1st Edition
By Susanne Mohr
This book is the first comprehensive analysis of plural marking, its morphosyntax and semantics, in African varieties of English. Mohr explores the rich diversity in the varieties and how different conceptualizations of the number category are realised across different cultures.
The investigation of unstandardized noun plurals in Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ghanaian and Nigerian Englishes is based on a mixed methods design drawing on corpus linguistics, acceptability questionnaires and psycholinguistic experiments. In this vein, the book not only contributes to the description of each of these four varieties, but also sheds light onto standardization processes and language change in New Englishes. Importantly, it is a plea for the triangulation of data and mixed methods approaches in World Englishes research, as the combination of these methods grants insight into unforeseen areas of language structures and use.
This volume is a useful reference work for students and researchers in world Englishes, varieties of English and African studies as well as those interested in linguistic anthropology.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. English in Africa
3. Number and related concepts
4. Unstandardized plurals in African English corpus data
5. Evaluating the acceptability of unstandardized plurals in present-day Tanzanian and Ghanaian Englishes
6. The conceptual background of unstandardized plurality in Tanzanian and Ghanaian Englishes: Mass and countability Conclusion
ISBN 9780367654030
October 26, 2021 (Forthcoming) by Routledge
176 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
Author
Susanne Mohr is a Research Fellow at the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies, University of Bayreuth, Germany and a Lecturer in Applied English Linguistics at the University of Bonn, Germany. Her research interests include varieties of Englishes and African (especially Khoisan) languages and sign languages.
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