English Across the World – syllabus 2022/2023
Course title: English Across the World
Instructor: Prof. dr. Višnja Josipović Smojver (visnja.josipovic@ffzg.unizg.hr)
Semester: III (winter)
Status: elective (4 hours)
ECTS credits: 5
Language: English

Type of Classes: lectures

Course requirements: No special requirements

Exam: written (3 essay questions)

Course description: The course describes the variability of the English language in its standard and non-standard forms. It deals with the history of the spread of English to continents outside Europe, covering topics such as prestige vs. stigmatized varieties, common processes in spoken English, as well as the differences among individual varieties. It also deals with the use of English as a second language, English as a lingua franca in the context of globalisation, and the language of the Internet.

Objectives: Getting acquainted with the linguistic variability of English in the context of contemporary globalisation trends, as well as developing the skills of recognising and linguistically describing its geographical and socio-linguistic varieties.

Week-by-week-schedule of topics:

1. Introduction: English as a global language
2. The history of English as a global languages: diasporas and milestones
3. Standards and standardisation
4. The Standards of the Inner Circle
5. Variability of English within the British Isles
6. The linguistic south of England
7. The linguistic north of England
8. The Keltic varieties of English (I): Introduction; Welsh English
9. The Keltic varieties of English (II): Scottish and Irish English
10. Australian English
11. English in Aftrica
12. Asian English (I): Introduction and classification; English in South Asia: Indian English
13. Asian English (II): English in South East Asia and the newly emerging varieties
14. English as a lingua franca
15. Optional topics: Netspeak; some lesser known varieties of English (students’ presentations)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Obligatory literature:

Hughes, A., P. Trudgill & D. Watt (2012), English Accents and Dialects. 5th edn. Routledge.

Kirkpatrick, A. (2007). World Englishes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (+CD: World Englishes. Cambridge University Press).

Trudgill, P. & J. Hannah (2017), International English: A Guide to Varieties of Standard English. 6th ed. Routledge (+ audio materials)

Additional literature:

Britain, D., ed.  (2007), Language in the British Isles. CUP.

Crystal, D. (2006), Language and the Internet. 2nd ed. CUP.

Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes: A resource book for students. London – New York: Routledge.

Kirkpatrick, A., ed. (2010). The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes. London-New York: Routledge.

Kortman, B., C. Upton, W. Schneider, K. Burridge, R. Mesthrie, eds. (2008), Varieties of English, Vol.s 1-4. Berlin – New York: Mouton de Gruyter. (+Interactive CD-ROM: Kortmann, B and E.W. Schneider, eds., Varieties of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). = reference literature

Lindsey, G. (2019). English after RP: Standard British Pronunciation Today. www.cubedictionary.org.

Mesthrie, R. & R.M. Bhatt (2008), World Englishes: The Study of New Linguistic Varieties. CUP.

Metcalf, A. (2000), How we Talk: American Regional English Today (a talking tour of American English, region by region). Boston – New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Trudgill, P. & J. K. Chambers, eds. (1991), Dialects of English: Studies in Grammatical Variation. London  Longman.

Wolfram, W. & N. Schilling – Estes (2006), American English. 2nd ed. Blackwell.