Making English a New Latin

Sylwia Scheuer

doi:10.2478/v10015-010-0009-2

Authors

Sylwia Scheuer Université de Paris 3

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/v10015-010-0009-2

Keywords:

Latin analogy, ELF, ELT, standards

Abstract

The paper looks at various aspects of the so-called Latin-English analogy and particularly at the ways in which English may share the fate of Latin in ultimately becoming a victim of its own success. A critical factor in the history of Latin was a conceptual split between its native and non-native varieties, which eventually proved instrumental in establishing its reputation as a dead language. The author wishes to argue that current proposals for a codification of English as a Lingua Franca, aimed at providing vast numbers of L2 learners with a pedagogical alternative that does not emulate L1 standards, may be regarded as major steps towards making English a new Latin: creating a similar split between native versus foreigners' English.

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