EDITORIAL

I was struck recently with the impressive renewed vitality in the field of World Englishes. While the overall study of the variation in English has been highly active in recent decades, with the growth of the English as a lingua franca paradigm, renewed work in English as an international language, and the emergence of a newer field known as ‘Global Englishes’, publications in World Englishes are at an almost unprecedented level.

A new series, Routledge Studies in World Englishes, started in 2015 under the guidance of series editor Ee Ling Low of the National Institute of Education, Singapore. The series has already produced 19 volumes in just six years. In addition to looking at Inner and Outer Circle contexts such as the Shetland Islands, Australia, Africa, and Singapore, it includes volumes on Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan, and Italy. It also includes volumes which look at varieties in a more regional manner – across varieties – such as in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as East and South Asia. The pace of publication is increasing, with three or four books per year.

A second significant contribution is the three-volume anthology Bloomsbury World Englishes, published in 2021. Mario Saraceni of Portsmouth University serves as overall editor, with volume 1, Paradigms edited by Britta Schneider and Theresa Heyd; volume 2, Ideologies edited by Rani Rubdy and Ruanni Tupas; and volume 3, Pedagogies edited by Yasemin Bayyurt of Boğaziçi University. The books have an attractive black matte finish, with blue, green, or purple phosphorescent typeface on the covers to easily distinguish the collection. Each volume has 17 contributions, separated into three thematic parts. These include fascinating new topics such as ‘Translingualism and World Englishes’, by Suresh Canagarajah (Pennsylvania State University) and Jerry Won Lee (University of California, Irvine).

Finally, and perhaps most impressive, is the forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes project, with Kingsley Bolton as chief editor. The encyclopedia will be online and also in print, comprising 17 separate volumes, each with its own sub-editor – all major scholars in the field. It is expected to have 400 chapters. The encyclopedia will also find a home for Expanding Circle Englishes, including volumes on Middle East and North African Englishes, European Englishes, and Central and South American Englishes.

The various works here demonstrate the robust nature of the World Englishes paradigm, as well as its acknowledgment and exploration of new border-crossing domains and regions where English is used, in ever more complex and exciting contexts. It is also worth noting that the venerable John Benjamins’ Varieties of English Around the World series has now reached 65 informative volumes. Happy reading!