The globalisation of English has now reached a point where it is no longer responsive to geographical demarcations, nor is it constrained by linguistic or non‑linguistic limitations that could possibly counter its remarkable success as the most widely shared global lingua franca (Jenkins and Panero Reference Jenkins and Morán Panero2025) or perhaps the last one to be so (Ostler Reference Ostler2010). From a sociolinguistic perspective, it is now virtually impossible to find a solid answer to the question, ‘whose English it is and where it is spoken’ (Mufwene Reference Mufwene and Blommaert2010, xi). This somewhat radical perception of the global presence of English is a result of advances in technology, ubiquity of the internet and the proliferation of new media, among other factors, which keep propelling user interaction online, where speakers of different varieties of English intermingle and share their unique linguistic and cultural nuances seamlessly. The social potential (Crystal Reference Crystal2001) and ability to foster language presence (Crystal Reference Crystal2011) has converted the internet into a virtual melting pot, facilitating the connectivity, blending, and coexistence of the linguistic, social and cultural lives of English speakers worldwide. This convergence not only continues to shape the language and how it is manifested in virtual spaces but also reveals how English influences and is influenced by various global interactions transpiring within an increasingly digital world (Schreier Reference Schreier2025). This dynamic interplay fosters a unique linguistic landscape on the internet (Calude Reference Calude2024) with consequences for the use and users of English (Van Rooy Reference Van Rooy2024). It is in this context that Patricia Friedrich casts a fresh glance at the presence of English in digital environments in her recent publication Digital World Englishes.

The text is organised into nine chapters: 1. World Englishes in the Digital World; 2. Digital World Englishes and the New Geography; 3. Conversations Across Circles: A Multi‑variety Mentality; 4. Code‑mixing, Code‑switching, and Beyond: Linguistic Strategies Online; 5. Native‑speakerism and Online Spaces; 6. Linguistic Identity across Englishes and Digital Spaces; 7. New Media, Multimodality, and Digital World Englishes; 8. Researching Digital World Englishes; 9. World Englishes and Language Teaching in Context: Back to the ‘Real World’. While the text does not feature explicit sectioning, the arrangement of the content allows the text’s chapters to collectively present an assemblage of conceptual notions related to world Englishes to effectively contextualise the book’s main focus: the presence of world Englishes and their diverse manifestations across digital spaces. The text begins with providing the reader with a theoretical lens to viewing English and its varieties in digital environments before exploring the sociocultural, linguistic and communication phenomena associated with these varieties of English. The text also guides the reader in conducting empirical research on the Englishes present online, and the latter part of the text focuses on the implications of digital world Englishes for English language pedagogy.

Friedrich adopts a broadly democratic stance in her treatment of digital world Englishes, which is evident in her inclusive view of diverse varieties of English and her response to native‑speakerism in Chapter 5 in which she views native‑speakerism as an outdated and inequitable ideology that maintains the traditional binary framework that recognises English speakers either as a native speaker or a non‑native speaker. She further argues that digital spaces, where diverse users shape English, situate English speakers in a non‑binary framework that clearly demonstrate the legitimacy of multiple varieties of English. However, her approach does not appear to be entirely independent as she remains grounded in the Kachruvian model of world Englishes. Friedrich’s theory‑building revisits Kachru’s (Reference Kachru, Quirk and Widdowson1985) three concentric circles in Digital World Englishes. Although Kachru’s fully articulated model first appeared in 1985, it has continued to influence the study of world Englishes significantly. Friedrich too sees its potential as a framework for understanding the diverse ways English is used globally. Her constructive defence of the model includes a proposal for a modified version that accommodates online varieties of English. In this version, a new concentric circle called ‘Digital Englishes’ encircles the original three concentric circles of Kachru’s (Reference Kachru, Quirk and Widdowson1985) model. Friedrich’s deliberately ensures that her work on the model is seen as an ‘addition’ rather than a ‘revision’, whereas I, for my part, would term it an ‘extension.’ According to Friedrich’s theorisation, what this ‘imaginary space,’ as she calls it, represents is the ‘culmination of the interactions taking place’ (p. 6) both within and among the three original concentric circles. It reinforces the idea that it is still useful to think of English on the internet through the theoretical lens of Kachru’s (Reference Kachru, Quirk and Widdowson1985) model. While Friedrich’s approach in Digital World Englishes is critical and inclusive, given the introductory nature of the work, she does not seem to take a radically outsider or revolutionary stance. It eventually positions her as a progressive voice within the system, balancing democratic ideology with a theoretical dependence on the Kachruvian framework. However, the novelty of Friedrich’s work resides elsewhere: her attempted redefinition of the ‘borderless.’

In arguing for Digital World Englishes as belonging to a new geography, Friedrich boldly asserts the need to deviate from the conventional narrative that perceives the internet as a liberated phenomenon and a borderless space where languages come into contact with one another and interact effortlessly. Instead, Friedrich attempts to redefine the internet as a bordered space by claiming that it is space where important decisions about ‘who sees what on the internet and consequently who is exposed to what language and what variety’ (p. 26) are consciously made, and the content users generate and explore depends on ‘who we interact with, what cultures we identify more closely with, and what domains we are more active in’ (p. 26). Though Friedrich’s argument does not seem to articulate a formal theoretical framework to explain the mechanisms behind her claim that the internet is a bordered, stratified, and rule‑governed linguistic space, it does seem to gesture towards a reconceptualisation of the internet, hinting at the possibility of countering its perceived nature as a space free of control. Also, attempting to redefine the internet as a bordered space and approaching the presence of English in digital spaces from an epistemologically fresh angle could potentially draw the attention of researchers, sociolinguists in particular, to explore what linguistic and non‑linguistic factors influence online users’ exposure to, interaction with, and choice of one specific variety of English on the internet over another. This approach could lead to a deeper understanding of how digital communication shapes language use and identity. By examining these important dynamics, researchers may be able to uncover patterns that reveal the complex relationships between language, culture and digital engagement in diverse online communities.

Another significant feature of Digital World Englishes is its multidisciplinary route to examining world Englishes in digital spaces. Friedrich does not treat the subject only from a purely sociolinguistic angle. The multidisciplinary approach, especially evident in chapters 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, has widened the scope of the text, bringing in issues from various interdisciplinary stations such as interactions with other languages, augmented intelligence, power relations, internet user identities, multimodality, new media, research methodology and language pedagogy. Particularly noteworthy is, for instance, how Friedrich situates English language pedagogy in relation to the presence of different varieties of English on the internet. Her argument is centered around the idea that it would be beneficial for the learners if they were exposed to different varieties of English on the internet because the ‘likelihood of encountering varieties different from one’s own online is very great’ (p. 120). This discussion encourages language educators to reconsider what counts as valid linguistic input in contemporary classrooms and to recognise the pedagogical value of exposing learners to the contemporary sociolinguistic realities of online communication. Yet, while it highlights the need for more inclusive and context‑sensitive teaching practices that respond to the linguistic diversity existing on the internet, how such practices might be operationalised in actual instructional settings should be further explored.

While not limiting the scope to one disciplinary lens extends the text beyond a surface‑level treatment of the subject matter being discussed and allows exploring other areas that may be intricately connected to world Englishes online, some of the chapters in the text appear to be rather more introductory than critical. Given, however, the fact that Digital World Englishes is intended to be an introductory work and, perhaps, it being the first book‑length treatment on world Englishes in digital contexts, the book, while being a topical primer, can be considered a timely call to expand inquiry. It invites sociolinguists and enthusiasts of world Englishes to explore further how Englishes influence and are influenced by global communication interactions taking place in the new digital geography Friedrich maps on the linguistic atlas.

Written in a clear and accessible language, Written in a clear and accessible language, Digital World Englishes appears to strike between theoretical depth and readability, making complex sociolinguistic concepts approachable for a broader readership that includes students, educators, and researchers. Evident in the text is also, despite being primarily academic in tone, a deeply personal voice, which stands out as a feature as well as rhetorical strategy mainly because it is not overused, but rather employed sparingly. It, in fact, adds an emotional resonance, as well as authenticity, and acts as a narrative bridge between the text and the readership, signalling subtly the author’s position in relation to the subject: ‘I am part of this too.’ Friedrich also prompts the reader to extend their inquiry beyond the text by posing questions for further discussion at the end of each chapter. The thoughtful inclusion of some foundational readings with short annotations in the preface to the book will also help the newcomers to the field of world Englishes gain an initial grounding in the area. While Digital World Englishes offers a broad and accessible introduction to the relationship between world Englishes and digital communication, some chapters, as mentioned before, remains more introductory than critical. Although the introductory nature of those chapters does not compromise the scholarly expertise with which the text is authored, a deeper engagement with detailed case studies, particularly those that highlight specific digital communities or non‑dominant platforms, would further strengthen the analysis. Such addition could enrich the critical depth and provide readers with concrete illustrations of how different varieties of English operate in diverse digital environments.

Overall, Digital World Englishes offers both a primer and a call to expand scholarly inquiry. By mapping a new geography on the atlas of world Englishes, Friedrich draws the attention of undergraduates, researchers in sociolinguistics, and enthusiasts of world Englishes to another linguistic possibility that holds greater potential to yield new insights into the users and uses of English. While it offers a clear and engaging entry point for newcomers to the field, it encourages seasoned academics to explore the presence of world Englishes in digital spaces and assess their potential as fertile ground for empirical investigations. It is certainly worth consideration as a timely resource for course modules on English as a global language, world Englishes, and sociolinguistics.