World Englishes

Aims

The module will give students a broadly-based knowledge of the range of varieties of English spoken around the world, including their linguistic classification.
The module is mainly sociolinguistic in approach, in that it deals with variation (both diachronic and synchronic) in each variety considered.
The module emphasises the linguistic systematicity of the cross-variety differences, while seeking common characteristics and trends between the varieties.

By the end of this module, students will typically:

be able to display an understanding of the histories of varieties of English throughout the world;
have a detailed knowledge of some aspects of the phonology and grammar of these varieties;
have a critical understanding of the widely varying sociolinguistic characteristics of these varieties, including debates about their origins and (changing) political status;
be able to describe the socially-based variation that exists in the English as spoken in each of the territories considered;
be able to analyse and discuss data from varieties of English presented to them;
understand and be able to discuss arguments from different theoretical standpoints relating to the formation, history and current sociolinguistic status of particular varieties, as well as describe some of their linguistic characteristics.