Standard English in the World

Models for English The majority of ‘Outer Circle’ (Kachru 1985, 1992) speakers of English speak English as a second language: that is, they have not grown up speaking English from infancy, and they use it with people from their own country. In Outer Circle countries, there are also substantial numbers of native speakers of English, people who have learnt English from infancy. The English of the native speakers in these locations is indistinguishable from the English of highly proficient non-native speakers, and the variety of English of both is influenced by the fact of English being, or having been, a non-native language for the overwhelming majority of those who speak it. English is used in a range of domains within these countries, and by substantial numbers of citizens.