English around the World
Sociolinguistic Perspectives

Jenny Cheshire (Edited by)

9780521395656, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 April 1991

704 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.9 cm, 1.02 kg

"English around the World is a serious, informative volume which provides new insights into the role of English, especially in non-Western societies." Joan McConnell, Modern Language Journal

Only a few centuries ago the English language consisted of a collection of dialects spoken mainly by monolinguals and only within the shores of a small island. Now the English language includes such typologically distinct varieties as pidgins and creoles, 'new' Englishes, and a range of different standard and nonstandard varieties that are spoken on a regular basis in many different countries throughout the world. English is also, of course, the main language used for communication at an international level. The use of English in such a diverse range of social contexts around the world provides us with a unique opportunity to analyse and document the linguistic variation and change that is occurring within a single language, on a far greater scale - as far as we know - than has ever happened in the world's linguistic history before. This volume is intended to give a comprehensive account of our current knowledge of variation in the use of the English language around the world. Overview papers, written by specialist authors, survey the social context in which English is spoken in those parts of the world where it is widely used. Case study papers then provide representative examples of the empirical research that has been carried out into the English that is spoken in that part of the world. The volume therefore contributes both to our understanding of the English language worldwide and to a more general understanding of language as it is used in its social context. It assesses the extent of our current knowledge of variation in the English language and points to gaps in our understanding which future research might set out to remedy.

List of figures
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Sociolinguistics and English around the World Jenny Cheshire
1. The UK and the USA Jenny Cheshire
2. Ireland John Harris
3. Urban and rural varieties of Hiberno-English Markku Filppula
4. Sociolinguistic variation and methodology: after as a Dublin variable Jeffrey L. Kallen
5. The interpretation of social constraints on variation in Belfast English James Milroy
6. Canada J. K. Chambers
7. Phonological variation and recent language change in St John's English Sandra Clarke
8. Sociophonetic variation in Vancouver John H. Esling
9. Social differentiation in Ottowa English Howard B. Woods
10. New Zealand Allan Bell, and Janet Holmes
11. Social constraints on the phonology of New Zealand English Donn Bayard
12. Maori English: a New Zealand myth? Richard A. Benton
13. Sporting formulae in New Zealand English: two models of male solidarity Koenraad Kuiper
14. Australia Gregory Guy
15. /ae/ and /a:/ in Australian English David Bradley
16. Variation in subject-verb agreement in inner Sydney English Edina Eisikovits
17. Australian Creole English: the effect of cultural knowledge on language and memory Margaret T. S. Steffensen
18. South Asia Thiru Kandiah
19. Final consonant cluster simplification in a variety of Indian English Farhat Khan
20. Patterns of language use in a bilingual setting in India Anju Sahgal
21. Speech acts in an indigenised variety: sociocultural values and language variation Kamal K. Sridhar
22. Southeast Asia and Hongkong Mary W. J. Tay
23. Stylistic shifts in the English of the Philippine print media Andrew B. Gonzalez
24. Variation in Malaysian English: the pragmatics of languages in contact Peter H. Lowenberg
25. Social and linguistic constraints on variation in the use of two grammatical variables in Singapore English John Platt
26. East Africa (Tanzania and Kenya) Mohammed M. H. Abdulaziz
27. The politics of the English language in Kenya and Tanzania Musimbi R. A. Kanyoro
28. National and subnational features in Kenyan English Josef J. Schmied
29. Southern Africa Maurice M. Chishimba
30. Sources and consequences of miscommunication in Afrikaans English - South African English encounters J. Keith Chick
31. Syntactic variation in South African Indian English: the relative clause Rajend Mesthrie
32. The social significance of language use and language choice in a Zambian urban setting: an empirical study of three neighbourhoods in Lusaka Alice K. Siachitema
33. West Africa Eyamba G. Bokamba
34. The pronoun system in Nigerian Pidgin: a preliminary study Nicholas Faraclas
35. The sociolinguistics of prepositional usage in Nigerian English Munzali Jibril
36. Social and linguistic constraints on plural marking in Liberian English John Victor Singlar
37. The Caribbean Donald Winford
38. Standardisation in a Creole continuum situation: the Guyana case Hubert Devonish
39. Gender roles and linguistic variation in the Belizean Creole community Genevieve Escure
40. Sociolinguistic variation in Cane Walk: a quantitative case study John R. Rickford
41. The Pacific Suzanne Romaine
42. Watching girls pass by in Tok Pisin Peter Muhihausler
43. Sociolinguistic variation and language attitudes in Hawaii Peter Muhihausler
44. Variation in Fiji English Jeff Siegel.

Subject Areas: ELT: teaching theory & methods [EBA], Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK], Sociolinguistics [CFB]