English and Russian as Languages of Intercultural

CommunicationDr. Irina P. Ustinova

Southeast Missouri State University, USA

http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/iustinova

Email:iustinova@semo.edu

Statistics: English• More than 300 million people are

native speakers of English• Nearly 400 million use it as the

second language• The estimate of English learners and

users is within the range of 800 million to 2 billion people

Three-circle model of World Englishes

Statistics: Russian• Russian is the native language of 130

million citizens of Russia; • Nearly 25 million citizens of CIS and Baltic

states and 7 million residents of countries abroad;

• Approximately 160 million consider Russian to be their native language and 130-160 know it as a second language.

• Over 300 million people speak Russian all over the world

Three-circle model of Russian in the Modern World

Foreign Language 6% of EU the Baltic statesPoland, Bulgaria

Native (Inner and Outer circle)Russia 130 mlnFormer SU Republics 25 mlnAbroad: Germany, 7 mlIsrael, USA

Second Language: 130-160mlnState: BelarusOfficial: Kyrzistan, KazahstanIntercultural Communication: Moldova, Uzbekistan

Russian language situation in 140 countries of the world• Ukraine – 37 mln (80%

of population)• Uzbekistan – 17 mln

(70%)

Kazakhstan – 12.6 mln (85%)

Belarus – 8 mln (80%)

Germany – 6 mln (6%)

• Azerbaijan – 5.5 mln (70%)Bulgaria – 5 mln (70%)

Moldova – 3.5 mln (100%)

Armenia – 2.7 mln (70%)

Turkmenistan – 2.5 mln (70%)

Negative Tendencies in the Status of Russian:

• After the collapse of the Soviet Union the number of speakers was substantially reduced ;

• In the CIS and Baltic countries, there is limitation of the use of Russian and a decrease in opportunities to receive schooling in Russian.

• In the Baltic republics, English now serves as a bridge between local people. It can “provide a neutral medium in which Latvians and Russians, as well as other minority groups, can work to establish a new independent Latvia” (Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas, 1997).

Positive Tendencies in the Status of Russian:

• Support of the Government: The "Russian Language" Federal Target Program (2006-2010)

• Russian Language Day- Pushkin’s Birthday• 2007 was declared the Year of the Russian

Language• The "Russky Mir" Foundation was

established• Russian is an official or working language

of many international and intergovernmental organizations in which Russia has membership.

Positive Tendencies in the Status of Russian abroad

• The number of schools with study of Russian is increasing: In Germany, Russian is studied by 150,000 schoolchildren. Approx. 30,000 students are studying the Russian language in institutions of higher education, mainly in German, France and Great Britain.

• The Russian language, one way or another, is taught in approximately 100 countries. In 79 there are university academic programs and in 54 it is included in schools’ educational programs.

Positive Tendencies in the Status of Russian abroad• In Poland at the University of Poznan there

are five candidates for every place on its Russian language course now.

• The Russian Cultural Centre in Warsaw says there has been a 35% increase in the number of people enrolling for Russian language classes over the past year.

Status of English in the World• According to the questionnaire, held by the British

Council, as many as 79% disagree that another language will challenge the role of English, and over 95 % agree that English will remain the global main language of communication and the media (Bamgbose, 2001:357).

• English is the only language nowadays that fulfills a number of conditions, allowing it to play the dominant role on a global scale: it has an important demographic weight, a strong economic, intellectual, technological, and military power, a previously established international spread, and a high level of modernization (Goodman & Graddol, 1996, Modiano, 1996, Truchot, 1997).

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Status of English in Europe• Western Europe has become a linguistically and culturally

pluralistic region with transglossic situation, where English becoming “ the binding agent of a continent, linking Finns to French and Portuguese as they move toward political and economic unification ” (Truchot, 1997).

• According to the European Commission report, only 41% of the population speak English. The English divide is age related: 67% of Europeans between 15 and 24 can speak English, compared with only 18% of those over 55 (Baker, 2001).

• Predominance of English in Europe is evident in education in Denmark, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands, English is the first foreign language learned (Labrie &Quell, 1997).

• This English is sometimes called ‘European English’ or ‘Euro-English.

STATUS OF ENGLISH IN RUSSIA: Periphery of the Expanding English circle No official status(Working language in the

Yakut-Sakha Republic )

Not an institutionalized variety

Not used as a means of communication

Learned as a foreign language

Has restricted users

Employed in international commerce, tourism, study abroad and science

FUNCTIONS OF ENGLISH IN RUSSIA

• Instrumental• Interpersonal and

Intercultural• Innovative

Innovative Function

• English borrowings• Deliberate insertion of English

expressions• English- Russian code-mixing or

code-switching in mass-media, modern fiction, advertisements, and TV commercials

Domains of English Borrowings• Computer and new information technology:

browser, multimedia, scanner, printer, CD, Windows, smiley

• Business, commerce and industry: leasing, investor, realtor, consulting, voucher, off-shore

• Politics and social sphere: electorate, security, establishment

• Education: campus, credit, bachelor, master

• Show business, film industry, mass-media: thriller, casting, bestseller, hit, talk show, star

• Service and food: popcorn, cheeseburger, label

English in Advertising• In the 21st century, 63% of Russian TV

commercials are under an English impact (Ustinova, 2006)

• Name of the Product or Company:Ford Mondeo, Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, Samsung, Fairy

• Name of the Company: Pepsi, Passat, Land Rover , Sprite, Toyota

• Header, closing line, or catcher : A better life with Digital (Ad for LG-Jet

Cooling) In touch with tomorrow (Ad for Toshiba)

• Body-copy and slogans: Moloko vdvoine vkusnei Esli eto Milky Way

CONCLUSION• The life cycle of English in Russia is at the

very beginning• The main domains of English are

workplace, education, mass media, and business

• In the interethnic communicative arena English experiences competition for language dominance with Russian

• Russian remains the language of intercultural communication in the former Soviet republics and expands its spread as a second and foreign language

• English is viewed as a symbol of prestige and modernity