Describes patterns in the sentence structure, sound system, word formation and word use in African American English. Uses linguistic description and data from conversation to explain that African American English is a rule governed system. BNS, 350pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A political sociology of English in Africa looking in particular at how political shifts and processes of globalisation since the end of the Cold War have affected language distribution and linguistic patterns between English and more localised African languages. The author also links the English language situation in Africa to the experiences of the African Diaspora. Index, refs, vi, 144pp, UK. MULTILINGUAL MATTERS.

2002 997002289X Paperback

Explores how multilingual East Africans make use of English as a local resource in their everyday practices by examining a range of domains, including workplace conversation, beauty pageants, hip hop and advertising. Drawing on the Bakhtinian concept of multivocality, the author uses discourse analysis and ethnographic approaches to demonstrate the range of linguistic and cultural hybridity found across these domains, and to consider the constraints on hybridity in each context. 176pp, UK. MULTILINGUAL MATTERS.

Using empirical phonetic data collected from a representative group of informants, the author offers a comprehensive analysis of the English accent used by Ghanaians, an accent that differs in a number of significant ways from the varieties of English spoken in the majority of West African countries. The volume discusses segmental, contextual and suprasegmental features of Ghanaian English. 356pp, USA. EDWIN MELLEN PRESS.

An analysis of linguistic globalisation in five countries that differ greatly in both their degree of global integration and their use of the English language: France, India, Nepal, South Africa and the United States. Index, bib, notes, xiii, 152pp, USA. LEXINGTON BOOKS.

A study of sociolinguistics of the English language in Nigeria by a prominent linguistics scholar. Looks at the perspectives of an individual writer, to provide an overview of the language since its earliest contacts with what is now known as Nigeria. BNS, 167pp, NIGERIA. IBADAN UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A unique contribution to the discussion of the status and use of English in West Africa. The twenty two essays were written by eminent academics in African sociolinguistics and examine five major themes: English in language policy, English language teaching, varieties of English and domains of use, literature in English and corpus research. Index, bib, tables, diags, 431pp. NIGERIA. MOSURO PUBLISHERS.

The global spread of English has resulted in the emergence of a diverse range of postcolonial varieties around the world. This study provides a clear account of the evolution of these varieties, exploring the historical, social and ecological factors that have shaped all levels of their structure. It argues that while these Englishes have developed new and unique properties which differ greatly from one location to another, their spread and diversification can in fact be explained by a single underlying process, which builds upon the constant relationships and communication needs of the colonizers, the colonized, and other parties. Outlining the stages and characteristics of this process, it applies them in detail to English in sixteen different countries across all continents, including South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. 384pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

The spread of English around the world has been and continues to be both rapid and unpredictable. This book examines this inescapable result of colonisation and globalisation from a social and linguistic perspective. Its main focus is on the second-language varieties of English that have developed in the former British colonies of East and West Africa, the Caribbean, South and South-East Asia. It provides a historical overview of the common circumstances that gave rise to these varieties, and a detailed account of their recurrent similarities in structure, patterns of usage, vocabulary and accents. 312pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Using samples of ordinary conversation in English, the author has analysed the way Zambians use language in real situations and their interactions with each other. Includes complete transcriptions of sample conversations. Refs, x, 212pp, ZAMBIA