Englisches Seminar - Ruhr-Universität Bochum

M.A.-STUDIUM
(4. + 5. Studienjahr)
LINGUISTIK
Vorlesung
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Varieties of English: Different Voices – Same Language?, 3 CP
2 st. mi 12-14 HGB 30
(vgl. Vorl.-Nr. 050 608)
“Who would have predicted that English would cease to be an ‘English’ language?”
(Romaine 2006: 590) The current role of English as a global language is epitomized
in its manifold varieties used in various parts of the world. This lecture will embark on
a tour into different “Englishes” to show that a uniform conception of English as
British or American Standard English fails to capture the fact of widespread variation
in the language. While dialects characterize the use of English in its homelands,
national varieties of English have come into being on different continents partly due
to the controversial colonial heritage of the British Empire. More recently, the
increasing socio-economic status of English, its concomitant institutionalization as a
lingua franca of international communication, and its global spread as a common
commercial voice has sparked some controversy based on concerns about linguistic
hegemony.
To steer through these manifold facets of the English language, our lecture will
first of all discuss some of the attempts to categorize different varieties of English,
question the concept of native speaker, and provide a possible synthesis of
classification. Having set the theoretical frame, we will explore linguistic and sociohistorical
characteristics of different varieties among the following main types:
- Dialects of English on the British Isles and in the USA
- Major contact varieties (English based Pidgin and Creole languages, contact
between English and minority languages)
- Varieties of English as a second language and official language (e.g. Indian
English, Singapore English, etc.)
- English as a global voice
Since in many cases, English varieties emerge from scenarios of language contact,
the lecture will put special emphasis on types and phenomena of language contact.
An overview of relevant literature and other resources will be provided in the first
session.