The study of World Englishes has seen a revolutionary shift during the last twenty years. Before 1980, there was a general assumption within Britain, the United States and many other societies where English was taught, that the primary target was the 'Standard English' of Britain. However, during the 1980s interest grew in the identification and description of global varieties of English, marking a shift in focus from 'English' to 'Englishes'.
This collection covers the full range of differing academic traditions within the subject and also addresses current theoretical approaches to the field. It provides students and researchers with instant access to the key articles and theories on the subject, and is completed by a new introduction from the editors.

A pioneering volume addressing issues related to cultures, ideologies, and the dictionary. A cross-cultural and cross-linguistic study with focus on selected Western and non-Western languages. A number of in-depth case studies illustrates the dominant role ideology and other types of bias play in the making of a dictionary. The volume includes invited papers of 40 internationally recognized scholars.

"The Handbook of World Englishes" is a collection of newly commissioned articles focusing on selected critical dimensions and case studies of the theoretical, ideological, applied and pedagogical issues related to English as it is spoken around the world.
Represents the cross-cultural and international contextualization of the English languageArticulates the visions of scholars from major varieties of world Englishes - African, Asian, European, and North and South AmericanDiscusses topics including the sociolinguistic contexts of varieties of English in the inner, outer, and expanding circles of its users; the ranges of functional domains in which these varieties are used; the place of English in language policies and language planning; and debates about English as a cause of language death, murder and suicide.

Written from a non-Western perspective, this book exposes the inadequacy of oppositions such as native versus non-native Englishes and English versus New Englishes. It explains why the label 'World Englishes' captures both what the different Englishes share and how they differ from each other. It also criticizes the kinds of power asymmetries that have evolved between the Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles of English, while showing the extent to which the Outer Circle has enriched their common language and made it suitable for both its heritage and non-heritage users. The narrative is grounded in a wealth of historical knowledge, especially that of the colonization of the Outer Circle. Readers are invited to compare the spread and differentiation of English with those of Latin, which evolved into the Romance languages. This comparison may leave the reader asking: could English break up into Anglian languages?

Written from a non-Western perspective, this book exposes the inadequacy of oppositions such as native versus non-native Englishes and English versus New Englishes. It explains why the label 'World Englishes' captures both what the different Englishes share and how they differ from each other. It also criticizes the kinds of power asymmetries that have evolved between the Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles of English, while showing the extent to which the Outer Circle has enriched their common language and made it suitable for both its heritage and non-heritage users. The narrative is grounded in a wealth of historical knowledge, especially that of the colonization of the Outer Circle. Readers are invited to compare the spread and differentiation of English with those of Latin, which evolved into the Romance languages. This comparison may leave the reader asking: could English break up into Anglian languages?

South Asia is a rich and fascinating linguistic area, its many hundreds of languages from four major language families representing the distinctions of caste, class, profession, religion, and region. This comprehensive new volume presents an overview of the language situation in this vast subcontinent in a linguistic, historical and sociolinguistic context. An invaluable resource, it comprises authoritative contributions from leading international scholars within the fields of South Asian language and linguistics, historical linguistics, cultural studies and area studies. Topics covered include the ongoing linguistic processes, controversies, and implications of language modernization; the functions of South Asian languages within the legal system, media, cinema, and religion; language conflicts and politics, and Sanskrit and its long traditions of study and teaching. Language in South Asia is an accessible interdisciplinary book for students and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, language planning and South Asian studies.

South Asia is a rich and fascinating linguistic area, its many hundreds of languages from four major language families representing the distinctions of caste, class, profession, religion, and region. This comprehensive new volume presents an overview of the language situation in this vast subcontinent in a linguistic, historical and sociolinguistic context. An invaluable resource, it comprises authoritative contributions from leading international scholars within the fields of South Asian language and linguistics, historical linguistics, cultural studies and area studies. Topics covered include the ongoing linguistic processes, controversies, and implications of language modernization; the functions of South Asian languages within the legal system, media, cinema, and religion; language conflicts and politics, and Sanskrit and its long traditions of study and teaching. Language in South Asia is an accessible interdisciplinary book for students and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, language planning and South Asian studies.

In recent decades, the cultural and linguistic legacies of the colonial era have been superseded by the globalization of English through the international mass media, particularly via satellite television and the Internet. In many societies that were previously the colonies of Anglophone powers, 'new Englishes' have appeared, visible most dramatically in the 'new literatures' of India, Singapore, the Philippines etc. However, many of these new Englishes are much older in provenance than many linguists have previously recognized. The process of British and American imperial expansion in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries took the English language to many parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China and Japan. Indeed, it is typically in these initial stages of political, historical and cultural contact that we can identify the dynamics of 'languages in contact', and the origins of 'World Englishes', in a range of settings, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. This Major Work from Routledge, a new title in the History and Development of World Englishes series, is a unique reference collection. It brings together a range of sources, reprinted in facsimile, charting the spread of English throughout Asia and the development of 'Asian Englishes' from the eighteenth century through to the 1960s.