Saudi English (also called ‘Arabicised-English’ by Al-Shurafa, 2009) is probably one of the least studied varieties among the ‘New Englishes’. This paper aims to provide an introduction to the main syntactic features of the variety. In order to do this I will use the list of features discernible in varieties of English world-wide as ascertained by two scholars working actively on the typology of the different Englishes, Kortmann & Szmrecsanyi (2004). They use the term ‘angloversals’ for recurrent non-standard features widely found in English across the globe. This paper investigates three such ‘angloversal’ features which I believe to be widespread in Saudi Arabia: (a) #57: deletion of be; (b) #17: irregular use of articles; and (c) #53: invariant present tense forms due to zero marking for the third person singular (Kortmann & Szmrecsanyi 2004: 1146–7). This article also aims to study the effects of the Arabic substrate on the variety of English spoken in Saudi Arabia. The occurrence of the features is investigated among different strata in the society.

An analysis of naming patterns among ethnic-Chinese Singaporeans.

The study of names (or, to give it its Sunday name, onomastics) has not always been accorded high academic prestige and is often thought of as a non-specialist's hobby horse. The fact that most books on naming in bookshops seem to address only prospective parents who need to name their child also does not give the study a high standing. In the university context, this is not something that receives a lot of attention, except within semantics and philosophy where the status of names (as opposed to other words) has been discussed; and within the history of English where place names are studied in relation to their etymology. In this journal, though, attention has been given to commercial names (Banu & Sussex (2001), McArthur (2000)) because of interesting instances of hybridisation involving English and other languages.

For the last three decades, globalization has been a major theme of sociolinguistics and studies of multilingualism, in keeping with large scale changes evident in late-modern societies (Blommaert, 2010). One of several stances within this research is the importance accorded to English in processes of linguistic globalization (see Leung et al, 2009). Three theoretical stances in particular have dealt with English globalization: World Englishes (e.g. Kachru, 1986), Linguistic Imperialism (e.g. Phillipson, 1992) and more recently Global Englishes within a context of modern-day rapid transport, electronic media, cultural hybridities and economic migration (Pennycook, 2007). All three approaches emphasise different aspects of the nature of English insertion in multilingual contexts.

This study aims to explore university English teachers' perceptions of the role of English today in Taiwan from two aspects – the ownership of English and acquiring target language culture in the English language classroom. The concept of English as an international language (EIL) or English as a lingua franca (ELF) has been discussed extensively in the ELT field for many years. Theoretically the concept promotes the idea that English is no longer a possession of any particular English-speaking countries and that there are many different varieties of Englishes. Since teachers are an important – if not the most important – influence in the language classroom, their perceptions are likely to affect the students profoundly. In spite of the theoretical discussion of EIL, in reality, what do university English teachers in Taiwan think about the role of English today? In the study, five experienced teachers were invited for a focus group interview to discuss these issues. The results suggest that university English teachers in Taiwan are facing a dilemma and struggle to follow the notion of EIL (or ELF) in the classroom.

People engage in discussions on which linguistic items are ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’, ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ on a daily basis. They do so in private conversations, but also publicly by way of telephone calls to radio stations, letters to newspapers and, since the dawn of the participatory internet, on social media platforms, such as blogs, microblogs (i.e. Twitter), forums and Facebook. Conspicuously, however, in linguists’ theoretical models of language standardisation, speakers have traditionally been marginalised as passive followers of the norms established by language authorities. The types of discussions mentioned are viewed as having no impact on actual usage or on what it is that constitutes the standard variety, while standard language norms are, according to such accounts, enforced by language experts, codifiers and ‘model speakers [such as journalists and newsreaders] and authors’ (Ammon, 2015: 65).

With the popularisation of the Internet, the use of e-mails and computer-based chats (CBCs) has increased dramatically among university students. An interesting feature of such communication, however, is that a written medium is treated like speech (cf. Maynor, 1994). Conversations turn into notes where grammatical accuracy and conventional formalities take a backseat to instant communication. In the case of on-campus CBCs, informality and a certain disregard of the conventions of standard English are all the more manifest.

It is commonly believed in Hong Kong that this general freedom to write ‘bad English’ has encouraged the habit of randomly incorporating Cantonese words into English e-mails. Yet an examination of students' e-mails and icq (‘I Seek You’) communications reveals that far from ‘polluting’ their English by substituting Cantonese words haphazardly for English ones, or by applying Cantonese structures to their English writing, students tend to incorporate certain kinds of Cantonese words systematically into their texts for specific identifiable purposes.

Research on language contact phenomena (language switching and mixing, borrowing) shows that in a multilingual setting people's choice of language(s) is governed not simply by the need to be understood. Other factors play a role. These include various forms of positioning: the language, dialect, accent a speaker chooses for an interaction consciously or unconsciously displays particular aspects of his or her actual or aspired identity. These aspects cover, for example, being (or not being) educated/religious/from a particular region or social grouping. They position the speaker in relation to the person being spoken to. They may also indicate to the addressee not only how the speaker perceives him or her (for example as someone with particular background or attributes) but also as someone with particular aspirations. In multilingual societies language choice in commercial signage carries out similar positioning in addition to giving information about products or services: being understood is not always the sign producer's only or chief consideration. He or she needs to trigger aspects of identity and aspiration that are likely to create a desire for whatever is being sold. In this paper we focus on how English is used in relation to other languages in signage, mainly commercial signage, in two multilingual cities that are the centres of an ongoing research project on bilingual and multilingual signage: Delhi and Cape Town.

In Vietnam, English has been held in high regard since the country embarked on its economic reform known as Doi Moi (Renewal) in 1986 (Ngo, 2018a; Nguyen, 2016). Yet, over the past decades, the country's English teaching sector has consistently been underperforming (Le, in press; Ngo, 2018a, 2018b; Nguyen, 2016; Nguyen & Nguyen, 2019).

Most popular discussions of varieties of English in Appalachia (USA) focus only on vernacular dialect features, suggesting that these hallmark characteristics are common for ‘true’ mountain folk (Dial, 1972). Naturally, the reality of the dialects in this region is more complex and subdued than the stereotype. While traditional features, such as a-prefixing (e.g. she is a-working), have played a role in the region, most stereotypical, Appalachian dialect features are fading from usage today (Hazen, 2006). Appalachia is a long region divided into numerous sections. Depending on the sources consulted, the regional divisions are quite staggering in their differences. For some, the region of Appalachia can stretch as far north as New York and as far south as Mississippi, including parts of 13 states (Appalachian Regional Commission). Other definitions limit the geography to a much smaller range (Wolfram & Christian, 1976). Aware of this problem, we have chosen to focus on one region universally accepted as part of Appalachia: West Virginia. Geographically, the state fits entirely within the boundaries of all definitions of the region. Likewise, West Virginia also fits the socio-economic profile most commonly associated with Appalachia. To provide the most comprehensive picture possible, we present a brief overview of English in West Virginia, followed by an empirical examination of 10 dialect features. The import of this empirical investigation is that the West Virginia vernacular of the twenty-first century has changed from its roots at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Following on Susan Ridder's article ‘English in Dutch’ (ET44, Oct 95) and Pieter Loonen's and Ross Smith's articles on English in the European Union (ET46, Apr 96), a detailed survey of the effect in recent years of English on German and the Germans

An analysis of home page spellings in relation to the accents they evoke. One of the most obvious developments connected with modern electronic communication is the opening up of an area of publicly visible language from what Sebba (2003a) calls the partially regulated zone of spelling. This zone appears in such synchronous media as instant messaging, chatrooms and ICQ (‘I seek you’) and asynchronous ones including SMS text messages, blogs, email and homepages.

The border between mainland China and Hong Kong has become one of the world's most fascinating linguistic divides. On one side lies the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, stretching the entire length of the border – an extraordinary urban development which in many ways epitomises the recent urbanisation of modern China. On the other side lies the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong (see Figure 1). It is not possible to cross from Hong Kong to mainland China by land without passing through one of the Shenzhen checkpoints.

The city of Medellín, Colombia's second largest, impresses the visitor. What was once the most dangerous city in the world has gone through a metamorphosis since drug lord Pablo Escobar's death in 1993. Indeed, in 2013, Medellín was named the World's Most Innovative City by the Wall Street Journal and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). ‘Few cities have transformed the way that Medellín… has in the past 20 years' reads the ULI's explanation (Wall Street Journal, 2013, online). Medellín is now poised to move forward with its innovative infrastructure projects, and looks to position itself as a center of international business, technology, and education (Alexander, 2015). One of the ways in which this new international outlook manifests itself is in the ever-increasing use of English in various areas of public life, notably in advertising and in shop names. Accordingly, this study explores and describes the use of English in shop names in a cross section of commercial areas in Medellín. First, we consider the use of English shop names in four shopping malls that serve customers from a variety of socioeconomic strata. Note that our use of ‘shop’ refers not only to stores but also restaurants, bars, travel agencies, and any other commercial enterprise. Second, we look at four public commercial corridors (retail streets or demarcated zones) in metropolitan Medellín through a similar lens. From these two commercial venues, we find that English use is common in Medellín's retail landscape and that it increases as the socioeconomic status of the target consumers increases.

A case study of the presence of English in shop and service names in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan. The use of English as a trademark of modernity and elitism in the commercial contexts in Uzbekistan is a new phenomenon which has emerged as Uzbekistan entered the global village as an independent and developing country in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. While during the Cold War (1947–1991) and the Soviet era by and large, English was considered ‘the language of Western imperialism’ (Dushku, 1998), today it is seen as a symbol of advanced education, modernity, prestige, and elitism. In order to have a better understanding of how common and widespread English is on the streets and commercial contexts of Uzbekistan, this study examines the use of written English in shop signs and different service names.

Uzbekistan, the most populous Central Asian country, shares its borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan.

A study of the need for attention to cultural aspects of task-based learning and teaching of English as a foreign language. In recent years applied linguistics has seen a move away from a linguistic syllabus to one built around the sequencing of real-life, communicative tasks. This shift, it is argued, offers a richer exposure to language use, while providing the motivation required for students to build on their existing language repertoire. Proponents claim this use of the language satisfies what is known about second language acquisition, by furnishing contexts that make the learning process closer to real-life language situations, as: ‘People of all ages learn languages best, inside or outside a classroom, by not treating the languages as an object of study, but by experiencing them as a medium of communication.’ (Long & Robinson, 1998:18)

The UK's June 2016 decision to withdraw from the European Union, popularly referred to as Brexit, has had a major political, financial and economic impact worldwide. However, the impact was also linguistic as this event has generated a myriad of neologisms in English, such as breferendum, brexiteer, Brexitsphere, regrexit or Brexitology. The aim of the present study is to give a general overview of these new words, to establish the predominant word-formational patterns as well as to point out the creativity and speed with which speakers of English have reacted linguistically to this change in the socio-political context.

Morocco is a multilingual country where the official languages, as indicated in the constitution of 2011, are standard Arabic and Tamazight, while French is the nation's second language, pervading sectors of business, administration, diplomacy and higher education. English and Spanish are used as foreign languages in many contexts for different purposes and tasks (Ennaji, 2009). Unlike French and Spanish, whose presence in the Moroccan linguistic situation is due to colonial policy in the 20th century, English does not ‘have a colonial legacy in Morocco’ (Buckner, 2011: 213). With ‘strong demand for a lingua franca’ brought about by the media, economic incentives and globalization, the presence of English has consequently been furthered in Morocco ‘as a global language’ (Zouhir, 2013: 275).

The mysteries of exotic China arise not only from its voluntary isolation from the modern world during some of the most formative and progressive decades, but from an inability or unwillingness of the west to understand Chinese logic and thinking. The west views China with western eyes and judges China according to western standards. The west asks some seriously ignorant questions about China, such as: What is the culture of China? What do the people of China think? What do the people of China eat?

To fully comprehend the absurdity of these questions, simply invert them, as Chinese college students regularly do in their English classes that are taught by foreigners: How is the culture of America? How do the people of America think? How do the people of America eat? Each populace assumes that the other is a mono-culture. This thinking also carries over into the area of lingua franca. The west assumes that all Chinese people speak Mandarin or Cantonese and have a common written language. China actually teaches that one must learn ‘Standard British English’ or ‘Standard American English’ or ‘Standard International English.’ In addition to Mandarin and Cantonese, China has 55 minority languages and an uncounted number of localized dialects such as Shanghainese, Wuhanese, and many others. There are at least three written Chinese languages, not just one, for example, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese and pinyin.

Why Australia still needs to learn Asian languages. Language learning in Australia has at times been a much debated and somewhat controversial topic. A new episode in this debate began recently with the publication of a report entitled Building an Asia-Literate Australia: An Australian Strategy for Asian Language Proficiency, which argues for a significant expansion and intensification of the learning of Asian languages and cultures at all levels of education. Much of the reaction to this report has focused on the role of English as the global language and its implications for language education. The main argument made against the report's proposals can be summarised as the ‘English is the global language’ view, a position which claims that because English is the global language, there is no need for Australia to implement a large-scale Asian languages and cultures education programme. This paper aims to refute this argument. Drawing on a range of theoretical and empirical work, it demonstrates that there is a double danger in the ‘English is the global language’ view as it both exaggerates the current number of speakers and extent of use of English in Asia, and misinterprets the likely outcomes of any further spread of English.

Black South African English (henceforth BSAfE) has received more attention from corpus linguists than any other variety in the country. In the early 2000s, two corpus projects were initiated more or less simultaneously: the corpus of spoken Xhosa-English, compiled by Vivian de Klerk at Rhodes University, and the Tswana Learner English corpus that I compiled. A number of further corpora have also been compiled in the more recent past, many of which are available in the public domain for research purposes.