From Deficit to Dialect

This book looks at two of the most well-established Asian varieties of English, Indian English and Singapore English, and asks what makes "World Englishes" look and sound as they do over time. Is it how long English has been in a given region? The languages it came into contact with? Or the social attitudes, policies, and practices towards languages in these regions? The book analyzes bilingual speech closely to show how strong the role of indigenous languages is, despite surface similarities in the two varieties. By using a comparative method, it is also able to pinpoint which specific social, historical, and learning factors affect how fast the language changes.

Devyani Sharma is Professor of Sociolinguistics at Queen Mary University of London. Her research examines dialect variation and change in postcolonial and diaspora situations, style variation, dialect typology, language attitudes, and bilingualism. She has an interest in developing new methods for studying language variation in contact settings, and in outreach work with a range of sectors to promote understanding of English diversity and language-based discrimination. Her co-edited works include The Oxford Handbook of World Englishes, English in the Indian Diaspora, and Research Methods in Linguistics.