International Center University of Florida

Approximately 1 billion people speak English today (Crystal 2003), many as a first and only language, but more as a second or foreign language. Although English is sometimes described as a killer language, overpowering minority languages, it has also been adopted and adapted to accommodate the needs and goals of local communities, resulting in varieties that have their own form, function and status, apart from the “standard” English of Great Britain or the US. This course will examine these new World Englishes, their characteristics and their uses. By studying and further researching World Englishes, students will build their abilities to apply linguistic analyses, both formal and functional, and expand their linguistic resources to communicate in the global domain.