SBE. This approach hinders the possibility of embracing flexible language ideologies that could lead to the development of local varieties of English and their acceptance as models for the classroom. In this article, I review the literature on attitudes towards postcolonial nativised Englishes and argue that adopting these Englishes as local standards has significant implications for the local English language teaching industries at sociolinguistic, pedagogic, economic, and policy levels.
Downloads
References
Aboh, S. C. (2023). Nigerian students attitudes toward endonormative varieties of Nigerian English. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1-14. EarlyView. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2230184
Anchimbe, E. (2018). Offers and offer refusals: A postcolonial pragmatics perspective on World Englishes. John Benjamins.
Awonusi, V. O. (1994). The Americanisation of Nigerian English. World Englishes, 11(3), 75-82.
Bamgbose, A. (1998). Torn between the norms: Innovations in World Englishes. World Englishes, 17(1), 1-14.
Bamgbose, A. (1992). Standard Nigerian English: Issues of identification. In B. Kachru (Ed.), The other tongue: English across cultures pp. 148-161). University of Illinois Press.
Belibi, E. P. R. (2022a). Teaching English pronunciation in Cameroon: Attitudes and practices of professionals . In A. Ngefac (Ed.), Aspects of Cameroon Englishes (pp. 217-248). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Belibi, E. P. R. (2022b). Cameroon English accent as the model for educational practices in Cameroon: Attitudes, challenges and prospects. PhD thesis, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon.
Bhatt, R. M. (2001). World Englishes [Electronic version]. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 527-550.
Borlongan, A. M. (2016). Relocating Philippine English in Schneider s Dynamic Model. Asian Englishes, 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2016.1223067
Buregeya, A. (2019). Kenyan English. Mouton de Gruyter.
Chien, S. C. (2014). Varieties of English: Taiwanese attitudes and perceptions. Newcastle and Northumbria Working Papers in Linguistics, 20, 1-16.
Cook, V. (2013). ELF: Central or atypical second language acquisition? In D. Singleton, D. Fishman & J. Fishman (eds.), Current Multilingualism. A New Linguistic Dispensation. De Gruyter Mouton.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd edn.). Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, D. (2000). Emerging Englishes. English Teaching Professional, 14, 3-6.
Esimaje, A. & Nnamani, O. (2018). Attitude of present-day educated Nigerians towards Nigerian English. Annales Universitatis Paedadogicae Cracoviensis Studia Anglica, (8) 32-46.
Galloway, N. & Rose, H. (2018). Incorporating global Englishes into the ELT classroom. ELT Journal, (72) 3-14.
Garcia, O. (2019). Decolonizing foreign, second, heritage and first languages. In D. Macedo (Ed.), Decolonizing foreign language education: The misteaching of English and other colonial languages (pp.152-168). Routledge.
Graddol, D. (2006). English next. UK: British Council.
Gray, J. (2002). The global coursebook in English language teaching. In D. Block & D. Cameron (Eds.), Globalization and language teaching (pp.151-167). Routledge.
Holliday, A. (2005). The struggle to teach English as an international language. Oxford University Press.
Huber, M. (2012). Syntactic and variational complexity in British and Ghanaian English: Relative clause formation in the written parts of the International Corpus of English. In B. Kortmann & B. Szmrecsanyi (Eds.), Linguistic complexity: second language acquisition, indigenization, contact (pp.218-242). de Gruyter.
Huber, M. & Dako, K. (2008): Ghanaian English: morphology and syntax. In R. Mesthrie (Ed.), Varieties of English: Africa, South and Southeast Asia (368-380). de Gruyter.
Jenkins, J. (2015a). Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a Lingua Franca. Englishes in Practice, 2(3), 49-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/eip-2015-0003
Jenkins, J. (2015b). Global Englishes. A resource book for students (3rd edn.). Routledge.
Jenkins, J. (2012). English as a lingua franca from the classroom to the classroom. ELT Journal, 66(4), 486-494.
Jenkins, J. (2009). English as a lingua franca: Interpretations and attitudes. World Englishes, 28( 2), 200-207.
Jenkins, J. (2007). English as a lingua franca: Attitude and identity. Oxford University Press.
Jowitt, D. (2019). Nigeria English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Kachru, B. B. (1992). Teaching World Englishes. In B. Kachru (Ed.), The other tongue: English across cultures (2nd edn.) (355-365). University of Illinois Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1988). The sacred cows of English. English Today, 4(4), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078400000973
Kachru, B. B. (1986a). Nonnative literatures in English as a resource for language teaching. In C. J. Brumfit & R. A. Carter (Eds.), Literature and language teaching (pp. 140 149). Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986b). The alchemy of English. The spread, function and models of non-native Englishes. Pergamon Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the Outer Circle. In R. Quirk & H. G. Widdowson(Eds.), English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures (pp.11-30). Cambridge University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1982). The Pragmatics of non-native varieties of English. In L. Smith (Ed.), English for cross-cultural communication (pp. 15-39). Springer.
Kachru, B. B. & Nelson, C. (1996). World Englishes. In S. McKay & N. Hornberger (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language teaching (pp. 71-102). Cambridge University Press.
Kaur, P. (2014). Accent attitudes: Reactions to English as a lingua franca . Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 134, 3-12.
Kenya Institute of Education (2002). Revised English syllabus for Kenya primary schools. Kenya Literature Bureau.
Kioko, A. N. & Muthwii, M. J. (2010). English variety for the public domain in Kenya: Speakers attitudes and views. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 16(2), 130-145.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007a). Setting attainable and appropriate language targets in multilingual settings. Paper presented at the 7th International Symposium of Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching (Beijing and Hong Kong, 7-13 August 2006). http://engres.ied.edu.hk/global_eng/global_eng2-Paper.html [23.08.2016].
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007b). World Englishes. Implications for international communication and English language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Kouega, J.P. (2007). A dictionary of Cameroon English usage. Peter Lang.
Kouega, J.P. (2003). Camfranglais: A novel slang in Cameroon schools. English Today, 19(2), 23-29.
Kuchah, K. H. (2013). Context-appropriate ELT pedagogy: An investigation in Cameroonian primary schools. University of Warwick: PhD thesis in English language teaching and applied linguistics. http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/58585/ [23.09.2023].
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2016). The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? TESOL Quarterly 50, 66-85.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). A postmethod perspective on English language teaching. World Englishes, 22(4), 539 550.
Leonard, W. Y. (2012). Framing language reclamation programs for everybody s empowerment. Gender and Language, 6(2), 339-367.
Lowenberg, P. (1986). Non-native varieties of English: Nativization, norms and implications. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 8, 1, 1-18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44486848
Mbangwana, P. (1987). Some characteristics of sound patterns of Cameroon Standard English. Multilingual, 4, 411-424.
Meierkord, C. (2022). Post-protectorate Uganda and current models of influence across Englishes. World Englishes, 41(3), 429-445. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12587
Meierkord, C., & Isingoma, B. (2022). Between first language influence, exonormative orientation and migration: Future time expressions in post-protectorate Ugandan English. English World-Wide. https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.21014.mei
Mensah, S. T. (2023). English as a lingua franca: Attitude and perception of the Ghanaian teacher towards native speakers accent. Universal Journal of Literature and Linguistics, 4(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.31586/ujll.2024.858.
Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC). (2014). Programme of study: English to Francophones General Secondary Education. Yaounde, Cameroon.
Montoya, I. L. (2024). Manifestations of colonialism in linguistics and opportunities of decolonization through refusal. In A.H. Charity Hudley, C. Malinson & M. Bucholtz (Eds.), Decolonizing Linguistics (pp.25-46). Oxford University Press.
Mufwene, S. (2001). The ecology of language evolution. Cambridge University Press.
Mukherjee, J. (2007). Steady states in the evolution of new Englishes: Present-day Indian English as an equilibrium. Journal of English Linguistics, 35(2), 157-187.
Ngefac, A. (2022a). Investigating the current developmental status of Cameroon English in the context of Edgard Schneider s Dynamic Model. In A. Ngefac, Wolf, H.G. & Hoffmann, T. (Eds.), World Englishes and creole languages today (pp.64-88). Lincom.
Ngefac, A. (2022b). Cameroon English or Cameroon Englishes : The English language situation in Cameroon as a challenge to traditional nation-based paradigms. In A. Ngefac (Ed.), Aspects of Cameroon Englishes (pp.16-48). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Ngefac, A. (2011). When the blind lead the blind: The fallacy of promoting Standard British English accent in Cameroon. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), 40-44.
Ngefac, A. (2010). Cameroon English accent: Issues of standardisation, attitudes and pedagogic concerns. Journal of Languages and Culture, 1(1), 1-7.
Njoroge, C.M. & Nyamasyo, E.A. (2008). The question of Standard English model in the achievement of universal primary education in Kenya. Journal of Language, Technology and Entrepreneurship in Africa, 1(1), 55-66
Ofori, S., Duah, I. & Mintah, K. (2014). Exploring the feasibility of a proposed Ghanaian English pronunciation standard. Journal of Education and Practice, 5(22), 49-53.
Olajide, S. B. & Olaniyi, O. K. (2013). Educated Nigerian English phonology as core of a regional RP . International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(14), 277- 286.
O Regan, J. P. (2014). English as a lingua franca: An immanent critique. Applied Linguistics, 35(5), 533 552.
Oyebola, F. K. (2020). Attitudes of Nigerians towards accents of English. Doctoral thesis in English Philology, University of M nster, Germany.
Pakir, A. (2009). English as a lingua franca: Analyzing research frameworks in International English, World Englishes, and ELF. World Englishes, 28(2), 224- 235.
Park, J. S-Y. & Wee, L. (2014). English as a lingua franca: Lessons for language and mobility. Multilingual Margins: A journal of multilingualism from the periphery, 1(1), 40-54.
Park, J. S-Y. & Wee, L. (2012). Markets of English: Linguistic capital and language policy in a globalising world. Routledge.
Pennycook, A. (1998). English and the discourses of colonialism. Routledge.
Prator, C. H. (1968). The British heresy in TESOL. In J. Fishman, C. Ferguson & J. Gupta (Eds.), Language problems of developing nations (pp. 459-479). Wiley.
Quirk, R. (1990). Language varieties and standard language. JALT Journal, 11(1), 14 25.
Ragutu, M. J. (1993). The phonological features of non-stigmatised accent of Kenyan English. MA dissertation, University of Nairobi.
Rajadurai, J. (2006). Pronunciation issues in non-native contexts: A Malaysian case study. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 2, 42-59. www.melta.org.my [20.01.2019].
Rubdi, T., McArthur R., & Saraceni, M. (2006). English in the world: Global rules, global roles. Continuum.
Saraceni, M. (2008). English as a lingua franca: Between form and function. English Today, 94(24), 2, 20-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0266078408000163
Schmied, J. (1991). English in Africa: An introduction. Longman.
Schneider, E. W. (2008). Towards endonormativity? African English and the Dynamic Model of the evolution of postcolonial Englishes. In K. Harrow & K. Mpoche (Eds.), Language, literature and education in multicultural societies: Collaborative research on Africa (pp. 283-305). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Schneider, E. W. (2007). Postcolonial English: Varieties around the world. Cambridge University Press.
Schneider, E. W. (2003). Evolutionary patterns of New Englishes and the special case of Malaysian English. Asian Englishes, 6, 44-63.
Schreiber, B.R. (2019). More like you . Disrupting native speakerism through a multimodal intercultural exchange. TESOL Quarterly, 53(4), 1115 -1138.
Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a lingua franca.Oxford University Press.
Seidlhofer, B. (2005). Standard future or half-baked quackery? In C. Gnutzmann & F. Intemann (Eds.), The globalisation of English and the English language classroom (pp.159-173). Narr.
Selvi, A. F. (2010). All teachers are equal, but some teachers are more equal than others: Trend analysis of job advertisements in English language teaching. WATESOL NNEST Caucus Annual Review, 1, 156-181.
Simo Bobda, A. (1994). Aspects of Cameroon English phonology. Peter Lang.
Skandera, P. (1999). What do we really know about Kenyan English? A pilot study in research methodology. English World-wide, 20(2), 217-236. https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.20.2ska
Smith, L. (2016). Familiar issues from a World Englishes perspective. Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. Special Series on Problems of Education: Languages and Speciality, 1, 14-18.
Sung, C. C. M. (2012). Nonnative speaker teachers of English: Challenges and prospects. An interview with George Braine. The Language Teacher, 36(2), 23-25.
Templer, B. (2004). High-stakes testing at high fees: Notes and queries on the international English proficiency assessment market. Journal for Critical Education Policy, 2(1), 189-226.
Thumboo, E. & Sayson, R. I. (Eds.) (2007). Writing Asia: The literatures in Englishes. Vol. 1: From the inside: Asia-Pacific literatures in Englishes. Ethos Books.
Tupas, R. (2010 ). Which norms in everyday practice and why? In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes (pp. 567-579). Routledge.
Ugwuanyi, K. O. (2022). The development of English in Nigeria: From alien to own language. In A. Ngefac, H.G. Wolf, & Hoffmann, T. (Eds.), World Englishes and creole languages today Vol. 2 The Bobdian thinking and beyond (pp. 101-116). Lincom.
Von Esch, K.S., Motha, S. & Kubota, R. (2020). Race and language teaching. Language Teaching, 53, 391- 421.
Widdowson, H. G. (1994). The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 377- 389. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587438
Zhang, Q. (2009). Hong Kong people's attitudes towards varieties of English. Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics, 15, 151-173.
Published
Versions
- 2025-11-03 (2)
- 2025-10-06 (1)
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Patrick Belibi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
