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Broken Englishis a name for anon-standard,non-traditionally spoken or alternatively-written version of theEnglish language.These forms of English are sometimes considered as apidginif they have derived in a context where more than one language is used. Under the most commonly accepted definition of the term, broken English consists of English vocabulary grafted onto the syntax of a non-English speaker's native language, including word order, other aspects of sentence structure, and the presence or absence ofarticlesin the speaker's native language. Typically, the non-English speaker also strips English phrases of linguistic markings that aredefinite articlesor certainverb tenses.
In some communities,[clarification needed]young people may intentionally adopt versions of the English language that older people consider to be broken English. This has been documented, for example, among theMāoriofNew Zealand,where the younger generation was more proficient in English than the previous generation, but intentionally made modifications to the language to assert their own sense of cultural identity.[1]
Nigeriais one of the major countries in Africa known for an international version of pidgin or broken English widely accepted and spoken across West Africa and other continents, especially the whole of Southern and some part of Western Nigeria have a large number of people who have over time adopted it as a sense of common language and unified second cultural identity.
Broken English in literature
editIn literature, broken English is often used to depict the foreignness of a character, or that character's lack ofintelligenceoreducation.However,poetshave also intentionally used broken English to create a desired artistic impression, or as a creative experiment writing somewhere between standard English and a local language or dialect.[2]
For example, inHenry V,William Shakespeareused broken English to convey the national pride ofScottishandIrishallies in the King's invasion of Normandy.[3]When Henry himself last implores the French Princess Katherine to marry him, knowing that her command of the English language is limited, he says to her: "Come, your answer in broken music; for thy voice is music and thy English broken; therefore, queen of all, Katherine, break thy mind to me in broken English."[4]
See also
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References
edit- ^Raymond Hickey,Standards of English: Codified Varieties Around the World(2012), p. 347.
- ^Peter France,The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation(2001), p. 34.
- ^Paula Blank,Broken English: Dialects and the Politics of Language in Renaissance Writings(2002), p. 136.
- ^Paula Blank,Broken English: Dialects and the Politics of Language in Renaissance Writings(2002), p. 167, quotingHenry V,Act V, scene ii.