Lesser-known Varieties of English - Einzelansicht

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In the historical course of its linguistic expansion, the English language has been taken to the most remote areas of the world, yielding a multitude of countries where English is spoken as a native or second language nowadays. However, being spoken in different places and by different groups of people, English has undergone a considerable global variation (e.g., in terms of phonology, lexical choice, and morphosyntax) and, thus, has developed into different 'World Englishes.'

This seminar will focus in particular on smaller, lesser-known varieties of English. After a theoretical introduction to relevant basic concepts and issues in dialectology and sociolinguistics, students will comparatively examine—and present in class at the end of the semester—both the current sociolinguistic situation as well as peculiar linguistic features of a variety of their choice.