ABSTRACT
Colonization, the European expansion, and, more specifically, British imperialism building a global empire was the decisive triggering factor which has caused World Englishes (WE) to come into existence. Varieties in the Inner and Outer Circles, in former settlement and exploitation colonies, respectively, are directly postcolonial; and without this erstwhile colonial impetus those of the Expanding Circle would also not have come into being simply because it initiated the unprecedented global spread of the English language. Postcolonial Englishes (PCEs) of the Outer Circle in particular constitute some of the most interesting varieties in the WE paradigm, given their innovative and distinctive characters and their vigorous, norm-developing evolution and expansion. In addition, as we will show, recent research has increasingly moved beyond a focus on PCEs by highlighting Expanding Circle Englishes and other non-PCE varieties or speech habits which transcend a notion of “nation-based varieties” as such.
