These three volumes, which cover, respectively, English as it is spoken in the British Isles, in North America, and in Central America, are the first in a planned 12-volume series edited by Hopkins (linguistics, Florida International Univ.). Chapters within the volumes cover different regions and all answer the question, "What is the English language like in this place?" in amazing detail. For example, the chapters on Ireland (in Volume 1) and Canada (in Volume 2) are longer here than in the
Routledge Handbook of World Englishes. More important is the breadth of coverage; 12 chapters cover the British Isles in Volume One, and seven chapters cover the United States and Canada in Volume 2, with multiple chapters about the Southern United States. Whereas a single chapter focuses on the Caribbean in Braj and Yamuna Kachru and Cecil Nelson's Handbook of World Englishes, Volume 3 of this resource offers seven portraits of the language in Central America, including in Belize and Panama. A different scholar authors each chapter, and narratives are supported with tables, maps, and a bibliography. Each narrative also incorporates an array of linguistic terms, but, unfortunately, there is no glossary. The result is high-quality scholarship yet only for readers with a solid linguistics foundation. These readers would benefit from a cumulative index and other forms of cross-referencing between articles and volumes. Links could be established in the resource's electronic format through hyperlinks and superior indexing. An electronic version would also enable adding other chapters, such as those about specific Canadian provinces. No information about these ideas or a time line for later volumes was readily available on the publisher's website. However, Hopkins's university profile indicates plans for a series website.
VERDICT Though expensive, this great scholarly contribution is highly recommended for language specialists, who should watch for its future electronic form.
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