A Dictionary of Varieties of English

Reflecting the increased awareness of global forms of English, great strides have been made in the study of varieties of the language in recent decades. A Dictionary of Varieties of English provides a comprehensive overview and guide to current literature and research trends in the field, as well as an extensive listing of the distinct dialects, forms, and varieties of English spoken throughout the contemporary world. Definitions are included both for the varieties of English and regions they feature, and for terms and concepts derived from a linguistic analysis of these varieties. Various research avenues covered include the transportation of dialects of English, the rise of ‘New Englishes’, sociolinguistic investigations of various English–speaking locales, and the study of language contact and change. Informative and highly accessible, A Dictionary of Varieties of English is an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike, spanning the rich and diverse linguistic varieties of the most widely accepted language of international communication.

Raymond Hickey is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Duisburg and Essen, Germany. He is the editor of The Handbook of Language Contact (Wiley–Blackwell, 2010), and the author of a number of books, including Eighteenth–Century English: Ideology and Change (2010), Varieties in Writing (2010), and Irish English in Today’s World (2011). He has also published over 100 articles on various issues within the field of linguistics.