English and Spanish
World Languages in Interaction

Taking a comparative and language-contact approach, this book traces the rise of two world languages, English and Spanish.

Danae Perez (Edited by), Marianne Hundt (Edited by), Johannes Kabatek (Edited by), Daniel Schreier (Edited by)

9781108736978, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 April 2025

376 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.543 kg

'This is a welcome treatment of the trajectories and differentiation of English and Spanish – as the most widely spoken and learned global languages (after Chinese). It presents a clear picture of the different types of negotiations that have defined their sociolinguistic histories, and focuses on such essential matters as linguistic structure and speakers, colonisation and expansion, linguistic practices and identity, economic power and ethnic pride. The collection also introduces innovative methodologies, defines main concepts and discusses topics related to structural convergence, the degree of linguistic relatedness and contact, transnational mediascapes and the construction of identities.' Anna María Escobar, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

This volume compares the evolution and current status of two of the world's major languages, English and Spanish. Parallel chapters trace the emergence of Global English and Spanish and their current status, covering aspects such as language and dialect contact, language typology, norm development in pluricentric languages, and identity construction. Case studies look into the use of English and Spanish on the internet, investigate mixed and alternating lects, as well as ongoing change in Spanish-speaking minorities in the US. The volume thus contributes to current theoretical debates and provides fresh empirical data. While offering an in-depth treatment of the evolution of English and Spanish to the reader, this book introduces the driving factors and the effects of the emergence of world languages in general and is relevant for researchers and students of sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and typology alike.

1. English and Spanish context – world languages in interaction Danae Perez, Marianne Hundt, Johannes Kabatek and Daniel Schreier
2. The emergence of global languages: why English? Edgar W. Schneider
3. Some (unintended) consequences of colonization: the rise of Spanish as a global language J. Clancy Clements
4. Dialect contact and the emergence of new varieties of English Raymond Hickey
5. The emergence of Latin American Spanish Volker Noll
6. Language contact in the emergence of new varieties: typological studies of English-lexifer pidgins and creoles Stephanie Hackert
7. Contact scenarios and varieties of Spanish beyond Europe Danae M. Perez
8. Pluricentricity and codification in world English Pam Peters
9. Spanish today: pluricentricity and codification Bernhard Pöll
10. Uncovering the big picture: measuring the typological relatedness of varieties of English Benedikt Szmrecsanyi
11. Morphosyntactic variation in Spanish – global and American perspectives Eeva Sippola
12. English and Spanish in contact in North America: US Latino communities and the emergence of transnational mediascapes Christian Mair
13. 'The Spanish of the internet': is that a thing? Discursive and morphosyntactic innovations in computer mediated communication Carlota de Benito Moreno
14. Alternating or mixing languages? Rena Torres Cacoullos and Catherine E. Travis
15. The persistence of dialectal differences in US Spanish:/s/ deletion in Boston and New York City Daniel Erker and Madeline Reffel
16. Identity construction John E. Joseph.

Subject Areas: Anthropology [JHM], History [HB], Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF], Sociolinguistics [CFB], Linguistics [CF]