Summary: Day-to-day use of English has impacted local languages everywhere, spawning the growth of variants such as India’s Hinglish and Singlish in Singapore. Do these variations undermine language, or do they enrich it? This program examines the emergence of hybrid forms of English and discusses their pros and cons. A push by the Singapore government to promote Standard English was met with fierce,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: How did a language originally spoken in just a small part of the British Isles come to dominate the communication of so many different countries? From its start as a diverse group of Anglo-Saxon dialects and all the way onward to adoption on a global scale, this program tracks the establishment of English as the world’s common tongue. English crossed the sea by means of settlement, trade, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: With the whole world now interconnected, speaking English is commonly seen as a fast track to a good future. Students in Beijing spend Friday evenings practicing the lingo at “English corners,” and employees of a Bangalore call center work on neutralizing their Indian accents. But in many countries there’s concern about a growing divide between those who speak English - a well-off, Europeanized...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011