International English the sphere of influence of English-speaking countries. Here English may serve as a useful lingua franca between ethnic and language groups. Higher education, the legislature and judiciary, national commerce, and so on, may all be carried out predominantly in English. The "expanding circle" refers to those countries where English has no official role, but is nonetheless important for certain functions, e.g. international business and tourism. By the twenty-first century, non-native English speakers have come to outnumber native speakers by a factor of three, according to the British Council. Darius Degher, a professor at Malmö University in Sweden, uses the term
Manually coded English Manually coded English Manually-Coded English (MCE) is an umbrella term used to describe a range of various forms of sign language which follow direct spoken English language. The different codes of MCE vary in the levels of direct following of spoken English grammar. There may also be a combination with other visual clues such as body language. MCE is typically used in conjunction with direct spoken English. MCE or speaking and signing at the same time has been labeled many terms—including Total Communication, Simultaneous Communication (SimCom), Signed English, Manually-Coded English, Sign Supported Speech, and Sign Supported English, none of which