Standards of English
Codified Varieties around the World

The first book-length exploration of 'standard Englishes' with contributions by the leading experts on each major variety of English discussed.

Raymond Hickey (Edited by)

9780521763899, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 December 2012

444 pages, 8 b/w illus. 20 maps 48 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.76 kg

'… offers[s] some very interesting individual contributions which advanced scholars will find useful in advancing our understanding of processes and products of English codification.' Vineeta Chand, Journal of Sociolinguistics

The notion of a 'standard' variety of English has been the subject of a considerable body of research. Studies have tended to focus on the standard features of British and American English. However, more recently interest has turned to the other varieties of English that have developed around the world and the ways in which these have also been standardised. This volume provides the first book-length exploration of 'standard Englishes', with chapters on areas as diverse as Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. This is a timely and important topic, edited by a well-known scholar in the field, with contributions by the leading experts on each major variety of English discussed. The book presents in full the criteria for defining a standard variety, and each chapter compares standards in both spoken and written English and explores the notion of register within standard varieties.

1. Standard English and standards of English Raymond Hickey
2. The codification of English in England Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade
3. An evolving standard British English pronunciation model Clive Upton
4. Standard English in Scotland John Corbett and Jane Stuart-Smith
5. Standard Irish English Raymond Hickey
6. Standards of English in Malta and the Channel Islands Manfred Krug and Anna Rosen
7. The idea of Standard American English William A. Kretzschmar, Jr and Charles F. Meyer
8. Standard Canadian English Charles Boberg
9. Standards of English in the Caribbean Hubert Devonish and Ewart A. C. Thomas
10. Standard South African English Sean Bowerman
11. Standards of English in West Africa Ulrike Gut
12. Standards of English in East Africa Josef Schmied
13. Standards of English in South Asia Claudia Lange
14. Standards of English in South-East Asia Lisa Lim
15. Standard Australian English Felicity Cox and Sallyanne Palethorpe
16. Standard New Zealand English Elizabeth Gordon
17. Acrolectal English in the South Pacific Carolin Biewer
18. Varieties resistant to standardisation Daniel Schreier.

Subject Areas: Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF], Sociolinguistics [CFB]