World Englishes

World Englishes

traces the recent history of English, the social forces that contribute to shape the language – contact, use, acquisition and attitudes – and the ensuing variation in the language. English continues to diversify across space, time and contexts of use, but ongoing interactions among people constrain diversification.

Different chapters examine the competing perspectives of English settlers who fashion a new English during interactions in new colonies; of enslaved or economically marginalised people who became native speakers themselves; of colonial subjects who were compelled into using English but then claimed ownership of it; of global citizens who learn and use English today; and of contemporary migrants and digital netizens who blend English into densely multilingual encounters. The book critically examines the politics and ethics of English as dominant global language today, while glimpsing into the future.