World Englishes at the Grassroots

About the Book

English as a second and foreign language is increasingly used at the grassroots level, by individuals coming from disadvantaged backgrounds with often little or no access to formal education, in business and in contexts outside of international organisations, education and academia. Bringing together an international range of contributors, this book explores face-to-face uses of English in a range of grassroots multilingual contexts. Divided into three parts, the book explores the spread of English in former areas of British domination including Africa and the East, in trade and work migration, and in forced migration by refugees. The chapters present cutting edge case studies which draw on spoken data from Uganda, South Africa, Bahrain, China, Bangladesh, Germany, Italy and the UK. In doing so the book presents an empirical basis for the further study and modelling of world Englishes. It examines the scope for integrating Englishes at the grassroots into existing models of English and explores relations between notions of hybrid languages, translanguaging, polylanguaging and world Englishes.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents; List of figures; List of tables; Contributors　1. Introduction: English spreading at the grassrootsChristiane Meierkord, Ruhr-University of Bochum and Edgar W. Schneider, University of Regensburg2. Grassroots English, learner English, second-language English, English as a lingua franca ... : What’s in a name? Sarah Buschfeld, University of DortmundPart I: English at the grassroots in former spheres of British interest3. The sociolinguistic profile of English at the grassroots level: A comparison of Northern and Western UgandaBebwa Isingoma, Gulu University4. English language learning trajectories among Zanzibaris working in tourismSusanne Mohr, Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies5. Access to English and the Englishes of the disadvantaged - examples from Uganda and South AfricaChristiane Meierkord, Ruhr-University of Bochum and Edgar W. Schneider, University of Regensburg6. Artistic re-creation of grassroots English: Ideologies and structures in English VinglishEdgar W. Schneider, University of Regensburg　Part II: English in trade and work migration7. Facets of intercultural communication employed in the conversations of local Arab traders in BahrainAnthonia Akhidenor-Bamidele, AMA International University Bahrain8. The value of grassroots English for Bangladeshi migrants to the Middle EastQumrul Hasan Chowdhury, University of Dhaka and Elizabeth J. Erling, University of Graz9. Grassroots diffusion of English in a ‘blue-collar’ workplace: the case of a multilingual cleaning company in New Jersey, USAKellie Gonçalves, University of Köln　Part III: English in forced migration10. Language use among Syrian refugees in GermanyGuyanne Wilson, Ruhr University Bochum11. Uprooted speakers’ grassroots English: Metalinguistic perspectives of asylum seekers in Germany Axel Bohmann, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg12. Onward migration from Italy to the UK: reshaped linguistic repertoires and the role of English Francesco Goglia, University of Exeter Index

About the Author :
Christiane Meierkord holds the Chair of English Linguistics at the Ruhr-University of Bochum. Edgar W. Schneider holds the Chair of English Linguistics at the University of Regensburg