Vorlesung English as a World Language

This lecture series is designed as an introduction to forms of present-day English around the world. Today, anglophone countries are found on all continents. This is the result of the colonial past of Great Britain and of the spread of American English, particularly in the Pacific area. English is now spoken by about 350 million people as a first language and by more than a billion others as a second language. The distinction between the two kinds of speakers is linguistically relevant as it corresponds to certainly types of features, found in the one type of English but not necessarily in the second. In the course of the lecture series we will look at the the spread of English during the colonial period and with the rise of new varieties in areas such as Africa and Asia. These ‘New Englishes' will be contrasted with the older, established varieties in Britain / Ireland, North American (USA and Canada) as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Literature Crystal, David 2003. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: University Press. Gramley, Stephan 2001. The vocabulary of world English. London: Arnold. Jenkins, Jennifer 2003. World Englishes. A resource book for students. London: Routledge. Kachru, Braj 1990. The alchemy of English. The spread, functions, and models of non-native Englishes. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Kachru, Braj B., Yamuna Kachru and Cecil L. Nelson (eds) 2006. The handbook of World Englishes. Oxford: Blackwell. Kirkpatrick, Andy 2010. The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes. London: Routledge. Melchers, Gunnel and Philip Shaw 1999. World Englishes. London: Arnold. Schneider, Edgar 2007. Postcolonial English. Varieties around the World. Cambridge: University Press. Anglistik Universität Duisburg-Essen WS 2010/11 Mag, Magisterstudiengang Professor Hickey Raymond