ABSTRACT This paper investigates regional variation in Superlative Objoid constructions (SOCs) and their prepositional variant ( at‐ SOCs). SOCs combine a possessive pronoun with a superlative adjective. These function as manner‐degree modifiers in a context where the possessive is in postverbal position and correlative with the subject, as in they tried their hardest (‘they tried very hard’). This study adds to previous research by focussing on the productivity and schematicity of SOCs in British and American English (AmE) but also by including analytic superlatives in the objoid slot. A total of 2753 instances from the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English are annotated for linguistic and contextual predictor variables. Collostructional and multifactorial analyses reveal that while both varieties share core verbs ( do, try, feel, look ), the British data display greater verbal diversity and higher use of at ‐SOCs, particularly with stative verbs and analytic superlatives (e.g., at your most confident ). AmE, by contrast, favours dynamic verbs and more idiomatic bare SOCs ( do your utmost, try your damnedest ). Overall, our results suggest differing degrees of productivity and constructional entrenchment, with British English showing broader extension of the SOC pattern.

ABSTRACT This study examines how university students across six Gulf countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—position themselves in relation to English as a global language and how English‐medium instruction shapes their cultural and linguistic identities. Drawing on positioning theory, the research examines students’ everyday language use and their perceptions of English's role in education and society. Data were collected through questionnaires. The findings reveal a state of strategic dualism, in which students manage individual agency by strictly separating their linguistic worlds. While English use is dominant in education, it drops sharply at home. Crucially, the results show that higher English proficiency actually reduces cultural anxiety, challenging the narrative that English always threatens identity. Additionally, the findings reveal that, although British English continues to influence education systems due to historical and governmental ties, American English is increasingly preferred by students, reflecting globalisation, media exposure and international academic aspirations. The study emphasises the ongoing negotiation of linguistic identity in the Gulf, where English serves both as a tool for opportunity and as a marker of social positioning within rapidly evolving educational contexts.

Abstract This study statistically examines disparities in access to acquiring English language proficiency (ELL‐access gaps) in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, using nationally representative survey data and a model that assumes causal relationships of ‘social origins → English proficiency’. While previous studies have focused on the mere presence or absence of ELL‐access gaps based on single‐country case studies, this research adopts a cross‐national approach to analyse both the magnitude and generational change of such gaps. Regression analyses reveal that all four jurisdictions exhibit non‐negligible gaps related to parental education, with relatively smaller disparities in Japan and larger ones in China and Taiwan. These gaps have either persisted across birth cohorts or even shown some indications of widening among younger generations. Furthermore, a comparison between the 2008 and 2018 survey waves reveals no consistent pattern of period effects, suggesting that recent increases in inequality are more likely driven by cohort‐based dynamics.

Abstract This study examines an under–explored feature of Outer Circle Englishes: the nativization of verbnoun collocations in written Pakistani English (PakE). Using a 5–million–word Pakistani Acrolectal Variety of English corpus, with the British National Corpus 2014 as a reference, statistically salient constructions were identified using mutual information and Log Dice. The analysis examines six entrenched verbnoun collocations: take notice, seek a report, register a case, recover (abducted persons), produce (person) before court, and award (a) sentence. The findings show that these collocations coalesce into a procedural scripta nativized template that serializes institutional action from initiation to sanction. The study further demonstrates how linguistic transfer from Urdu and socio–institutional practices shape these patterns, producing systematic formal and contextual distinctiveness. These results support the emergence of a legitimized institutional register in PakE and advance understanding of nativization in postcolonial Englishes, with implications for ESL pedagogy and language policy.

Abstract Building on three broad pedagogical approaches (raciolinguistics, culturally relevant pedagogy, and translanguaging) and three adjacent pedagogical efforts (valuing languages equally, addressing racialization and postcolonialism, and advocating for justice in language education) in applied linguistics, this conceptual article seeks to (re)center social justice in the World Englishes (WE) research agenda by distilling three pedagogical practices that WE practitioners can adopt in the classroom. To some extent, both fields of inquiry (i.e., WE and applied linguistics) have always had shared intellectual pursuits, as demonstrated in the special issue of WE that called for a more robust transdisciplinary dialogue between WE and second language acquisition, and a more recent special issue of WE that explored how translanguaging can help expand the WE research agenda. Building on these intellectual developments, we put forward three social justice‐oriented principles which we subsequently apply to our (re)analysis of data excerpts that were extracted from applied linguistics studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and South Africa, respectively. The article closes with a discussion of prospects and possibilities that would lay the groundwork for a constructive future dialogue between WE and applied linguistics.

Abstract Air traffic control (ATC) communication in international aviation is conducted in a variety often referred to as Aviation English. Based on an analysis of the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), two specialized sub‐registers of Aviation English are identified in previous research, namely, standardized phraseology for routine circumstances and plain Aviation English for unusual situations. A closer look at authentic routine ATC communication, however, shows that the reality is considerably more complex. The results of a discussion of standardization and variation in Aviation English, together with the findings of a case study on the use of non‐prescribed greetings in routine ATC communication at two international airports, suggest that there are patterns of regional differences at various levels of language use and thus regional Aviation Englishes. This has a number of implications for World Englishes, English for Specific Purposes, Applied Linguistics, and their intersections.

Abstract The trajectories of the English language in Singapore and Malaysia have undergone different developmental paths since English first arrived in both countries. Although they have a shared history, divergent language planning and policies in each country have resulted in varietal differences in Singapore English and Malaysian English. This article compares research done in the 21st century on each variety in the realm of applied linguistics and world Englishes. We also discuss possible future research directions in the Englishes of both varieties that can help both countries to address relevant issues faced, such as how research on the varieties can help build the necessary varietal language models generated by artificial intelligence for applications in the health industry and the urgent importance of future research helping to shed light on ethical, diverse, inclusive and sustainable approaches to the teaching and learning of languages in multilingual and multicultural global contexts of communication.