806007430 Hassan Basarally LING 6402

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ACADEMIC YEAR: 2009-2010 SEMESTER: II

COURSE CODE: LING 6402 TITLE: World Englishes

NAME: Hassan Basarally ID: 806007430

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806007430 Hassan Basarally LING 6402

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806007430 Hassan Basarally LING 6402

Name: Hassan Basarally

ID: 806007430

Course: LING 6402- World Englishes

Lecturer: Dr. J. S. Ferreira

Assignment: Assignment 3- A comparative analysis of Pakistani English and Scottish English,

using some original data.

Faculty: Humanities and Education

Department: Liberal Arts

Semester and Year: Semester 2, 2009-2010

University: University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

Date Due: 15/05/2010

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Abstract

A consequence of the global spread of English is the development of various standards.

There has been a shift from the concept of a single Standard English to Standard Englishes. A

standard variety is defined by geographical specificity, existing primarily as a written, as

opposed to spoken, form, and used by a specific stratum of society. The linguistic features of

Scottish English (SE) and Pakistani English (PE) will be compared and contrasted. The two

standards have undergone different historical and linguistic development. Although the

morphology and syntax are similar enough to be mutually intelligible, there remain significant

differences that would stand out to speakers of other varieties.

Current research (Melchers and Shaw 2003 and Kachru, Kachru and Nelson 2006) state a

need for further description of the two varieties. This is partly due to both varieties existing next

to more widely spoken and populous standards i.e. English English and Indian English. The

choice in varieties for comparison also takes into consideration the multilingual environments in

which SE and PE exist. In Scotland, SE, Gaelic and Scots exist while in Pakistan there are PE,

Urdu, Arabic and three main regional languages: Sindhi, Punjabi and Pashtun. However, Scottish

English is a majority language while Pakistani English is a minority one. Generally, SEs

speakers use it as a first language while PE speakers use it as a second one. In addition, SE is

part of what is considered the inner circle and PE the outer circle (Melchers and Shaw 2003

and Kachru, Kachru and Nelson 2006).

Noticeable similarities in rhoticity were observed. In addition, there is evidence of

substrate influence and input from other languages in both varieties. These influences are most

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noticeable in lexicon; however, all languages borrow words, so this is a normal occurrence.

Influence is seen in morpho-syntactic areas such as word order and tense, the argument that

Scottish English and Pakistani English being affected by other languages in their respective

linguistic environments can be made.

A main phonological feature of SE is the Scottish Vowel Length Rule. Lexically, there

are Scotticisms, in particular nouns and adjectives. Distinct aspects of SE grammar were

observed mainly in tense and pronoun usage. For example, the past participle is used after want

and need, as opposed to the verb to be and the word yet is used in the simple past instead of the

perfect.

PE is phonologically distinct as it replaces /f/ with /p/, so fool will be

pronounced /pu/. Additionally, there is the reduction of the initial consonant and syllable

insertion. Lexically, it is characterised by back formations and distinct noun production

processes. For example, wallah is added to Standard English nouns to create PE words.

Grammatically, PE is greatly affected by other languages in Pakistan. Word order is flexible,

prepositions can be easily switched or replaced and there is the presence of large amounts of

redundant clauses.

When comparing the two varieties, there will be a small focus on socio-linguistic

development, phonology and lexicon. Greater emphasis will be placed on syntax and grammar as

these linguistic features define a language. The data used were selected from the existing corpus

of PE and SE and field data collected through interviews and recordings. The informants were

male speakers of PE and SE respectively who were over 30 years old, attained tertiary education

and reside in Trinidad.

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A comparative analysis of Pakistani English and Scottish English, using some original data

The English language today, like all languages, has changed. It is no longer the language

of England or the British Isles. Britains empire carried to neighbours like Scotland and distant

nations like Pakistan. The result of this is not a nearly monolingual world but a dynamic new

English language. It is no longer English but Englishes, also there are native and non-native

Englishes. The new reality has forced linguists to re examine what can be considered Standard

English and what is the target that English learners aim for. Most importantly, it has resulted in a

pluralistic description of the English language based on its users. English is owned by all who

speak it making national varieties of English. Scottish English (SE) is unique in its negative

particles, its use of the definite article and plural and diminutive. Pakistani English (PE) shows

distinctness in redundant clauses, divergence in the use of articles and first language structures

being used. Both varieties have influences from the other languages spoken in the respective

countries particularly in phonology and in morpho-syntactic structure.

When Scotland was an independent kingdom the main languages spoken were Gaelic

followed by Scots. Due to Scotlands close proximity to England, it was one of the first places

the English language was brought to due to colonisation. English gained political and social

dominance over Scots and Gaelic with the joining of the English and Scottish Crowns. With the

union of the Crowns, English norms ascended and the other national languages receded to

remote areas. Douglas states that though SE began as a compromise between Scots and

southern Standard English, it now the prestigious variety in Scotland (45). Though English

became the language of power and prestige, the twentieth century saw a rise in Scottish

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nationalism. The rise of nationalism saw the promotion of Scots as a national language and its

codification. Due to English attaining dominance over the other native languages of Scotland,

Scottish English today is described as the more distinctive or more divergent than other varieties

in the United Kingdom. Gaelic acted a substrate influence from the seventeenth century.

Scottish English (SE) phonology is characterised by rhoticity. In addition, SE consonants

demonstrate a glottal stop [] which replaces the non-initial [t] and [x] that occurs in words that

are specifically Scottish. The glottal stop can be seen in the word Scottish [skt ] and [x] can

be seen in words such as nicht [nxt]. The substratum effects on SE can be seen in the retention

of [x]. SE vowels differ in quality not length. All vowels beside [] and [] can be either long or

short in complementary distribution (Melchers and Shaw, 65). The reason is the Scottish Vowel

Length Rule in which all vowels are short unless followed by [r], a voiced fricative, morpheme

boundary or are final in an open syllable. The Great Vowel Shift in Scotland did not proceed to

such a large extent as in the south of the United Kingdom. Hence SE retains some vowels that do

not appear in other varieties on the British Isles e.g. [u:] in hoose.

In SE there are numerous Gaelic loanwords, with the words came Gaelic consonants. In

Gaelic, there is the presence of [x] in words such as loch. The consonant has also filtered to other

words such a thought (Romaine 69). Substrate influences from Gaelic and Scots can also be seen

in een for eyes and shuin for shoes. The conjugation of some verbs reflect influence from the

substratum as well e.g. the verb for go is dae, gaed for went and gane for gone (Crystal 329).

Aitken (in Macafee, 75) uses the construction of need/want plus the past participle as evidence of

Scots influence e.g. it needs washed.

SE uses the negative particles [ne], [n] and [n]. This can be seen in she'd spread a

piece o bread and jam nae butter (See Appendix B). These particles negate words the same way

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not would in Pakistani English (PE).The particles can be seen in cannae and willnae. It can also

be seen in ye didnae get both and she'd just open a window and throw it down (See Appendix B).

The use of [ne], [n] and [n] could explain why not is usually not contracted as there is a

separate form for negation. Many plurals that would end in ves end with s in SE e.g. leafs,

wifes and wolfs. The definite article can be used in a generic sense e.g. he wears the kilt. The

definite article, however, is used before nouns denoting institutions and periods of time

(Melchers and Shaw, 69). Scottish English (SE) possesses pronouns not shared by Pakistani

English (PE) e.g. thae for those and yous for the second person plural. It also shares mines for

mine as in Trinidad English Creole.

There is the presence of double modals e.g. might could. This is also seen in Pakistani

English (PE) e.g. could perhaps. In addition, there is the presence of tag questions as in PE. The

tag -is it? is used in SE and -isnt it? in PE. The pronoun all can be used to pluralise other

pronouns e.g. who all and what all. There is the more general appearance of reflexive pronouns

e.g. it was yourself who did it. Yet is used in the simple past rather than perfect e.g. did you get it

yet? Inversion is used in indirect questions e.g. she asked my mother had she any cloth. The

suffix ie is used to show that something is diminutive. This is seen in and we called all the

wifies by their last name (See Appendix B). The past tense and past participle can be shown by

it, -t and d as opposed to ed PE. According to Douglas, SE has a three way deictic system for

demonstrative pronouns as there is thon/yon in addition to this and that (50). The adverbial

particles in compound verbs come after the verb and not after the direct object, e.g. he turned out

the light, and this construction can also be seen in PE. Will has also replaced shall in most

contexts e.g. will I come again tomorrow?

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Pakistan has the third largest number of English speakers in South Asia. English came to

the Indian subcontinent with the spread of the British Empire and was used as the language of

the government and judiciary. When India became independent, the state of Pakistan was formed

comprising of East and West Pakistan. This began the development of Pakistani English (PE) as

a separate variety of English in South East Asia as the new state used English as an official

language together with Urdu. Simultaneously, West Pakistan had large numbers of Pashtun,

Punjabi and Sindhi while East Pakistan had the majority of its population speaking Bengali. The

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused an increase in the Pashtun speaking population. East

Pakistan eventually seceded to become Bangladesh and PE continued its development into a

unique variety. Many of PEs features are as a result of the role and function of English in the

country. Kachru states that South Asian Englishes, which PE is classed as, is distinct because it

is a second language, it is acquired and it is taught through a written medium (358). In Pakistan

English has always competed against Urdu and regional languages (Melchers and Shaw, 138).

The competition has implications for the languages status in Pakistan and pedagogy. Gargesh

states that it is official policy for higher education instruction to be in English (96). Hence, it has

the status of being spoken by the educated in society but not necessarily popular use.

PE is generally a second language to the majority of its speakers. As such, many features

it possesses are features that occur in speakers who use English as a second language. Patil cites

some of Seidlhofers non-native speech features (35). Those that can be seen in PE are over

explicitness, omission of articles, divergence in tag questions and redundant prepositions.

However, such a generalisation is incorrect for two main reasons; firstly PE does not possess

other features mentioned by Seidlhofer e.g. omission of third person present tense and it is

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understood by the majority of English speakers. Secondly some of the features mentioned occur

in Native Englishes e.g. the diversion of tag questions is seen in Scottish English (SE).

Hickey notes that PE has difficulty with some initial consonant clusters and either breaks

up the clusters or adds a vowel before problematic clusters (551). The consonant cluster of sk,

-sl and sp do not occur in the word initial position. PE is phonologically distinct as it

replaces /f/ with /p/, so fool will be pronounced /pu/.

Pakistani English (PE) grammar is characterised by large amounts of embedding,

frequency of tag questions and reduplication. PE vocabulary and clause structure is

characterised by archaic English words that are re-combined to meet new semantic needs e.g.

we must regret this incident if we are genuine muslims (See Appendix A). Over expressiveness is

also present in lexical redundancies e.g. cost price and young children. Redundancy can be

expressed through the use of two words for one, the words are usually joined by or or and. Talaat

also states that this is a feature common to South Asian Englishes as identified by Kachru (126).

Another feature of PE is that English phrases are recombined into lengthy phrases that can be

easily be substituted by a single word e.g. pindrop silence and would be gentleman. Talaat also

notices the presence of large amounts of non-specific vocabulary in PE (142). Such vocabulary is

used when the speaker expects the listener to arrive at the same meaning intended. Such is seen

in the redundant phrases such as communication set up and upward trend. It is noted that such

features such as repetition and non-specific vocabulary are characteristics of spoken as opposed

to written language.

The over expressiveness can also be viewed as overuse of clichs. The main difference in

the development of both varieties lies in codification and the literary canon. Scottish English

(SE) was afforded prestige from an early stage in its development and relation to Scots. In

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addition, the language was codified and a literary canon emerged quickly. Also the speakers of

SE are mainly native speakers. On the other hand, PE was brought in the colonial period, it has

limited use outside official domain, its literary tradition is at most thirty years old and its prestige

varies between the conservative and liberal elements of Pakistani society.

Static verbs can be used in a progressive form e.g. he is knowing the answer. This is also

seen, especially in the verbs want and need in Scottish English (SE) e.g. Im needing a cup of

tea. Word order is not as rigid in other varieties e.g. theyre late always. Prepositions and articles

are either omitted or inserted where unnecessary. The omission of the definite article can be seen

in when kalima was defaced at that time people were offering prayers inside the masjid (See

Appendix A). In addition of the omission of the definite article there is divergence in the use of

prepositions. Examples of prepositional divergence can be seen in reduced into ashes, threw

stones on the police and to pay attention on.

Complex word constructions result from literal translations from the first language to PE

e.g. country made for locally made. The lexical choices made are unique as PE exhibits substrate

influence due to the first language being translated into English. An example of the first language

translation into PE can be seen in let me know that should this act be condemned or not (See

Appendix A). Also as PE is a second language to many of its speakers differences in usage are

not apparent. According to Talaat the double words or redundant clauses are also as a result of

using first language structures in the second language (162).

Passive sentences are made active only by changing the verb. For example, poor

performances is transpired. In Urdu, word order is not as rigid as English, Talaat believes that

the loose word order exhibited in PE is stylistic rather than grammatical (169). Hence statements

such as are not we our own best enemy occurs occur. Nouns are produced through the addition of

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an Urdu word, wallah, meaning doer of. Wallah is termed a heteronymic compounding

element, that is used for noun production (Melchers and Shaw, 143). Non-native Englishes tend

to have ways of creativity that involve the first language in some ways.

Mass nouns in PE can be pluralised e.g. furnitures. Could and would are used instead of

can and will. This is the opposite of SE that uses will in first person questions. There is also the

absence of subject-verb inversion in direct questions and the presence of the inversion in indirect

questions. For example, what this is made from?

Both varieties compared show the effect of other languages on English in a multilingual

setting. There are some similarities such as the use of a static verb in a progressive form and the

use of tag questions. The similarities show that though varieties of English may be different in

terms of geography, nativeness and sociolinguistic development, many morpho-syntactic

features are shared. On the other hand, the distinct history of Englishes affect the morpho-syntax

to produce features that makes individual varieties unique.

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Works Cited

Baily, Richard W and Manfred Gorlach eds. English as a World Language Ann Arbor: The
University of Michigan Press, 1986. Print.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2003. Print.

Douglas, Fiona. English in Scotland. The Handbook of World Englishes Ed. Braj B. Kachru,
Yumana Kachru and Cecil L. Nelson. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 41-57. Print.

Gargesh, Ravinder. South Asian Englishes. The Handbook of World Englishes Ed. Braj B.
Kachru, Yumana Kachru and Cecil L. Nelson. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing,
2006. 99- 113. Print.

Hickey, Raymond. South Asian Englishes. Legacies of Colonial English: Studies in

Transported Dialects Ed. Raymond Hickey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2004. 545-562. Print.

Macafee, Caroline. Scots and Scottish English. Legacies of Colonial English: Studies in
Transported Dialects Ed. Raymond Hickey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2004. 71-79. Print.

Melchers, Gunnel and Philip Shaw eds. World Englishes. London: Hodder Education, 2003.
Print.

Patil, Z.N. On the Nature and Role of English in Asia. Journal of English as an International
Language 1 (2007): 25-47 Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Talaat, Mubina. The Form and Functions of English in Pakistan. Diss. Bahauddin Zakariyya
University Multan, 2002. Web.

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Appendix A- Discourse Analysis Transcriptions (Pakistani English)

The following are transcriptions selected from the recordings done:

Speaker Description
A Pakistani male, over 30 years old
B Pakistani male, over 45 years old

A watch this clip and let me know that should this act be condemned or not. this

incident in a village near fisalabad. police raided the village and defaced the kalima

from a masjid with cement plaster. punjab police also broke and removed tiles from

the exterior of homes on which masha allah was written. they did this with the help

of hammers. this incidence is not too old. it happened on august tenth two thousand

and nine. when kalima was defaced at that time people were offering prayers inside

the masjid. we must regret this incident if we are genuine muslims. I will also tell

you the reason for all this. look at this they are breaking the tiles on which the name

of allah is written with the help of chisel and hammers. these broken tiles having

name of allah written on them are falling in the open sewerage channel passing

underneath. allama sahib let me tell you that this masjid belongs to ahmadiya jamat

and these homes also belong to the people of ahmadiya jamat. I do not belong to

ahmadiya jamat but I ask you what should be done with the people who are

defacing kalima and insulting quranic verses.

B the case of ahmadis is different from other religious communities living in pakistan

because ahmadis profess themselves as muslims and use islamic religious terms

whereas christians say that they are christians and hindus say that they are hindus.

the differences arise because ahmadis recite same kalima and profess themselves as

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muslims. they do so despite the fact that all other sects have unanimously declared

them as kafir.

Appendix B- Discourse Analysis Transcriptions (Scottish English)

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The following are transcriptions selected from the recordings done:

Speaker Description
A Scottish male, over 45 years old
B Scottish male, over 30 years old

A well you're playing out in the backyard and your ma is up on the second floor and

you're hungry so ye say ma throw me down a jammy piece and she'd spread a piece

o bread and jam nae butter ye didnae get both and she'd just open a window and

throw it down and ye caught it sometimes it fell on the ground and ye just wiped it

off and ye just chomp

B [laugh]
A and that was it. so ma throw me down a jammy piece
B and was that like tenement living?
A yes that was tenement living
B can you explain for folk that's never seen a tenement what that is
A well a tenement was at least three storeys high sometimes four storeys high and no

one ever locked a door and people used to come and go all the time. they'd walk

into your house at any time day or night an you just said aye aye, foo're ye doing

then ye ken an an that was it. it was wonderful community living which is now

gone. I-I- I wish we could go back to the old days where we all so close and we

called all the wifies by their last name. I had howie that was mrs howie strachan

mrs srachan broon mrs brown and ye just called them by their last name and

nobody objected to that ye know it was a wonderful life

B how long ago was this?
A was in nineteen-thirties I'm old now. it's nineteen thirties an it was a wonderful life

and we all played in the backyard. my sisters used to tap dance and they used to

make dresses out of crepe paper and things like this and we'd concerts an just

things. and we'd all outside lavvies, ye know? there was no bathrooms nothing, if

we wanted a wash we'd to wash in the sink and it was an iron sink not enamel iron

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sink ye know and we'd a big zinc bath and da used to sit in the bath an we'd to gang

out the hoot to another room while he got his back rubbed and then he used to stand

up and then he'd say that water's still hot so one o you get in that bath so one of us

had to strip off and get into the bath you know that was that was life in those days

it was such a wonderful time.

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