239712 English around the world (S) (SoSe 2012)

The spread of English around the world has given us a diverse range of varieties of English, including pidgins and creoles. This course intends to provide an account of the evolution of these varieties by looking at the historical and social factors that have shaped them on all levels of linguistic description. We will thus introduce general issues such as language variation, language contact, language change and related topics, including multilingualism and other sociolinguistic issues, such as language attitudes and language endangerment. We will look at European colonisation and colonisation types, before we will investigate the forms and functions of English in specific localities, where it has been adapted and indigenized to express local cultures and identities. We will look at the ‘Old World’ (the British Isles) and the ‘New World’ (North America and the Caribbean), the Southern Hemisphere Englishes in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and the spread of English to the African and Asian continents.

Course book: Edgar W. Schneider (2011). English around the World. Cambridge: CUP.

Requirements for participation, required level

BaAngBM2 completed!

Bibliography

A reader with the required reading assignments for each session will be made available before start of term. Please make sure to get your personal copy before our first meeting.