Introduction

Research Trends in Variety Studies

The following overview is intended to give an impression of the fields in which a large group of scholars throughout the anglophone world are active, all working under the umbrella of variety studies. The term ‘variety’ refers to any form of English recognizably different from others. This very broad definition covers forms which exist at one location, for example English in London, and others which have arisen through transportation of English during the colonial period, say Canadian or South African English. Importantly, the term ‘variety’ also refers to modern forms of English which, irrespective of their background, have developed due to sociolinguistic forces operating today, for example language in cities such as Chicago, Detroit or Pittsburgh.

Expansion of English in the Colonial Period

The forms of English taken to overseas locations during the colonial period – roughly from the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries – developed in specific ways. This depended on such factors as regional English input, demographic composition of early settlers, social status of the settlers relative to each other, conditions at the overseas locations, particularly whether the latter developed to become independent nations with their own standards of English (Hickey ed., 2012 [1.3]). In this sense the study of varieties of English is closely linked to new dialect formation (Trudgill 1986 [1.2.3], 2004 [1.2.6]; Hickey ed., 2003 [1.2]), the rise of new dialects from a mixture of inputs at locations outside the British Isles. Here examining possible historical connections between older and newer varieties plays a major role.

The development of overseas varieties of English and their relationship to regional dialects in England, Scotland and Ireland has been examined in depth recently, see the volumes on English overseas (Burchfield ed., 1994 [1.5]) and on English in North America (Algeo ed., 2001b [5.1]) in the Cambridge History of the English Language and Hickey (ed., 2004c [10.2]). Issues concerning English in a global context has been served well by many book-length publications (Kortmann et al. eds, 2008a [1]; Kirkpatrick ed., 2012 [7]; Kortmann & Lunkenheimer eds, 2012 [1]) and there are quality journals dedicated to this subject, such as English World Wide, 1980– (Amsterdam: John Benjamins), with an accompanying book series. The role of English as a lingua franca and questions surrounding language attitudes and identities have been the focus of many studies (Crystal 2003, 2010 [10]; Jenkins 2007 [10]; Ostler 2011 [10]).

Varieties Studies and Language Change

Studying varieties of English is closely connected with the study of language change. The reason is that the very different conditions in different parts of the English-speaking world have led to divergent outcomes. The range of scenarios provides the opportunity to consider how language change occurs under specific conditions. The most comprehensive work in this field is Labov (1994–2010, 3 vols [1.2]). The study of varieties of English involves a historical dimension as well: the nature of English in England, Scotland and Ireland in the early modern and late modern periods, sixteenth / seventeenth and eighteenth / nineteenth centuries respectively, is crucial to the rise of overseas varieties (Hickey ed., 2004c [10.2]; Tagliamonte 2013 [10.2]). Furthermore, the varieties involved are nearly always non-standard; indeed in earlier centuries it is difficult to say just what constituted standard English in Britain and whether it was used by those who left to settle overseas.

Language Variation and Change

Research into varieties of English is closely associated with the research agenda known as language variation and change, which investigates the manner in which variation in language use leads to established change, driven largely by social factors, but tempered by the nature of language structure, that is by internal factors (Kiesling 2011 [1.2.1]; Chambers & Schilling (eds, 2013 [1]). This approach is in its turn embedded in the larger field of sociolinguistics (Bayley & Lucas eds, 2007 [1.1.1]; Tagliamonte 2006 [1.1.4], 2012 [1.1.1]). The development of sociolinguistics in the twentieth century is due primarily to the pioneering work of William Labov who in the 1960s carried out seminal studies (above all, that published as Labov 2006 [1966] [5.1.4]) which provided the methodological framework for most sociolinguistic investigations since. Labov has also concerned himself with the application of insights from sociolinguistics to the history of English (see Labov 1981 [1.2], 2007 [1.2]), as well as with the statistical methods of sociophonetics in the analysis of variation and change (see Thomas 2011 [1.1.6] for an introduction to sociophonetics). Issues in sociolinguistics and style have also been centre stage in recent research (Eckert & Rickford eds, 2001 [1]). The nature of communities of practice is a main concern in Eckert (2000 [1.1.13]). A further focus of recent scholarly activity has been the issue of language and social identity, see Edwards (2009 [1.1.16]) and Llamas & Watt (eds, 2010 [1.1.16]).

Development of the Standard

The development of the standard led to a concentration on formal varieties of English in England which some linguists have seen as covert prescriptivism. Discussions of this complex issue can be found in James & Lesley Milroy (1999 [1]) and, by the provision of contrasting scenarios, in Watts & Trudgill (eds, 2001 [1]). The issue of standard English is a central theme in Bex & Watts (eds, 1999 [1.3]) as it is in Hickey (ed., 2012 [1.3]), in this case with a deliberate plural reference. The historical background to the rise of standard English in England and the attendant increase in prescriptivism is treated in such books as Cheshire & Stein (eds, 1997 [1.3]), Crowley (1989 [1.3], 1991 [1.3.1]) and Mugglestone (2007 [1995] [1]); Lippi-Green (2011 [1997] [5.1]) looks at similar subject matter within the American context. A ­critique of different views can be found in Mufwene (2001 [1.2]).

International Standard English

As a means of worldwide communication English has developed along several paths to form international standard English consisting of differing but related varieties. This is an area of research in its own right (McArthur 1998 [1]) and there are dedicated journals dealing with matters which fall within its scope, such as World Englishes and English Today. There are also corpora dedicated to the collection of data on standard English from different countries, notably those contained in the International Corpus of English project and in others such as the Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English or the Australian Corpus of English. For the sociolinguistic analysis of corpus material, see Baker (2012 [1.1.4]).

Post-colonial Varieties and World Englishes

Related to the previous issue is scholarly activity dedicated to (i) the post-colonial nature of many overseas forms of English and (ii) the nature and structure of World Englishes. The former area has been investigated in particular by Edgar Schneider, see Schneider (2007 [10.3]) as a comprehensive statement of his views. World Englishes have been a continuing concern of certain scholars, for example Braj Kachru and Tom McArthur. Since the turn of the millennium a number of works have appeared in which these forms of English form the focus, for example McArthur (2002 [1]), Kachru, Kachru & Nelson (eds, 2006 [10]). A general overview and introduction is provided by Mesthrie & Bhatt (2008 [10]). In this context one can mention the specific treatments of English in Asia which have also appeared, for example Bolton (ed., 2002 [7.3.1]), Bolton (2003 [7.3.2]), Bolton & Kachru (eds, 2007 [10]).

Large Scale, Typological Studies

The increasing amount of data gathered on varieties of English and the greater degree of research in this field has led to ever-larger studies. A large-scale project is the World Atlas of Varieties of English based at Freiburg, Germany for which there is a major publication (Kortmann & Lunkenheimer 2012 [1]) to match the already existing online version of this project (eWAVE). The typological perspective has also been adopted by scholars concerned with the larger picture of variation among varieties, see Siemund (ed., 2011 [1]), Siemund (2013 [1]) as well as Lim & Gisborne (eds, 2009 [7]).

Variation and Language Contact

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in language contact with a number of research publications in this field, for example Deumert & Durrleman-Tame (eds, 2006 [1.2.3]) and Hickey (ed., 2010 [1.2.3]). The spread of features through contact, either with settler groups at overseas locations, for example in Australia and New Zealand, or between native populations or non-anglophone groups and settlers, as in South Africa, has been analysed with a view to understanding the process of language contact better. A subarea within contact studies concerns itself with areal features, that is with the geographical clustering of features and with examining the reasons for this, see Hickey (ed., 2012 [1.1.2]).

Vernacular Universals

Examining linguistic features to see if they correlate across...