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The Lesser-Known Varieties of English

An Introduction

Peter Trudgill editor Daniel Schreier editor Edgar W Schneider editor Jeffrey P Williams editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:4th Mar '10

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The Lesser-Known Varieties of English cover

Documents the linguistic properties of lesser-known varieties of English, showing their relevance for language spread and change.

This book documents the linguistic properties of lesser-known varieties of English from the Pacific, South America and the South Atlantic to West Africa and the Caribbean, exploring their social histories and showing their relevance for language spread and change.This is the first ever volume to compile sociolinguistic and historical information on lesser-known, and relatively ignored, native varieties of English around the world. Exploring areas as diverse as the Pacific, South America, the South Atlantic and West Africa, it shows how these varieties are as much part of the big picture as major varieties and that their analysis is essential for addressing some truly important issues in linguistic theory, such as dialect obsolescence and death, language birth, dialect typology and genetic classification, patterns of diffusion and transplantation and contact-induced language change. It also shows how close interwoven fields such as social history, contact linguistics and variationist sociolinguistics are in accounting for their formation and maintenance, providing a thorough description of the lesser-known varieties of English and their relevance for language spread and change.

'… represents a treasure trove of fascinating materials about the varieties of English, many of which have not been described in detail before … scholars of English in many different fields will find the material exceptionally valuable.' David Deterding, English World-Wide

ISBN: 9780521883962

Dimensions: 237mm x 157mm x 22mm

Weight: 740g

386 pages