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World Englishes, Vol 16, No. 1, pp. 12, 1997. 08832919

Introduction: World Englishes in Europe

Marc Deneire and Michael Goethals

Professor Braj Kachru once told us that the acronym for World Englishes indicates the
editor's effort to include all of us who are interested in the use of English across the world.
It is in that spirit that we have attempted to include the voices of different scholars,
linguists, language policy-makers, and language teachers in this issue. At this time, when
the European Union is trying to find a political, economic, and cultural identity,
conferences, colloquia, and publications on the questions of language policy and plur-
ilinguaism abound. In this context, the spread of English is often seen as a threat to
linguistic diversity and to the dignify of other languages; sometimes it is also seen as
offering a unique opportunity for the development of a `Lingua Franca' that could
facilitate communication at various levels.
This special issue of World Englishes consists of invited contributions from ten European
scholars. They were asked to present selected aspects of a huge puzzle in which not only
numbers count, but also and most importantly, political, philosophical, and moral
positions. We hope that these different and sometimes contradictory perspectives will
help the readers formulate their own.
In the introductory article, Labrie and Quell draw on the data collected by Euroba-
rometer in 1994, by observing that knowledge of foreign languages has increased
significantly in the last 40 years in the countries forming the European Union, and that
the three major languages English, French, and German are all expanding. These data
also enable them to estimate the probability that a particular language will be used when
nationals from different countries interact.
Phillipson and Skutnabb-Kangas address the issue of whether the expansion of English
in continent Europe represents a threat or a blessing. Their paper considers some of the
ambiguities in English being promoted as a language serving `international' purposes and
simultaneously British and American interests.
The LINGUA program has been major instrument in the development of student and
teacher exchanges between community members in the 1990s. Stefaan Hermans explains
how the program came into being in 1989. He further provides us with empirical data to
investigate whether the priorities set at the beginning were realized, and to assess the
position of English in this context.
Michael Goethals, present Chair of NELLE (Network(ing) European Language Learn-
ing in Europe) describes this organization's efforts to reflect on the role of EIL in Europe,
and its concerns with the quality of its teaching and learning. Goethals also gives an
overview of how NELLE relates to existing organizations and functions through regular
meetings and conferences.
In his contribution, Claude Truchot outlines a framework for the analysis of the spread
of English in, what has been termed, the expanding circle (Kachru, 1985). This framework
is applied to the French situation, but it should also provide a basis for the analysis of the
situation of English in other national contexts.
# Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1997, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
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2 Marc Deneire and Michael Goethals

Pulcini's study of attitudes towards the spread of English in Italy in this century focuses
on the reactions to the penetration of American culture. These reactions were character-
ized by hostility and xenophobia in the first half of the century, and by accommodating
and acceptance after the Second World War. Pulcini further presents data on the presence
of English in education.
The `emergence' of the New Lander of Germany after 1989 has caused an increase in the
demand of English. Uta Thurmer shows how a specific institution (Technische Universitat
Dresden) has met this challenge by providing a set of courses that meets the specific needs
and demands of students.
In his historical outline of the spread of English in Europe, Arthur van Essen
demonstrates that there is an unbroken line of development in foreign language teaching
in Eastern and Western Europe, despite the 45-year interlude before the fall of the Berlin
Wall. This perspective allows him to give a better account of the current situation of
English in Europe, and to illustrate how this presence is felt in his own country, the
Netherlands. Michael Goethals' contribution on English in Flanders (Belgium) is an
addendum to A. van Essen's description of English in Europe. It describes the position of
English in Flemish education, in Flemish society, and in daily life. Goethals also gives an
assessment of the status of English in competition with Dutch (the standard L1 language)
and French (the other national language).
The issue of native and non-native accents has always been central in European attitudes
toward English, especially in education where non RP-accents have often been equated
with `bad English.' In their contribution, Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck and Smit report on a
study in which they tested the attitude of Austrian students of English. Their results
indicate an overall preference for native accents and a low status for non-native accents.
The authors also noticed that students who spent some time in English-speaking countries
reveal more individualized, situation-linked attitudes.
We hope that this symposium will generate further scholarly interest and discussion on
this very important and sensitive linguistic issue in Europe.

REFERENCE
Kachru, Braj B. (1985) Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the Outer
Circle. In R. Quirk and H. G. Widdowson (eds.) (1984). 1130.

# Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1997