World Englishes and Cognitive Linguistics

Abstract

This chapter presents Cognitive Linguistics as a framework for investigating World Englishes. In particular, it aims to show that the theoretical and methodological apparatus of Cognitive Linguistics provides a suitable handle for analyzing the sociocultural dimension of language and language variation. For this purpose, case studies of first and second language varieties of English are highlighted in which cognitive-linguistic notions have been fruitfully applied in this respect. The focus is on allophone variation from the perspective of the associated sociocultural meaning, the contribution of conceptual-metaphor and cultural-keyword research to the comparative study of varieties of English, and the manifestation of ‘cultural models’ in varieties that are rooted in markedly different cultural contexts.