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9 - Public English

Syntactical, Phonetic, and Prosodic Variation in a Formal Genre

from Part II - Constructing Languages through Discourses on Belonging, Prestige, and Materiality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2025

Britta Schneider
Affiliation:
European University Viadrina
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Summary

This chapter is devoted to a linguistic analysis of the variable nature of English in public spaces in Belize, focusing on school, mass media, and research interviews. Adopting a decolonial perspective, it refrains from categorising English in Belize as a distinct and national variety. The analysis reveals significant linguistic variability in morphosyntax, phonetics, and prosody. Public English in Belize incorporates a range of forms influenced by Kriol, Spanish, and international English standards, challenging conventional notions of ’standard’ language. Morphosyntactic features reveal both local and non-local influences, while phonetic analyses reveal individual variations in vowel production linked to social, educational, and ideological factors. Prosodic variation, particularly pitch and intonation, emerges as a key marker of linguistic boundaries. English in Belize resists fixed categorisation and embodies a ’liquid’ linguistic character. This variability results from the absence of a hegemonic cultural and linguistic centre.

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Type
Chapter
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Liquid Languages
Constructing Languages in Late Modern Cultures of Diffusion
, pp. 195 - 224
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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  • Public English
  • Britta Schneider, European University Viadrina
  • Book: Liquid Languages
  • Online publication: 28 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009249850.013
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  • Public English
  • Britta Schneider, European University Viadrina
  • Book: Liquid Languages
  • Online publication: 28 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009249850.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Public English
  • Britta Schneider, European University Viadrina
  • Book: Liquid Languages
  • Online publication: 28 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009249850.013
Available formats
×