175-536 World Englishes

Formerly available as 175-442. Students who have completed 175-442 are not eligible to enrol in this subject. Students who have taken 175-412 Englishes in the World are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

Admission to a postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in linguistics and applied linguistics, or combined honours in English language.

The spread of English through colonialism, its transformation in decolonisation, and its further expansion are examined in this course. We explore the changes in patterns and use of English in different sociopolitical settings, the historical factors that have led to these changes, and the effects of language contact in multilingual settings. The emergence of indigenised forms of English has important consequences for the teaching and testing of English language in international and local settings, and for English lexicography. Issues such as variation, codification, norm creation and the politics of international English are addressed.

• develop skills in critical thinking and analysis, through recommended reading, essay writing and seminar discussion;

• develop skills in communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically, through essay writing and seminar presentation;

• develop skills in research, through competent use of the library and other information sources, and the definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research.

An essay of 5000 words 100% (due in late October).

A subject reader will be available.