World Englishes- the Study of New Linguistic Varieties (R.Mesthrie&R.M.Bhatt) Essay

This page intentionally left blank

World Englishes
The spread of English around the world has been and continues to be both rapid and unpredictable. World Englishes deals
with this inescapable result of colonisation and globalisation
from a social and linguistic perspective. The main focus of
the book is on the second-language varieties of English that
have developed in the former British colonies of East and West
Africa, the Caribbean, South and South-East Asia. The book provides a historical overview of the common circumstances that
gave rise to these varieties, and a detailed account of their
recurrent similarities in structure, patterns of usage, vocabulary and accents. Also discussed are debates about language in
education, the rise of English in China and Western Europe,
and other current developments in a world of global travel
and migration.
r a j e n d m e s t h r i e is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of English at the University of Cape Town. His recent
publications include Language in South Africa (2002) and A Dictionary of Sociolinguistics (2004, with Swann, Deumert and Lillis).
r a k e s h m . b h a t t is Associate Professor of Linguistics in the
Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois. He is
the author of Verb Movement and the Syntax of Kashmiri (1999).

KEY TOPICS IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Series editor:
Rajend Mesthrie
This new series focuses on the main topics of study in sociolinguistics
today. It consists of accessible yet challenging accounts of the most
important issues to consider when examining the relationship between
language and society. Some topics have been the subject of
sociolinguistic study for many years, and are here re-examined in the
light of new developments in the field; others are issues of growing
importance that have not so far been given a sustained treatment.
Written by leading experts, the books in the series are designed to be
used on courses and in seminars, and...