Seven years ago, Chicago-born Ben Barron took a job with Zurich Insurance Group, an international company headquartered in Switzerland. Barron found that his new colleagues across Europe, who used English as a shared language, had difficulty understanding him.
After taking an in-company e-learning course to help native English speakers communicate better with non-native speakers, Barron slowed down his pace of speaking and avoided phrases and idioms that don’t translate globally.
Barron is one of a small but growing number of native English speakers adapting how he uses his mother tongue. “With non-native English speakers now vastly outnumbering native speakers, the tables are turned,” says Neil Shaw of the British Council. About 1.75 billion people worldwide speak English at a useful level, and by 2022 it’s expected to be two billion. In the Council’s new intercultural fluency courses, native English speakers in countries from Singapore to South Africa have been forced to rethink how they communicate. “It shows that their English isn’t as clear and effective as they think it is,” Shaw says.
“The English language is changing quite differently,” says Robert Gibson, an intercultural consultant. Chinese English, known as Chinglish, and German English, called Denglish, are examples, he says. “English is also developing within organizations. In companies, they have their own style of English which is not necessarily understood by native speakers.”
The most useful change native English speakers can make is to slow down their speech, says Bob Dignen, director of York Associates. Native English speakers on average speak 250 words per minute, while the average non-native speaker is comfortable with around 150 words per minute, Dignen explains. Articulation (清晰发音) is also important, he says. “Instead of ‘I will’ we tend to say ‘I’ll’ and then in fast speech we say ‘ull’, which might cause misunderstandings. ”
“Native English speakers tend to use a communication style that leads to dominance (优势) in terms of talking time with them speaking more than the non-native speaker,” he says. “Shutting up and asking more questions is my suggestion. It makes a huge difference.”
12. What happened to Barron after he took the job in Switzerland?
A.He took an e-learning course to study Swiss. |
B.He could hardly get along with his colleagues. |
C.He became used to adding some idioms to his speech. |
D.He often needed to edit his English to put his ideas across. |
13. What can be inferred from Shaw’s words in Paragraph 3?
A.Standard English might not be understood by many. |
B.More and more native English speakers work overseas. |
C.Many non-native speakers speak English better than native ones. |
D.English has been adopted as a second language in many countries. |
14. According to Gibson, how is the English language changing?
A.It has more and more varieties. |
B.It has more rules for non-native speakers. |
C.It is losing its popularity to Chinese and German. |
D.It is becoming the official language of many organizations. |
15. What does Dignen advise native English speakers to do when they talk with non-native ones?
A.Fix their speech speed. |
B.Say less and listen more. |
C.Avoid asking many questions. |
D.Use short forms when necessary. |