Schneider, Edgar W., Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann, Rajend
Mesthrie, & Clive Upton (eds.), A handbook of varieties of
English: A multimedia reference tool. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter,
2004. Vol. 1, xvii, 1168 pp.; vol. 2, xvii, 1226 pp. Hb/CD-ROM
$720.
These two volumes and CD-ROM form an impressive and informative survey
of all major English varieties currently spoken. The aim, in the words of
the editors, is “documenting and mapping the structural variation
among (spontaneously spoken) non-standard varieties of English.”
Various standard Englishes, such as Received Pronunciation (RP), are also
described, although it is not clear how the editors distinguished a
national standard from a national variety. These standard varieties are
used as “implicit standard[s] of comparison” for
most varieties. Although this perspective might seem surprising in a
descriptive work, upon further thought this explicit acknowledgment is
refreshing. In many studies, the use of a standard variety for comparison
usually remains implicit, rather than being acknowledged at the
outset.