Sounds of English Worldwide

In Sounds of English Worldwide, Raymond Hickey delivers a rigorous overview of the sound systems of varieties of English throughout the world. Beginning with an overview of the history and contexts of global varieties of English, this book guides readers through the spread of English during the colonial era leading up to the present day. The second section of the book broadly considers developments in the English-speaking world, accounting for the factors that triggered regional changes and resulted in diverse scenarios for English, including language contact and shift, new dialect formation, and the use of English in non-anglophone contexts. To assist students in learning how to approach the study of varieties of English, this valuable text addresses research questions of general interest to linguists and explores a variety of fieldwork methods commonly used by researchers in the area. This useful book offers practical discussions of key changes in late modern English that determined the unique phonetic profile of different varieties of the language along with in-depth examination of the many factors which may shape global forms of the language in the future. Perfect for graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, and researchers studying varieties of Englishes, Sounds of English Worldwide will earn a place in the libraries of linguists and students studying Englishes worldwide from a sociolinguistic perspective as well as language contact, bilingualism, the rise of new varieties along with English phonetics and phonology more generally.