This volume is one of the first detailed expositions of the history of different varieties of English. It explores language variation and varieties of English from an historical perspective, covering theoretical topics such as diffusion and supraregionalization as well as concrete descriptions of the internal and external historical developments of more than a dozen varieties of English.
Answering key questions such as 'Why study grammar?' and 'What is standard English?', Introducing English Grammar guides readers through the practical analysis of the syntax of English sentences. With all special terms carefully explained as they are introduced, the book is written for readers with no previous experience of grammatical analysis. It is ideal for all those beginning their study of linguistics, English language or speech pathology, as well as students with primarily literary interests who need to cover the basics of linguistic analysis. The approach taken is in line with current research in grammar, a particular advantage for students who may go on to study syntax in more depth. All the examples and exercises use real language taken from newspaper articles, non-standard dialects and include excerpts from studies of patients with language difficulties. Students are encouraged to think about the terminology as a tool kit for studying language and to test what can and cannot be described using these tools. This new edition has been fully revised in line with recent research. There is a new chapter on World English, a new glossary and a free website with extensive further reading and answers to the exercises.
The research reported here is an investigation of bilingual instruction in Bangladeshi schools. In particular, the thesis explores how schooling takes place when a second language is used as a medium of instruction to teach subject content. The study is based on a corpus of 44 hours of video recordings from real-life classroom interaction at two Bangladeshi schools in two metropolitan cities. The age range of the students is 9 to 13 years. Using multimodal conversation analysis, the thesis analyzes the participants’ practice – as it emerges through mundane classroom activities – and thereby examines participants’ language use in the presence of an existing language policy. The findings show how everyday instructional activities are accomplished in classrooms, especially the pedagogical focus on clarifying subject content and vocabulary. It further highlights that the interrelation between classroom interaction and language policy is informed by the participants’ use of embodied resources and the surrounding material ecology. The dissertation contributes to the growing literature on social interaction in bilingual classrooms and the wider field of bilingual and multilingual pedagogy. Den här avhandlingen undersöker tvåspråkig undervisning i skolor i Bangladesh, med särskilt fokus på hur ett andraspråk, engelska, används för att undervisa ämnesinnehållet. Studien är baserad på videoinspelningar av klassrumsinteraktioner i två skolor i Bangladesh belägna i två storstäder. Åldern på de deltagande eleverna är 9 till 13 år, och den totala inspelningstiden är 44 timmar. I avhandlingen analyseras deltagarnas – både lärares och elevers – pedagogiska interaktion in situ, det vill säga så som de uttrycks i de faktiska klassrumssituationerna. Med hjälp av multimodal konversationsanalys undersöks vilka strategier deltagarna använder för att utföra klassrumsarbete mot bakgrund av skolans språkpolicy om att enbart kommunicera på engelska. Resultatet visar hur den faktiska undervisningen går till i klassrummen, och särskilt det pedagogiska fokuset på att förtydliga ämnesinnehållet och utöka ordförrådet. Avhandlingen bidrar till forskningen om social interaktion i tvåspråkiga klassrum och till den växande kunskapen om två- och flerspråkig pedagogik. বর্তমান গবেষণাপত্রটির উদ্দেশ্য বাংলাদেশী ইংরেজী-ভাষী স্কুলের বিষয়ভিত্তিক শ্রেনীকক্ষে (যেমন: গণিত, বিজ্ঞান, তথ্য ও প্রযুক্তি, কৃষি ইত্যাদি) পড়াশোনার কাজে কিভাবে পাঠদানকালীন সময়ে বাংলা ও ইংরেজীকে যুগপৎ ব্যবহার করা হয় তার সবিস্তার অনুসন্ধান। বাংলাদেশে অবস্থিত দুটি স্কুলের শ্রেণীকক্ষের দৈনন্দিন শিক্ষা কার্যক্রমের ক্যামেরায় ধারণকৃত উপাত্ত (সর্বমোট ৪৪ ঘন্টার) মাল্টিমোডাল কনভারসেশন এনালিসিস বা কথোপকথন বিশ্লেষণের মাধ্যমে এই সমীক্ষা পর্যবেক্ষণ করে যে, অংশগ্রহণকারী শিক্ষক এবং শিক্ষার্থীরা উভয়ই পাঠদানকালীন সময়ে কিভাবে প্রাতিষ্ঠানিক ইংরেজী এক ভাষা নীতি ব্যবহারের নিয়ম মেনে চলে। শিক্ষার্থীদের গড় বয়স ৯ থেকে ১৩। গবেষণাটির ফলাফল নির্দেশ করে যে, আপাত বিরোধী হলেও ইংরেজী এক ভাষা নীতির পরিবর্তে বাংলা ও ইংরেজীর যুগপৎ ব্যবহার শুধুমাত্র বিষয়ভিত্তিক জ্ঞান বৃদ্ধিই করে না বরং ইংরেজী সংক্রান্ত জ্ঞান (যেমন: শব্দভান্ডার, শব্দের গভীর অর্থ উপলব্ধি ইত্যাদি) বৃদ্ধিতে সুনির্দিষ্ট ইতিবাচক ভূমিকা রাখে। গবেষণার প্রাপ্ত ফলাফল থেকে আরো দেখা যায় যে, শিক্ষক ও ছাত্রছাত্রীরা নানাবিধ ধ্বনি-উত্তর (নন-ভার্বাল), কণ্ঠ-উত্তর (নন-ভোকাল) এবং শ্রেণীকক্ষের পারিপার্শ্বিক সংস্থানকে (ম্যাটেরিয়াল ইকোলজি) শিক্ষাসংক্রান্ত কর্মকান্ডে পদ্ধতিগতভাবে ব্যবহার করে এবংপাঠদানকালীন সময়ে বাংলা ও ইংরেজীর যুগপৎ ব্যবহারে নানাবিধ ভাষাগত ও ভাষা-উত্তর সংস্থান (রিসোর্স) বিস্তৃত ভূমিকা রাখে। দ্বি-ভাষা অথবা বহু-ভাষা সংক্রান্ত গবেষণায় আগ্রহী পাঠকের জন্য সমীক্ষাটি লিখিত।
Using Corpora to Explore Linguistic Variation illustrates the ways in which linguistic variation can be explored through corpus-based investigation. Two major kinds of research questions are considered: variation in the use of a particular linguistic feature, and variation across dialects or registers. Part 1: “Exploring variation in the use of linguistic features” focuses on the study of specific words, expressions, or grammatical constructions, to study variation in the use of a particular linguistic feature. Part 2: “Exploring dialect and register variation” describes salient characteristics of dialects or registers and the patterns of variation across varieties. Part 3: “Exploring Historical Variation” applies these same two major perspectives to historical variation. One recurring theme is the extent to which linguistic variation depends on register differences, reflecting the importance of register as a key methodological and thematic concern in current corpus linguistic research.
The dialect of English which has developed in Indigenous speech communities in Australia, while showing some regional and social variation, has features at all levels of linguistic description, which are distinct from those found in Australian English and also is associated with distinctive patterns of conceptualization and speech use. This volume provides, for the first time, a comprehensive description of the dialect with attention to its regional and social variation, the circumstances of its development, its relationships to other varieties and its foundations in the history, conceptual predispositions and speech use conventions of its speakers. Much recent research on the dialect has been motivated by concern for the implications of its use in educational and legal contexts. The volume includes a review of such research and its implications as well as an annotated bibliography of significant contributions to study of the dialect and a number of sample texts. While Aboriginal English has been the subject of investigation in diverse places for some 60 years there has hitherto been no authoritative text which brings together the findings of this research and its implications. This volume should be of interest to scholars of English dialects as well as to persons interested in deepening their understanding of Indigenous Australian people and ways of providing more adequately for their needs in a society where there is a disconnect between their own dialect and that which prevails generally in the society of which they are a part.
What constitutes a nation’s literature? How do literatures of different countries interact with one another? In this groundbreaking study, Alexander Beecroft develops a new way of thinking about world literature. Drawing on a series of examples and case studies, the book ranges from ancient epic to the contemporary fiction of Roberto Bolaño and Amitav Ghosh. Moving across literary ecologies of varying sizes, from small societies to the planet as a whole, the environments in which literary texts are produced and circulated, An Ecology of World Literature places in dialogue scholarly perspectives on ancient and modern, western and non-western texts, navigating literary study into new and uncharted territory.
The complex politics of English as a world language provides the backdrop both for linguistic studies of varieties of English around the world and for postcolonial literary criticism. The present volume offers contributions from linguists and literary scholars that explore this common ground in a spirit of open interdisciplinary dialogue. Leading authorities assess the state of the art to suggest directions for further research, with substantial case studies ranging over a wide variety of topics - from the legitimacy of language norms of lingua franca communication to the recognition of newer post-colonial varieties of English in the online OED. Four regional sections treat the Caribbean (including the diaspora), Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Australasia and the Pacific Rim. Each section maintains a careful balance between linguistics and literature, and external and indigenous perspectives on issues. The book is the most balanced, complete and up-to-date treatment of the topic to date.
This book looks at native speaker varieties of English, considering how and why they differ in terms of their pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and spelling. It shows how the major national varieties of English have developed, why similar causes have given rise to different effects in different parts of the world, and how the same problems of description arise in relation to all 'colonial' Englishes.It covers varieties of English spoken in Britain, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Falkland Islands.Key FeaturesIntroductory text, presupposes a minimum of previous knowledgeFocuses on common traits rather than on individual varietiesInformed by latest research on dialect mixingExercises included with each chapterReferences for further reading in each chapter
The chapters in this volume seek to bring hybrid language practices to the center of discussions about English as a global language. They demonstrate how local linguistic resources and practices are involved in the refashioning of identities in a variety of cross-cultural and geographical contexts, and illustrate hybridity as an enactment of resistance and creativity. Drawing on a variety of disciplines and ideological perspectives, the authors use contexts as diverse as social media, Bollywood films, workplaces and kindergartens to explore the ways in which English has become a part of localities and social relations in ways that are of significant sociolinguistic interest in understanding the dynamics of mobile cultures and transcultural flows.
