Chapter published in:
Modeling World Englishes: Assessing the interplay of emancipation and globalization of ESL varieties
Edited by Sandra C. Deshors
[Varieties of English Around the World G61] 2018
► pp. 15–44

From colonial dynamism to current transnationalism

A unified view on postcolonial and non-postcolonial Englishes

| University of Regensburg
| University of Regensburg
| University of Regensburg

The ever-increasing dynamism of the diffusion of English calls for an integrated approach to postcolonial and non-postcolonial Englishes and to new contexts such as transnational cyberspace, new media, or “grassroots” usage. We focus on major theoretical approaches to modelling World Englishes in the 21st century by briefly defining, discussing, and comparing older and more recent approaches to the theorizing of World Englishes, their scope and their mutual relationships, notably the “Dynamic Model”, “Transnational Attraction”, and the “Extra- and Intra-territorial Forces Model”. We discuss these approaches in relation to some examples and applications from especially post-postcolonial nations and contexts, including South-East Asia, Namibia and Germany, Cyprus and Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina, social media (with examples from Facebook), fanfiction writing, and multiplayer online games.

Keywords: English in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus English, Dynamic Model, Extra- and Intra-territorial Forces Model, Facebook, fanfiction, German English, globalization, Greek English, multiplayer online games, Namibia, postcolonialism, South-East Asia, theories of World Englishes, Transnational Attraction
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theorizing World Englishes
    • 2.1Established approaches
    • 2.2Changing linguistic realities
    • 2.3Theorizing World Englishes II: Recent approaches
  • 3.Innovative approaches applied
    • 3.1Bridging the postcolonial/non-postcolonial divide: Applied perspectives from Europe, Namibia, and South-East Asia
      • 3.1.1South-East Asia
      • 3.1.2Namibia and Germany
      • 3.1.3Cyprus and Greece
      • 3.1.4Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • 3.1.5Discussion: Theoretical implications and applications
    • 3.2Digital Englishes
      • 3.2.1Facebook communication
      • 3.2.2Fanfiction writing
      • 3.2.3Multiplayer online games
      • 3.2.4Discussion: Theoretical implications and applications
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 13 September 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g61.02bus
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