Imperialism is a type of advocacy of empire. Its name originated from the Latin word "imperium", which means to rule over large territories. Imperialism is "a policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of m ilitary force, or other means". Imperialism has greatly shaped the contemporary world.

The History of the English Language English through Age of Imperialism

The global spread of the English language Age of Imperialism The Age of Imperialism, a time period beginning around 1700, saw (generally European) industrializing nations engaging in the process of colonizing, influencing, and annexing other parts of the world in order to gain political power. Although imperialist practices have existed for thousands of years, the term "Age of Imperialism" generally refers to the activities of European powers from the early 18th century through to the middle of the 20th century, for example, the "The Great Game" in Persian lands, the "Scramble for Africa" and the "Open Door Policy" in China.

• 17th and 18th centuries… – English spread as a result of British colonialism

• 18th and 19th centuries… – In addition to continued colonialism, English spread as the language of British leadership in the Industrial Revolution

• Late 19th and early 20th centuries… – English spread as the language of American economic superiority and politica l leadership.

• Second half of 20th century… – English spread as a consequence of American technologica l domination.

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The British Empire • At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. • By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time. • The empire covered more than 33,670,000 km2, almost a quarter of the Earth’s total land area.

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1492

1660

1754

1822

1885

1914

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1919

1938

1945

1959

1974

2015

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The British Empire at its height

‘Highland’ English • The 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”. • The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”. • The dialects spoken in Scotland and Ireland bore more Gaelic influence than Southern English and midlands dialects, some of which gradually appeared in ‘standard’ English.

English

Irish Gaelic

Scots Gaelic

bun

bun

clan

clann

Gaelic Meaning base, bottom

crag

creig

creag

rocky outcrop

galore

go leor

gu leòr

plenty, enough

glen

gleann

pet

peata

phony

fáinne

shamrock

seamróg

slob smithereens

valley tame animal fàinne seamrag

slaba

slogan

The beginning of global English

clan; tribe

ring shamrock mud; slovenly person

sluagh ghairm call to the multitude smidiríní

little bits

trouser

triubhas

whiskey

uisce (beatha) uisge (beatha) water (of life)

• In Shakespeare’s time, the English language had barely penetrated into Wales, Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. • By 1780, John Adams (2 nd president of the US) would claim that English was… – “destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin was in the last or French is in the present age”.

• In 1852, the German linguist, Jacob Grimm, called English “the language of the world”, and predicted it was “destined to reign in future with still more extensive sway over all parts of the globe”.

trews; pants

Colonialism, the British Empire, and the English language • British colonialism had begun as early as the 16th Century, but gathered speed and momentum between the 18th and 20th Century. • At the end of the 16th Century, mother-tongue English speakers numbered just 5-7 million, almost all of them in the British Isles. • Over the next 350 years, this increased by 5000% – 80% of them living outside of Britain.

English/British colonies North America • English colonization of North America began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. • Bermuda, islands located in the North Atlantic, first settled in 1609 • First English colony in Canada were St. John's, Newfoundland in 1583. – French were present in Canada from 1530, and vied with Britain for domination. – French defeated by Britain. – French and English languages there, but French-speakers remained in the East when process of English colonization began.

• Almost two dozen Caribbean territories know as the ‘British West Indies’ beginning in 1684

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English in Australia • The British colonization of Australia began in the 1788. – Britain established its first penal colony in Sydney. – About 130,000 prisoners were transported there over the next 50 years, followed by other “free” settlers.

• Between 1788 and 1900, 90% of the aboriginal population was annihilated. (Aboriginal Tasmanians became extinct.) – Disease: chickenpox, smallpox, influenza, and measles – Loss of resources: loss of traditional lands, food sources, water sources – Direct violence(/genocide?) • Historians disagree, but many accounts of massacres

• Most of the settlers were from London and Ireland, resulting in a very distinctive and egalitarian accent.

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The Scramble for Africa • The ‘Scramble for Africa’ began for strategic reasons. – After the Congress of Vienna, Britain acquired the Cape Colony in South Africa. It was an important port on the sea route to India.

1822

• In 1867, the Suez Canal was built across Egyptian territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. – Steamships could now go to and from India without passing round the southern tip of Africa (the Cape). – The Egyptian government became hopelessly unstable, however, and, reluctantly, in 1882, Britain took over the administration of the country. – This began the ‘Scramble for Africa’

• In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium founds the International African Society to ‘explore’ and ‘civilize’ Africa. – Various member states have divergent interests – At Berlin Conference 1885, division of Africa formalized

1885

Berlin Conference (1885) partitioning of Africa

1914

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“Take up the White Man's burden, Send forth the best ye breed Go bind your sons to exile, to serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild— Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child. … Take up the White Man's burden, The savage wars of peace — Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to nought.” The White Man’s Burden, Kipling

Official languages of Africa

English in East Africa • Visited by English in the 16th century, it was not explored until 1850s. • The Imperial East Africa Company was founded in 1888, and a series of colonial protectorates was established. • Six main states with a history of British rule that gave English official status when they gained their independence: – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

English in South Africa • British control in 1806, and settlement from 1820 onwards • English became the official language of the region in 1822 and by the end of 19th C. • Half a million immigrants there, most of them spoke English. • Afrikaans-speakers used English as a second language. • Nowadays English is one of the 11 official languages in South Africa.

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English in India • India has about 40 million users of English – This is the 3rd-largest English using area after USA and Great Britain.

• English developed as a medium of control – administration, education, etc. – in the period of the British Raj (1765-1947), creating an English-based subculture in the subcontinent. • The basis for the subculture was the English language –as language is equated with power.

• India’s many languages (particularly Hindi) provided many loanwords to English: – pyjamas, bandanna, pundit, bungalow, veranda, dinghy, cot, divan, ghoul, jungle, loot, cash, toddy, curry, candy, chit, thug, punch (the drink), cushy, yoga, bangle, shampoo, khaki, turban, tank, juggernaut, etc.

The Industrial Revolution (U.K.) • The Industrial Revolution began in the United Kingdom. Most of the important technological innovations were British. – harnessing of steam to drive heavy machinery – the development of new materials, techniques and equipment in a range of manufacturing industries – the emergence of new means of transportation (e.g. steamships, railways).

• At least half of the influential scientific and technological output between 1750 and 1900 was written in English.

The Industrial Revolution (U.S.) • Another English speaking country, the USA, continued the English language dominance of new technology and innovation. – electricity – the telegraph – the telephone – the phonograph – the sewing machine – the computer, etc.

The Industrial Revolution and the English language • The industrial and scientific advances of the Industrial Revolution created a need for neologisms to describe the new creations and discoveries. • To a large extent, this relied on the classical languages, Latin and Greek, in which scholars and scientists of the period were usually well versed. – Although words like oxygen, protein, nuclear and vaccine did not exist in the classical languages, they could be (and were) created from Latin and Greek roots. • Lens, refraction, electron, chromosome, chloroform, caffeine, centigrade, bacteria, chronometer, claustrophobia, etc

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“-ologies” and “-onomies” • The scientific inventions during the industrial revolution (especially the microscope) allowed for the scientific exploration of previously inaccessible subject matter. – New names were needed for these inventions, and these branches of science.

• In addition, many areas of scientific investigation that were thousands of years old were given new names. – biology, petrology, morphology, histology, paleontology, ethnology, entomology, taxonomy

English as a global language • Many modern scholars divide the use of English into three concentric circles:

EXPANDING CIRCLE OUTER CIRCLE

INNER CIRCLE

The Outer Circle • In the outer circle are those countries where English has official or historical importance. – This includes most of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (the former British Empire), including populous countries such as India, Pakistan, and Nigeria; and others, such as the Philippines, under the sphere of influence of Englishspeaking countries. – Here English may serve as a useful lingua franca between ethnic and language groups. Higher education, the legislature and judiciary, national commerce, and so on, may all be carried out predominantly in English.

The Inner Circle • The inner circle is the traditional base of English – This includes populations of countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the anglophone populations of the former British colonies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and various islands of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.

The Expanding Circle • The expanding circle refers to those countries where English has no official role, but is nonetheless important for certain functions, e.g. international business and tourism. • By the twenty-first century, the number of non-native English speakers has come to significantly outnumber the number of native speakers by a factor of three, according to the British Council. • Darius Degher, a professor at Malmö University in Sweden, uses the term decentered English to describe this shift, along with attendant changes in what is considered to be important to English users and learners. • Research on English as a lingua franca in the sense of ‘English in the Expanding Circle’ is fairly recent.

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Countries where English is spoken natively by the majority of the population.

Pie chart showing the percentage of native English speakers living in "inner circle" English-speaking countries.

Nations in which English is an official language or majority language (dark blue) or an official language but minority language (light blue, including countries where Englishbased creoles are the dominant language)

U.S. Imperialism

United States overseas military presence (2015)

• Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii began in 1893 and Hawaii annexed in 1898. – Number and percentage of native speakers of Hawaiian in the local population decreased sharply, and continued to fall throughout the nineteenth century. – Now 5000-20,000 native Hawaiian speakers remain

• The Philippine–American War (1899–1902) – The Philippines becomes an unincorporated territory of the United States and, later, a U.S. Commonwealth (until 1946). – English did not displace Tagalog, but less than 10% of Filipinos are not competent in English to some degree.

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Countries with English as an Official Language and the Language of Instruction in Higher Education Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Botswana British Virgin Islands

Ireland, Republic of Jamaica Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Malta Mauritius Montserrat Namibia New Zealand Nigeria Papua New Guinea

Tanzania Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Wales Zambia Zimbabwe

British Virgin Islands Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Dominica England Fiji Gambia Ghana Gibraltar Grenada Guyana Ireland, Northern Ireland, Republic of

Papua New Guinea St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Scotland Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Swaziland Tanzania

See you next time,

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