ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the major features of the English language in the colonial and post-colonial world. The chapter traces some of the ways in which linguistic identity was central to early colonial expansion. It looks at the impact of English on speakers of Indian languages and, in turn, how writers of Indian heritage have reshaped the forms of English prose. It looks, too, at the emergence of West African English as a source of idiom and global expression. Finally, the chapter raises some questions about how English has become a global language of business and popular culture.
