Blackwell Reference Online

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The compilation of a dictionary of world Englishes is a complex undertaking. All the ideological underpinnings, the tensions inherent in proposing the study of Englishes, the hierarchies of English varieties, and the very concept of the English language itself are revealed when we have to collect, identify, describe, and explain the printed and spoken linguistic evidence. Linguistic, literary, cultural, and even political considerations are brought to the foreground of our research, separately and intertwined, the moment we decide to record and explain the English language of a “community” of speakers (in some cases speakers and writers). The notion of legitimacy for pluralized “Englishes” (see, e.g., Kachru and Kahane, 1995 ) largely rests upon the presence or absence of an authoritative text called “the dictionary.” Because the idea of a dictionary is so firmly rooted, even traditional, within the history of English and its Englishes, there are certain expectations from users, lexicographers, and publishers that theorists and practitioners must observe and negotiate. There are basic linguistic requirements that all dictionary projects must meet: for instance, in order to look up a word in a language, there must be a codified notion of “word,” “phrase,” and “clause” for the language being described. In languages that have been spoken, not written, or for which no norms or standards ... log in or subscribe to read full text