Three Concentric Circles by Braj Kachru

Introduction In 1985, Braj Kachru proposed a famous "three concentric circles" framework to explain the spread and usage of English in the world. The inner circle includes the countries where people speak English as their mother tongue. And the outer circle represents a society that treats English as a second language and the expanded circle represents a country where English has a foreign language status. (Bolton, 2000, p. 266) English has maintained and gained public status in Hong Kong due to colonization.

According to Braj Kachru's World English Three-Loop model, World English is divided into three categories, including the inner circle representing the basis of traditional English, the country where English is not an official language but plays an important role, and the expanded circle It is classified as a concentric circle. It is used as a foreign language, it is used only for countries with a limited purpose, Malaysia is listed under the outer circle. This model shows that quite a few people use English as their primary language. According to Azirah Hashim, a professor of linguistics at the University of Malaya, English is being used for various functions of professional and social transactions not only in the international community but also in society. The quotation tells us that not only Malaysians use it as an international language, but also some people consider English as a local language.

Braj B. Kachru (1995) proposes three circulation models of English as a global language by classifying English as the first language, the second language, and the third language. The tremendous change in the world's group culture is another important element in the emergence of English as a global language. Many of this are due to the fact that most of the impact on the cultural trends of the world comes from Americans. Personal computer technology, for example, helps disseminate English in a global language environment, as American lives have changed personal computers from complex technical devices to standard business tools and home appliances. As David Groddol points out, English is used in most computers and Internet applications. Most of these applications are created by Americans (Graddol, 1997, 4).

According to Patil (2006), the model assumes that the three circles fully represent the reality of the language. Kachru (1985) himself pointed out that concentric circles are too simple and there may be blurred areas. Classification is difficult in special circumstances such as South Africa and Jamaica. As Kakrru himself admits, the fact is that these categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and there is a gray area between the circles (Rajadurai, 2005). In addition to ambiguous classification between circles, Tripathi (1998) pointed out that there is no mechanism to distinguish variants within a circle. Therefore, Crystal (1997) does not recommend using such absolute terms to define the boundaries of Kachru concentric circles.