in language classes to developing strategies that help learners to communicate
in exchanges in which neither speaker is fully fluent in the language.
The Sociolinguistic Context of Language Learning
and Teaching
Language contact and variation
One common effect of language contact is language change. In such cases, the
various languages used within a multilingual context may undergo phonological,
lexical, and grammatical changes as bilinguals make use of two or more languages
on a regular basis. This situation is occurring in many countries today where
English has an official role in the society. In these countries, English is being
influenced by the other languages it comes in contact with. In addition, English
is often influencing other languages through the borrowing of English terms.
Many studies have been undertaken to determine the types of grammatical
changes that are occurring in various multilingual contexts in which English
plays a significant role. (See, for example, Kachru, 2005.) Frequently, researchers
begin by examining a written corpus of English of a particular multilingual context
to determine what kinds of grammatical innovations exist and how acceptable
these structures are to both native speakers of English and local speakers of
English. In general, when investigations of language change use a written corpus
of published English, only very minor grammatical differences are found. (See,
for example, Parasher, 1994.)
Often the kinds of grammatical changes that occur tend to be minor differences,
such as variation in what is considered to be a countable noun (e.g., the
standard use of luggages in English in the Philippines and the use of furnitures
in Nigeria) and the creation of new phrasal verbs (e.g., the use of dismissing off in
English in India, and discuss about in Nigeria). In contexts in which such features
become codified and recognized as standard within that social context, there
arises what Kachru (1986) has termed a nativized variety of English.
What is perhaps most puzzling in the development of alternate grammatical
standards in the use of English is the fact that whereas lexical innovation is often
accepted as part of language change, this tolerance is generally not extended to
grammatical innovation. In Widdowson’s (1994) view, the reason for this lack of
tolerance for grammatical variation is because grammar takes on another value,
namely that of expressing a social identity. Hence, when grammatical standards
are challenged, they challenge the security of the community and institutions
that support those standards.
Investigations of language contact have also focused on the code-switching
behavior of bilinguals. One of the most comprehensive theories of codeswitching
is that of Myers-Scotton (1993). She explains code-switching in terms of a theory
of rights and obligations. She proposes a markedness model of code-switching