Overview

World Englishes and English in postcolonial contexts have been curiously neglected in an otherwise abundant research literature on text types and genres in English. This volume looks at the adaptation, transformation and emergence of genres in the particular cultural context of the Anglophone Caribbean. A comprehensive framework for the investigation of text production in postcolonial and global English communities is followed by empirically based case studies on specific text formats such as recipes, death notices and obituaries, letters to the editor, newspaper advice columns, radio phone-in programmes, online forums and the music genre calypso. Influences from oral versus literate culture as well as status and function of English versus Creole are considered by highlighting written, spoken and digital genres. All chapters present surveys from a historical and cross-cultural perspective before exploring specific linguistic and cultural features in the Caribbean texts. This volume will be highly relevant for researchers in World Englishes and Caribbean studies, postcolonial pragmatics, genre and media studies as well as linguistic anthropology.

Full Product Details

9789027211385

Table of Contents

Reviews

This monograph fills an important gap in research on Englishes. [...] Mühleisen’s investigation of selected genres in the Caribbean context undoubtedly provides much-needed new data and new insights into Caribbean sociopragmatic practices. It is a rich and well-argued investigation. It makes a significant contribution to research on the pragmatics of language in outer circle English-speaking countries and demonstrates the importance of combining sociohistorical with quantitative and qualitative sociolinguistic analysis when exploring the intricate nature of linguistic practices in postcolonial contexts. Making a significant contribution to closing the much-lamented gap between current research in sociolinguistics and research on Englishes and Creoles, the framework developed in this book is well suited to launch investigations in other (postcolonial) contexts and into other existing and newly emerging speech practices and the changes that affect them. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the sociolinguistics of postcolonial settings. -- Bettina Migge, University College Dublin, in English World Wide 44:2 (2023).

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available