Worldwide Perspectives on English Usage : Into the Third Millennium

Overlapping with various subdisciplines of linguistics, this volume takes a novel approach in highlighting current research on variation and change in English. Focusing on usage across regions, social context and media, this accessible and engaging text traces how language attitudes have and continue to change over time.

The study of English usage has to take account of changes in grammar, word choice and nuances of communication. In recent decades, developments in linguistic methodologies have catalysed modifications In our approach to linguistic variation, with perspectives changing from a primarily prescriptive to a more descriptive approach. Bringing together contributions from a team of distinguished scholars, this book explores sociolinguistic and structural dimensions of variability in English usage through new research and methods such as corpora and survey instruments. It embraces the variety and diversity of English usage, exploring global attitudes towards language, including examples from countries where English is either a first language, such as Australia and Britain, to second language users from China, South Africa and beyond. Variability is investigated across both a number of media and registers, while lively and engaging discourse is used to introduce the global language landscape to anyone interested in this fascinating field.