Varieties of English
A Typological Approach

This coursebook is an introduction to the fascinating range of regional and social varieties of English encountered around the world.

Peter Siemund (Author)

9780521186933, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 May 2013

325 pages, 10 b/w illus. 1 map 65 tables 117 exercises
22.7 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.52 kg

'… based on a wide range of data from varieties of English all over the world, Peter Siemund's book on Varieties of English: A Typological Approach manages to build a much needed bridge between linguistic typology and variationist study of language. It provides the reader with a balanced discussion of morphosyntactic features common to, or different between, varieties of English and seeks explanations for them in terms of linguistic universals and/or sociohistorical background factors.' Markku Filppula, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu

English is a highly diversified language that appears in a multitude of different varieties across the globe. These varieties may differ extensively in their structural properties. This coursebook is an introduction to the fascinating range of regional and social varieties encountered around the world. Comparing grammatical phenomena, the book analyses the varieties in depth, identifying patterns and limits of variation, and providing clear explanations. Using comparisons with other languages, the book identifies universal as well as language-specific aspects of variation in English. This book is specially designed to meet the needs of students, each chapter contains useful exercises targeted at three different ability levels and succinct summaries and practical lists of key words help students to review and identify important facts.

1. Introduction
2. Reflexivity and reflexive marking
3. Pronominal gender
4. Pronominal case
5. Determiners
6. Tense marking
7. Aspect marking
8. Modal verbs
9. Negation
10. Subject-verb agreement
11. Ditransitive constructions
12. Interrogative constructions
13. The formation of relative clauses
14. Summary and outlook.

Subject Areas: Linguistics [CF], Language [C]