Knowledge Bank

The cultures and languages of Africa and Asia have had an immense impact on the use of English language there. Awareness of this impact led to a recognition of new, indigenized varieties known collectively as world "Englishes". They display a number of linguistic and pragmatic patterns different from native varieties, and these have been the subject of much scholarly activity over the last 30 years. This selected bibliography attempts to introduce the literature to librarians, other than English, linguistics, or education selectors. Interdisciplinary in nature, the study of world "Englishes" has implications for research in the history, culture, sociology, and politics of these regions. Selectors in these subjects and general reference librarians should therefore know more about world "Englishes" to provide more useful assistance to patrons.