English Linguistics in Bochum

English Linguistics in Bochum is concerned with English as a world-wide language. English is understood as being pluricentric and as constantly evolving in multilingual ecologies.

Whilst English linguistics is taught to embrace a wide range of topics, such as the description of linguistic variation, language contact, sociolinguistics, and conversation analysis, we place special emphasis on the following issues:

• Empirical studies of present-day varieties of English from a descriptive as well as from a sociolinguistic perspective
• Studies of interactions in which English functions as a lingua franca
• Descriptions of the current functions of English in multilingual ecologies
• Investigations into issues relating World Englishes to issues of development and social participation