This course is designed to provide an overview of the different forms and functions of the English language throughout the world. Firstly, we will discuss different models of what makes a global language and we will then go on by working out how and why English came to be a global language by looking at the historical and cultural foundations. As this invokes different attitudes we will adopt an intranational and an international perspective.
By incorporating native and non-native perspectives we shall analyse English as a language of culture and identification and as an international means of communication (lingua franca) and the consequences that arise from this development for both mother tongue speakers and learners alike in terms of standard(s), teaching, language ideologies, language policy, etc.
Basic reading:
Crystal, David (2012). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: CUP, 2nd ed.
