ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework for the presentations of varieties of English around the globe. Throughout the chapter, any examples illustrating terms and concepts are directly related to the subject matter of this book. The first section is devoted to a discussion of the character and possible causes of linguistic variation and change. The following section presents types of variation at various levels of language, setting up the structure for detailed descriptions of individual varieties in Chapters 4-6. Finally, the classification of World Englishes is discussed along several dimensions.
