Studies in English Language

A pioneering collection of new research that explores categories, constructions, and change in the syntax of the English language. The volume, with contributions by world-renowned scholars as well as some emerging scholars in the field, covers a wide variety of approaches to grammatical categories and categorial change, constructions and constructional change, and comparative and typological research. Each of the fourteen chapters, based on the analysis of authentic data, highlights the wealth and breadth of the study of English syntax (including morphosyntax), both theoretically and empirically, from Old English through to the present day. The result is a body of research which will add substantially to the current study of the syntax of the English language, by stimulating further research in the field.

South Africa is a country characterised by great linguistic diversity. Large indigenous languages, such as isiZulu and isiXhosa, are spoken by many millions of people, as well as the languages with European roots, such as Afrikaans and English, which are spoken by several millions and used by many more in daily life. This situation provides a plethora of contact scenarios, all of which have resulted in language variation and change, and which forms the main focus of this insightful volume. Written by a team of leading scholars, it investigates a range of sociolinguistic factors and the challenges that South Africans face as a result of multilingualism and globalisation in both education and social interaction. The historical background to English in South Africa provides a framework within which the interfaces with other languages spoken in the country are scrutinised, whilst highlighting processes of contact, bilingualism, code-switching and language shift.

English has a considerable history in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and present-day English has a significant influence on the vocabulary of modern German. Examining the ongoing influence of English on German in these countries, Raymond Hickey leads a team of authors to explore a wide range of topics, such as the history of English teaching in Germany, the type of English spoken in German-speaking countries today, and the role of English in German society. Borrowings from English in present-day German, as well as the use of English in public places, is also discussed, as is the use of English by non-Germans living in Germany, and the situation of Germany as a country with English as a foreign language. Comparisons with other European countries are also analysed, and a consideration of the German-English interface in places as far apart as the United States and Namibia, is also presented.