This collection charts the evolution of grammatical variation in Englishes from Late Middle English to the present, using corpus linguistic tools to address divergence and convergence in local and global perspectives. The book considers both diachronic and synchronic perspectives in grammatical variation across varieties of English across the UK, North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The volume reflects on the questions of whether patterns of variation diverge or converge and to what extent catalysts for change are shared in time and space. Chapters look at different factors in grammatical variation at both the macro and micro level, investigating specific linguistic and grammatical features but also at wider phenomena in contact linguistics, social patterns, social networks, and media-based corpora. Chapters progress from the local to the global, all with an eye towards using the latest methodological approaches from corpus linguistics to shed light on the affordances of data-informed methods to study grammatical change and the possibilities for future research. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, and World Englishes.

Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral)--University of Texas, Austin, 2017.

World Englishes, Second Edition provides you with an engaging overview of the global variations in vocabulary, grammar, phonology and pragmatics of English as it is used worldwide. It introduces you to the principles of linguistics variation and provides coverage on the roots of English (including Scots), the spread of English, variation of English as a second language, and trends for the future. Thoroughly updated in line with recent research, World Englishes Second Edition also includes: additional material on small native communities, the anglicization of EU agencies and the effects of media exposure full discussion throughout of internet-mediated communication, such as the language used on Facebook and in chat-roooms descriptions of twenty-first century developing varieties such as China English chapters that begin with a 'focus' question and end with a 'discussion' question to encourage you to reflect on what you are learning, chapter by chapter a revised glossary of technical terms that allows you to revise meanings quickly and easily 20 audio examples of speakers of native and non-native English from all five continents, available for you to download from http://www.routledge.com/cw/melchers/ Offering a thorough and detailed descriptive account of all the main varieties of English across the globe, World Englishes, Second Edition provides a balanced discussion of political issues and the socio-linguistics background to the varieties of English spoken and written, face-to-face, on paper and online, in the twenty-first century. Gunnel Melchers is Professor Emerita, Department of English, Stockholm University. Philip Shaw is Professor, Department of English, Stockholm University.

The definitive reference work on World Englishes—fully revised, expanded, and updated The Handbook of World Englishes is a collection of articles on the cross-cultural and transnational linguistic convergence and change of the English language. Now in its second edition, this Handbook brings together multiple theoretical, contextual, and ideological perspectives, and offers new interpretations of the changing identities of world Englishes (WE) speakers and examines the current state of the English language across the world. Thematically integrated contributions from leading scholars and researchers explore the expansion, modification, and adaptation of English in various settings and discuss the role of English in local, regional, and global contexts. This highly regarded text has been fully updated throughout the new edition to reflect the current conditions, contexts, and functions of major varieties of English across the world. Significant revisions to topics—such as an overview of the varieties of modern world Englishes and the First Diaspora in Wales and Ireland—reflect expanded scholarship in the field and new directions of research. Each chapter from the first edition has been updated in content and citations, while 11 new chapters cover subjects including world Englishes testing and Postcolonial theory, as well as world Englishes in South America, Russia, Africa, China, Southeast Asia, the United States, and Canada. Examines both traditional and contemporary perspectives on World Englishes Written by international authors, experts in their respective fields Emphasizes the historical development of the English language through a series of diasporas Highlights research into a wide range of sociolinguistic contexts and processes including code switching, newly established WE varieties, and new data on Chinese and Russian Englishes Explores future directions in WE research, development, and application The Handbook of World Englishes is an essential resource for academics, researchers, practitioners, and advanced students in fields including applied linguistics, language teaching, the history of the English language, world literatures, and related social and language sciences.

The Cambridge Handbook of English Corpus Linguistics (CHECL) surveys the breadth of corpus-based linguistic research on English, including chapters on collocations, phraseology, grammatical variation, historical change, and the description of registers and dialects. The most innovative aspects of the CHECL are its emphasis on critical discussion, its explicit evaluation of the state of the art in each sub-discipline, and the inclusion of empirical case studies. While each chapter includes a broad survey of previous research, the primary focus is on a detailed description of the most important corpus-based studies in this area, with discussion of what those studies found, and why they are important. Each chapter also includes a critical discussion of the corpus-based methods employed for research in this area, as well as an explicit summary of new findings and discoveries.

The social development of English as a world language emerges from a comprehensive account of our current knowledge of it as well as the gaps in understanding which future research can remedy.