Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of research on Contact Englishes, including the history of this branch of linguistic research, current trends, the impact of hybridity on this area of study, and future directions, with attention to the relevance of Contact Englishes for pedagogical contexts. The chapter begins by exploring the how Contact Englishes have often been framed in problematic ways in reference to language contact, as the study of linguistic interference, language change, and language shift present language contact as undesirable and dangerous. In contrast, the view of Contact Englishes as linguistic heteroglossia challenges the compartmentalization of English from its ‘contact’ with other languages and views linguistic fluidity as a mode of meaning making that is used by speakers to index identities and social relations. To illustrate these ideas, the chapter examines the various linguistic outcomes of language contact within these two different frameworks, including borrowing, pidginization, creolization, codeswitching, code-mixing, and translanguaging. Finally the chapter discusses future directions of research involving Contact Englishes, focusing on pedagogical approaches and tools such as Critical Language Awareness and Linguistic Landscapes.