Many non-native speakers of English often wonder what it must be like to be a native speaker of the closest thing we have ever had to a world language. For to be an English speaker is almost equal to possessing a quasi-universal communication tool. The English language finds itself in the enviable position of being the most widely documented language in human history. As it spread across continents and cultures it continued – like all “living” languages – to morph and adapt; it gave and still gives, rise to new varieties, whose study shed light not only on this language but, more generally, on language. The spread and diversification of English led to the adoption of new terminology; to refer to the varieties of English that have evolved as the idiom spread to and was adopted by (whether as a first or second language) different populations, linguists coined the term “World Englishes” (WE). The field is now mature and, with numerous researchers working within it, it has developed a sound body of literature.
The Oxford Handbook of World Englishes is the latest addition to this growing body of research. By engaging with different current linguistic theories, it aims to offer a constructive and – to an extent – innovative approach to the study of English as it spreads beyond its birthplace. The volume is divided into four parts: Foundations; World Englishes and Linguistic Theory; Areal Profiles; and Case Studies.
Part I includes three chapters. The first one, by Filppula et al., functions as an introduction to the whole volume. It also explains in clear terms how the spread and evolution of English across the world “offers unique insights into theoretical questions in linguistics” (p. 3); and of how “[c]onversely, linguistic theory can help structure our understanding of processes in variation and change in English” (ibid.). Already from the start, this Handbook promises to be of interest not only to scholars of WE but also to sociolinguists, theoretical linguists, variationists, corpus linguists and pragmaticists.
In Chapter 2, Peter Trudgill offers a concise overview of the spread of English from its native area of Denmark and southern Scandinavia to the British Isles and the wider world. In Chapter 3, Edgar Schneider aims to offer a more general model of how English developed as it spread. He looks at different models and concludes by showing how his own dynamic model, which brings together common evolutionary dynamics in the evolution of English as it went global.
Part II carries the reader into the theoretical core foundation of the volume. In this section, the interface between WEs and various subfields of linguistics is discussed. Part II consists of two further subsections. In language structure, the contributors discuss theoretical linguistics and the main focus is the analysis of linguistic systems. In social context, the focus moves to theoretical models of dynamic contexts within such structures. Therefore, topics such as the macro- and microsocial levels are discussed, as well as the historical and geographical dimensions.
The chapters on theoretical aspect deal with corpus linguistics, typology and universals, cognitive linguistics, phonological and syntactic theory. In their respective contributions, Christian Uffman and Vivienne Fong comment on the necessity for theory building and the empirical study of WEs. This is a welcome invitation and indeed one of the strengths of this volume – and, more generally in the reviewer’s opinion – of WE research, is the felicitous coming together of the theoretical and the empirical, especially because of the pedagogical implications of teaching and learning English as a second language.
One cannot speak of WE without reference to language ideologies, the postcolonial landscape, language dominance and language death. These issues are addressed in the final two chapters of Part II. Robert Philipson and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas concentrate on the dominance of English and its consequences for linguistic diversity. Rakesh Bhatt, on the other hand, focuses on hybridity in situations of language contact and even language dominance. He provides a nuanced view where linguistic practices counteract dominance dynamics of “powerful” languages.
Part III contains 11 Areal Profiles, which basically cover the entire world. This section is particularly useful and informative, and each of its components can be used as a quick, up-to-date reference tools for both students and the more experienced researcher for information on English in any particular area. All the contributions also contain interesting information on historical aspects of the development of English.
Part IV, Case Studies, brings together the linguistic theories discussed in Part II with the examples of regional diversity addressed in Part III. Each case study aims to highlight how theoretical models help in understanding WEs and their developments.
The Oxford Handbook of World Englishes contributes to the burgeoning field of World English Studies. It coverage is both comprehensive and innovative, bringing together theory and description and in highlighting the value of this area of linguistic study for all others. It can be read in its entirety, cover-to-cover, as both an introduction and an overview to the field. But its component parts can also be used by readers interested in more circumscribed areas, such as language and colonialism or the synchronic and diachronic spread of English. It is therefore a welcome addition to the existing scholarship and will probably remain a main reference text for years to come.
