A clearly arranged introduction to all forms and variations of the English language.
Nnehitpitothuihdronjfemtyouovvheuorweppt - Would you have thought that this is English? Textile pirates in the region of Guangxi produced this text of the English slogan 'Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Let's sport!', originally written on a sports jacket made in Hongkong.
Not all examples are as extreme as this one, but many a world traveller has come across the experience: There is not only one English language but several of them. Next to English English, there are in Great Britain, in the former colonies in Asia, Africa, America and the Pacific region dozens of idioms that have moved away from school English a great deal.
Via coloured charts and maps, the authors explain which peoples have left their traces in the English language, how Modern English emerged from Old (Anglo-Saxon) English, what characteristics Irish and Scottish English have, why Prince Philip is the 'man bilong kwin' in Tok Pisin in New Guinea, how Bislama, the official language of Vanuatu and lingua franca of Oceania originated from Sandalwood English, and who, in Australia, speaks General Australian, Cultivated Australian and Broad Australian.
Dr. Wolfgang Viereck, born in 1937, is professor of English linguistics at Bamberg University and has written some 350 publications on, among others, the historical, regional and social dimensions of English, on geolinguistics and language contact.Dr. Karin Viereck was born in 1938 and has published on language contact and geolingustic aspects.Dr. Heinrich Ramisch was born in 1958 and is Academic Advisor at the Institute of English linguistics at Bamberg University. He is co-editor of the 'Computer Developed Linguistic Atlas of England' and works mainly on variations of English, language change and on language contact.
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