As the allusion in the title to the unintentionally humorous phrasebook published in the nineteenth century suggests, broken English and mistranslation have long been a source of humour and condemnation. Both of them abound due to the increasing prevalence of English in the world and the challenges posed by learning and using a foreign language, and by using translation to bridge the gap between English and other languages. If we add to this the appropriation of English by its speakers beyond the lands of the English, we appreciate some of the issues the spread of the English language in the world brings to the fore. The Englishes spoken in the 21st century are an outcome of the history of the English language, which is in turn bound up with the history of the speakers of the language. In what follows, we will start at the beginning and consider in broad strokes how English came to be, where it went, and how and why it spread. For this I will use as a framework the four diasporas, of spread. Thereafter, suggestions will be shared on how best to approach the study of world Englishes and global Englishes. First of all, how do Englishes vary? Secondly, how are the varieties of World Englishes distributed across the globe, and how can they be grouped into categories? Thirdly, theoretical models that researchers have suggested to help us understand the processes underlying the phenomenon will be presented. Kachru’s Three Circle Model (1992), Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007) and De Swaan’s Global Language System (2004) have all had a major influence on this field of study and each of them can help us to make sense of the complexly interconnected, diverse aspects of World Englishes. In the final part of this paper, these themes are pulled together by looking at a concrete example. The focus will be on South Africa and how English is spoken there. Once again, we will look at how English came to be spoken there, where the language went and who its speakers were and are. To this end, the specific history of South Africa will be sketched, making the links with the spread of the English language, and relating its use to the use of other languages in the area. The paper will end with a description of the current language situation, the popular and academic debates about English in education, and a discussion of the ambiguous place South African English holds in the general scheme of World Englishes.

Within the field of Translation Studies, terminology plays an important role, as does the study of Terminology. This paper investigates the possibilities available within the constraints of a single course aiming to achieve multiple aims. A brief overview of how terminology is studied is followed by a presentation of the context, looking at the position of the course in relation to other courses in the same programme, and at the broader context of Translation Studies in Europe. The case study is of a Terminology course, as part of a post-graduate, two-semester, part-time programme in Translation, at Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences in Hungary. The question of why terminology has a course to itself is likewise placed in the context of Terminology Studies and theoretical issues related to what terminology is. Finally, the course is also placed within the context of training students to become professionals in translation and related fields.

The choice of course material is always bound to the needs and abilities of the students who will be using them. English Studies in the first quarter of the 21st century has to walk a fine line between the traditional, idealised idea of a teaching and research university offering a liberal education and the more employment-oriented, marketized idea of a university equipping students with competences for life after their studies. Offering business soft skills courses within a B.A. in English allows students to develop transferable skills whilst improving their EFL proficiency. TED Talks Storytelling by Akash Karia is reviewed against this backdrop for a course on oral business presentation skills and recommended as a suitable choice for a prescribed book.

Soft skills development workshops can serve multinational organizations towards theimprovement of internal communication between employees of various language backgroundsattempting to collaborate on tasks and issues in performing their daily activities. Employer andmanagement expectations of these workshops may not be consistent with those of employeesand this gap can lead to employee pushback and even refusal to internalise and utilise theenvisioned workshop key learning points that management wants them to develop. On the basesof years of professional experience as co-trainers holding soft skills development workshops andreceiving employer and employee feedback on their work at dozens of multinational companiesin Europe, the authors discuss critical milestones which must be met by management, in order tolay the groundwork for more successful soft skills workshops at their organisations.

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