A critical exploration of the ideological, linguistic and pedagogical issues related to World Englishes.

Winner of the BAAL Book Prize 2016 The field of "World Englishes" takes on ever more importance in the modern era. Mario Saraceni's World Englishes: A Critical Analysis looks at the developments in the field from a critical perspective. It examines the historical, linguistic, ideological and pedagogical aspects in the study of the ever-evolving forms, roles and statuses of English around the world. The principal aim is to offer a critical overview of the field in order both to inform readers about the main issues at stake and to challenge established positions and descriptive/analytical paradigms. The book has four sections, each of which reviews established accounts and offers alternative perspectives on those. “History” considers representations of the evolution of ‘old English’ and ‘new Englishes’ and begins to unveil the strong link between conventional accounts and ideological motivations. “Language” critically examines the traditional notion of ‘difference’ in the description of varieties of English, and discusses more recent orientations which aim to describe English as a lingua franca and the phenomenon of language hybridity. “Ideology” examines ideological debates around the presence and status of English in the world, such as linguistic imperialism, language ownership and language ecology. The final section, “Pedagogy” discusses pedagogical implications, such as the choice of appropriate ‘models’ of English and considers the possibility of teaching English as a fully de-anglicised language.

"This book provides an accessible yet comprehensive critical perspective on the English language(s), power, and inequality. The progression of the arguments is clear and cohesive, effectively guiding the reader to arriving at a critical questioning of basic assumptions about the English language and its use around the world – and thereby providing thought-provoking pathways for advancing and re-revolutionising the WE paradigm. Through this original and challenging volume, the author adeptly achieves his aim of bringing subversion back to the heart of WE research." - Judges of the BAAL Book Prize 2016

"A distinctive contribution ... This book offers not only a good overview of the Global English debate, but also novel insights which undoubtedly support a ... growing conceptualization of Global English as non-normative and pluricentral. The strength of this contribution to the discipline lies in its multidisciplinary approach, combining diachronic and synchronic perspectives with insights from language policy, economic linguistics and language ideology." - Discourse & Society

"The definite advantages of the book is its clear language, its lively and engaging style of writing and the variety of illuminating examples which illustrate the arguments of the author." - The LINGUIST List

"I would highly recommend this book both to students of World Englishes and to general readers who want a well-written, accessible and up-to-date overview of the field." - ELT Journal

"As the 2016 winner of the British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) annual book prize, it is no surprise that Mario Saraceni’s book is a superb overview of the field of World Englishes (WE). It succeeds very well in tracing the development of WE and the ‘egalitarian and revolutionary ethos’ that initiated it." - Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development