


	Jamaica Language Unit

MA in English Language

L64B - World Englishes

Credits:

Duration:

39 hours

Evaluation:

1 Short Research Paper (40%)
Final Examination (2 hours) (60%)

Rationale

The issue of there being varieties of English spoken around the world and, as well, variation within what may be considered standard varieties of English, requires study in the light of actual language usage. What constitute the features which make these varieties 'standard' and/or 'internationally acceptable'? What are the features which mark these varieties off as different from each other, e.g. British English from South African English, Indian English from Caribbean English, etc.?

Aims

At the end of this course, the student should be able to (i) demonstrate knowledge of the spread and distribution of English across the world, (ii) show sensitivity to issues such as what constitutes 'Standard English', 'Internationally Acceptable English', etc. (iii) be able to identify the major phonological, syntactic and lexical features which mark off the various regional standard varieties from each other, (iv) demonstrate a familiarity with the use to which the various international electronic corpora of English, notably those compiled by and available within the ICE (International Corpus of English) project, can be put in addressing the issues raised in (iii).

Content

Definitions of 'standard', 'non-standard', 'internationally acceptable', etc. as these have been applied to Englishes around the world.
The social status and communicative functions of English around the world, e.g. English as a mother tongue, English as a standard and official language, as lingua franca, English as a language of technical, scientific and/or international discourse.
The projection of English as a World Language via the international electronic communication media, e.g. BBC World, CNN, etc. and the identification of the varieties so projected.
Exposure to ICE corpus of English and its use in researching and identifying, across the various varieties of World Englishes, with particular reference to Caribbean/Jamaican usage as reflected in the Jamaican corpus within the ICE Project:
1. The distinguishing lexical features
2. The distinguishing morphological features
3. The distinguishing syntactic features.

Reading List

Allsopp, R. 1996 Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Baugh, A. & T. Cable, 2001 (5th ed.) A History of the English Language, Prentice Hall.
Bex, T. & R. Watts 1999 Standard English: The Widening Debate. Routledge, London.
Burns, A. and Coffin, C. (eds.) (2001) Analysing English in a Global Context: A Reader. Routledge, London.
Biber, D., S. Conrad, et al. (eds.) 1998 Corpus Linguistics : Investigating Language Structure and Use Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Cheshire, J. 1991. English around the world: Sociolinguistic perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, David. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Gorlach, M. & J. Holm 1986 Focus on the Caribbean. John Benjamins, Amsterdam.
Gramley, S. 2001 The Vocabulary of World English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Greenbaum, S. (ed.) (1996) Comparing English Worldwide: The International Corpus of English. Oxford: Clarendon.
Hayhoe, M. and S. Parker (eds.) (1994) Who Owns English?. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Holm, J. 1983 Central American English. Julius Groos Verlag, Heidelberg.
Jenkins, J. 2000 The Phonology of English as an International Language: New Models, New Norms, New Goals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, J. 2003 World Englishes: A resource book for students. London: Routledge.
Kachru, B.B. 1985 The Alchemy of English: The Spread, Functions, and Models of Non-Native Englishes. Oxford: Pergamon
Kachru, B.B. (ed.) 1992 The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Lieth, D. 1983 The Social History of English. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Mair, C. (ed.) 2003 The Politics of English as a World Language. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Malchers, G. and P. Swan 2003 World Englishes. London: Arnold.
McArthur, Tom. The English Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998
Pennycook, A. 1994 The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language. Longman, London.
Roberts, P. 1997 From Oral to Literate Culture: Colonial experience in the English West Indies. University of the West Indies Press, Kingston.
Sand, A. 1999? A Corpus-Based Study of Radio and Newspaper Usage. Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen.