The postcolonial linguistic situation of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been widely neglected in research investigating the spread of English around the globe. This article seeks to remedy the lack of systematic investigation and places Cyprus English within the framework of World Englishes research. However, the linguistic reality is complex and heterogeneous, and Cyprus English can neither be assigned clear English as a Second Language (ESL) nor English as a Foreign Language (EFL) status. We illustrate what we came to see as a hybrid and complex situation drawing on data from a preliminary analysis of linguistic features attested in the CEDAR (Cyprus English Data Analysis and Research) corpus, and we link this analysis with findings from a sociolinguistic background analysis, a survey of language attitudes and of the use speakers make of English. To approach the question whether or not Cyprus English should be considered a second language variety, or whether it best be viewed as a kind of learner English, we suggest a way to map feature occurrence, possible structural nativization, and the influence of sociolinguistic variables to a matrix, the Variety Spectrum. Assuming hybrid ESL-EFL status for Cyprus English, we finally show that Kachru’s Three Circles model (Kachru 1985, 1992) does not account for such complex linguistic situations. We thus suggest the use of more flexible models for placing Cyprus English on the map of World Englishes (see Bruthiaux 2003).
2023. What language does your heart speak? The influence of foreign language on moral judgements and emotions related to unrealistic and realistic moral dilemmas. Cognition and Emotion 37:8 ► pp. 1330 ff.
2015. EFL and/vs. ESL?. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 1:1 ► pp. 130 ff.
Floros, Georgios
2014. Legal translation in a postcolonial setting: the political implications of translating Cypriot legislation into Greek. The Translator 20:3 ► pp. 411 ff.
SCHNEIDER, EDGAR W.
2014. New reflections on the evolutionary dynamics of world Englishes. World Englishes 33:1 ► pp. 9 ff.
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