English in the 21st Century (S Lange SS 2024

The topic of this seminar will be the forms, functions and politics of English as the world’s most important language, for better or worse. We will first look at recent changes in both American and British English and consider the evidence for American influence on British English – or is it the other way round? We will then tackle English as a link language in international contexts, such as Euro-English and English as a lingua franca (ELF). English as a contact language has also given rise to hybrid and grassroots Englishes which are spoken by more and more people around the globe and also feature on the internet. Finally, we will assess the impact of the spread of English from the perspective of language policies and linguistic human rights.

When: THU 4.DS

Where: W48/004