Oxford World English Symposium 2022

The participants in this panel will discuss the role that dictionaries can play in the decolonization of English, so that the language can truly evolve from an instrument of colonial domination into an authentic medium of expression that can serve as a key to personal development and social mobility for its speakers in postcolonial nations.

The participants in this panel will discuss the different sources of textual evidence that can be used to create dictionaries of World Englishes, from traditional printed texts to synchronic and diachronic language corpora and digital text databases. Panellists will also share insights on the use of less formal and mediated forms of expression such as song lyrics, film and television scripts, blogs, wikis, and posts on social media sites as alternative resources for lexical research on varieties of English.

The participants in this panel will discuss the apparent tension between the need to create dictionaries and other learning materials that recognize the diversity and pluricentricity of English, and the need to provide adequate instruction to English language learners who are under pressure to develop language skills and proficiency as defined by norms that are still largely based on the idea of a single standard English. Panellists will share insights on how this tension can be resolved so that dictionaries can be more responsive to the needs, interests, and experiences of diverse learners.

The participants in this panel will discuss the different manifestations of variation and change in English (e.g., regional and social dialects, hybrid Englishes, pidgins and creoles), as well as the various theoretical frameworks that have been used to describe and analyze varieties of English (e.g., World Englishes, Global Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca). Panellists will also share insights on how these categories and research paradigms have influenced the documentation of World English vocabulary.