{"id":867,"date":"2010-09-16T10:00:43","date_gmt":"2010-09-16T08:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elanguage.net\/blogs\/booknotices\/?p=867"},"modified":"2010-07-07T09:41:09","modified_gmt":"2010-07-07T07:41:09","slug":"postcolonial-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/?p=867","title":{"rendered":"Postcolonial English"},"content":{"rendered":"
Postcolonial English: <\/strong>Varieties around the world. By Edgar W. Schneider<\/strong>. (Cambridge approaches to language contact.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. xvi, 367. ISBN 9780521539012<\/a>. $45.99.<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Richard W. Hallett<\/strong><\/a>, Northeastern Illinois University<\/em><\/p>\n

Edgar Schneider designed this volume to provide an account of the evolutionary factors involved in the spread of the English language around the world and to offer a new model for analyzing postcolonial varieties of English (PCEs). In Ch. 1, \u2018Introduction\u2019 (1\u20137), S outlines his thesis and provides the underlying assumption for his new model. He states,<\/p>\n

It is posited that evolving new varieties of English go through a cyclic series of characteristic phases, determined by extralinguistic conditions. Individual countries in which PCEs are spoken are regarded as positioned at different phases along this cycle, an explanation which accounts for some of the differences observed in the shapes and roles of PCEs (5).<\/p>\n

The examples in the following chapters support this assumption.<\/p>\n

In Ch. 2, \u2018Charting the territory: Postcolonial Englishes as a field of linguistic investigation\u2019 (8\u201320), S summarizes two existing models of PCEs. After ruling both models \u2018rather superficial and fuzzy\u2019 (14), S outlines his own model in Ch. 3, \u2018The evolution of postcolonial Englishes: The dynamic model\u2019 (21\u201370). S\u2019s dynamic model posits five progressive stages of PCEs: foundation, exonormative stabilization, nativization, endonormative stabilization, and differentiation. Each of these stages is to be examined according to four parameters: sociopolitical background, identity construction, sociolinguistic conditions, and linguistic effects. In Ch. 4, \u2018Linguistic aspects of nativization\u2019 (71\u2013112), S explores the process of nativization of PCEs in terms of phonology, lexis, and grammar.<\/p>\n

In Ch. 5, \u2018Countries along the cycle: Case studies\u2019 (113\u2013250), S applies his dynamic model to PCEs spoken in sixteen different countries. In Ch. 6, \u2018The cycle in hindsight: The emergence of American English\u2019 (251\u2013308), S provides an extensive analysis of American English, a PCE that is currently in the fifth progressive stage of the dynamic model. He concludes this chapter with brief discussions of various PCEs found in the American context (e.g. African-American English, Chicano English, Cajun English, Hawaiian English). In Ch. 7, \u2018Conclusion\u2019 (309\u201317), S concludes that the dynamic model works because it \u2018is grounded in and grasps important facets of sociopsychological, sociolinguistic, and structural reality in language evolution\u2019 (310).<\/p>\n

This book is an excellent addition to the growing number of titles in the areas of World Englishes and language contact phenomena. It can easily be used as the primary text in a World Englishes course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Postcolonial English: Varieties around the world. By Edgar W. Schneider. (Cambridge approaches to language contact.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. xvi, 367. ISBN 9780521539012. $45.99. Reviewed by Richard W. Hallett, Northeastern Illinois University Edgar Schneider designed this volume to provide an account of the evolutionary factors involved in the spread of the English language […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}