Postcolonial English: Varieties Around The World

摘要

The emergence of distinct forms of English, variously known as 'World Englishes' or 'New Englishes', is a phenomenon of major sociolinguistic interest. While earlier works in the area tended to analyse emerging Englishes by comparing them with already-established varieties, more recent ones have argued that the emerging forms may need to be recognised as varieties in their own right. Perhaps because of this (as Schneider observes), the field has tended to treat each variety in relative isolation and, while this has clearly provided valuable information, it has sometimes meant approaches rejoicing in the apparently unique and idiosyncratic properties of individual Englishes at the expense of capturing possibly significant generalisations. As a result, theoretical interventions that might provide a broader understanding of the emergence of different varieties have been somewhat limited.