Asian Englishes

This book provides crucial reading for students and researchers of world Englishes. It is an insightful and provocative study of the forms and functions of English in Asia, its acculturation and nativization, and the innovative dimensions of Asian creativity. It contextualizes a variety of theoretical, applied and ideological issues with refreshing interpretations and reevaluations and can be used both as a classroom text and a resource volume.

Braj B. Kachru is Center for Advanced Study Professor of Linguistics and Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“The most comprehensive and cogent case to date for a more nuanced and pragmatic understanding of Asian Englishes . . . provocative, even controversial as well as fresh and incisive. But true to form, Kachru does not shy away from scholarly debate or the liberation of sacred linguistic and pedagogical cows.” —Margie Berns, Professor of English Languages and Linguistics, Department of English, Purdue University

“A most comprehensive, globally informed, richly documented, and insightful reference on English in Asia, written by the guru of gurus on the development, the local ethnographic functions, the world status, and the structural characteristics of indigenized and other ‘non-native’ Englishes. The reader will also enjoy the author’s witty and very accessible prose.” —Salikoko S. Mufwene, Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago

“Braj Kachru is the foremost authority on world Englishes, a field he initiated and played a major part in developing. Nearly half a century of incomparable work is distilled in Asian Englishes: Beyond the Canon, which lifts this vital area of study onto a higher plane.” —Edwin Thumboo, Director, Center for the Arts, National University of Singapore

“It is informative, academically stimulating, and intellectually entertaining, with the author’s vast knowledge, profound insight, and sometimes provocative reinterpretations of issues.” —Yasukata Yano, Professor of Linguistics and English, Waseda University, Tokyo