Exploring World Englishes
In this book Philip Seargeant surveys varieties of English existing within the world today, and the debates and controversies surrounding its present forms, functions and status in diverse world contexts. It examines how English has evolved to become a ‘global language’ and looks at the political and cultural history that has influenced this evolution.
Beginning with a discussion of real-life challenges relating to world Englishes that are faced by language professionals – particularly in the contexts of language education and language planning – the book explores and illustrates the ways in which the actual use and management of English, as well as the beliefs and ideologies associated with it, play an increasingly important role in contemporary globalized society.
Resources
Videos
All videos are © The Open University.
These videos were created by The Open University to accompany the Worlds of English series, co-published with Routledge. To navigate to the Worlds of English companion website click here. For more information on English in the World, Communicating in English, or The Politics of English click on the titles.
The History of English Videos
Direct link to the video playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA03075BAD88B909E&feature=playlist-comment
© The Open University
Worlds of English videos
Direct link to the video playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL479264A41796FA92&feature=plcp
© The Open University
Useful Links
Below is a list of websites for organizations and resources which are either discussed in the book or relevant to its content.
Scholarly associations for research into the English language
International Association for World Englishes (IAWE)
The leading association for scholars investigating World Englishes. Its focus is on the forms and functions of varieties of English from diverse cultural and sociolinguistic contexts.
www.iaweworks.org
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
One of the main professional associations for those involved in the teaching and learning of English for speakers of other languages.
www.tesol.org
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
Another important professional organization for teachers of the English language worldwide.
www.iatefl.org
American Dialect Society
A society dedicated to the study of the English language in North America.
www.americandialect.org
Resources offering examples of or information on English usage around the world
International Corpus of English (ICE)
A corpus of several national or regional varieties of English around the world, which allows for the comparative analysis of world Englishes.
http://ice-corpora.net/ice
Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE)
A corpus of English usage in lingua franca situations. Compiled at the University of Vienna under the direction of Barbara Seidlhofer.
www.univie.ac.at/voice/
English as a Lingua Franca in Academic Settings (ELFA)
A corpus concentrating specifically on English used as a lingua franca in academic contexts. Compiled at the University of Helsinki under the direction of Anna Mauranen.
www.helsinki.fi/varieng/CoRD/corpora/ELFA/
Language Varieties website
A site dedicated to ‘non-standard’ language varieties. These include pidgins, creoles, indigenized varieties, regional dialects etc.
www.une.edu.au/langnet
Ethnologue: Languages around the World
An encyclopaedic reference work cataloguing the approximately 7000 known living languages in the world.
www.ethnologue.com
International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA)
An online archive of recordings of different dialects and accents of English. Founded and directed by Paul Meier, a dialect coach for theatre and film.
http://web.ku.edu/~idea
Dialects of English (Edinburgh University Press)
The website containing the audio files that accompany the Dialects of English book series. This series provides documentation for worldwide varieties of English.
http://lel.ed.ac.uk/dialects
‘Sounds Familar?’ Accents and dialects of the UK
The British Library’s website about the accents and dialects of the UK.
www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds
Timeline of the English language
Also from the British Library, this provides an interactive timeline of the history of English and key texts produced in the language.
www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/changlang/across/languagetimeline.html
Academic journals with a focus on English around the world
World Englishes
A journal which presents theoretical and empirical research studies of English in global contexts, with a strong focus on social, cultural and political issues.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-971X
English World-Wide
A journal which presents research on modern varieties of English, focusing particularly on work on the dialectology and sociolinguistics of English-speaking communities.
http://benjamins.com/#catalog/journals/eww
English Today
A journal offering accessible investigations into all aspects of English language studies.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ENG
Journal of English as a Lingua Franca
A journal examining the nature and sociolinguistic significance of the use of English as a lingua franca, and its theoretical implications for work in language policy and education.
www.degruyter.com/view/j/jelf