Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume VI, Part 1
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume VI
- Part I The Spread of English Overseas
- 1 Transported English in the Colonial Period
- 2 Modelling the Formation and Developmental Trajectories of Varieties of English
- 3 Towards a History of World Englishes
- 4 English as a Second and Foreign Language
- 5 Pidgins and Creoles in the History of English
- Part II Africa
- Part III The South Atlantic
- Index
- References
3 - Towards a History of World Englishes
from Part I - The Spread of English Overseas
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2026
Edited by
Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume VI, Part 1
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume VI
- Part I The Spread of English Overseas
- 1 Transported English in the Colonial Period
- 2 Modelling the Formation and Developmental Trajectories of Varieties of English
- 3 Towards a History of World Englishes
- 4 English as a Second and Foreign Language
- 5 Pidgins and Creoles in the History of English
- Part II Africa
- Part III The South Atlantic
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter provides an account of the types of contact and spread associated with the growth of English beyond the United Kingdom. It describes the main linguistic outcomes of these contacts, including pidgins, creoles, English as a second language (ESL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English as Lingua Franca (ELF), Immigrant Englishes and hybridities arising from code-switching and electronic and social media. It also gives an account of how different scholars have tried to make sense of the immense variety within ‘the English language complex’. Particular attention is paid to Kachru’s Three Circles model, Schneider’s Dynamic Model and its current refinements, Mair’s World System for Englishes, Mesthrie’s Contact-Contingency model, and insights from Corpus Linguistics, Language Contact and Language Ecology.
Keywords
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- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The New Cambridge History of the English LanguageAfrica, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, pp. 92 - 116Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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