ABSTRACT
The Scots, the Irish and the Welsh all speak English, and some also speak a Celtic language, so that one can talk of 'Scottish Gaelic' and 'Scottish English', as well as 'Irish Gaelic' and 'Irish English'. These lead on contrastively (and inevitably) to 'English English', a term now common among scholars of the English language. Kamala Das's poem, Summer in Calcutta, focuses on what English means to the poet, writing in an Indian context. Speakers and writers of English in different parts of the world respond to the language in particular ways, and may sometimes seek to emphasise the distinctiveness of regional varieties. Kiswahili (Swahili) and English are the two official languages of Kenya, a country where there are more than forty indigenous languages.
