Read more
This book is the first comprehensive analysis of nominal plural marking, its morphosyntax and semantics, across different African varieties of English. Mohr explores the rich diversity in the varieties and how different conceptualizations of the number category are realized 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 on 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.
List 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
About the author
Susanne Mohr is Professor of English Sociolinguistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Her research interests include varieties of Englishes, African languages and sign languages, as well as language contact and multimodality.
Summary
This book is the first comprehensive analysis of plural marking, its morphosyntax and semantics, in African varieties of English. By doing so, we are granted insights into the diversity of African Englishes, which are far too often treated as monolithic.
