14 February 15.00 – 1700

Tallinna Õpetajate Maja

Raekoja plats 14

READING WORLD ENGLISHES

Professor John McRae

University of Nottingham

The starting-point will be one post-colonial moment, when the Romans left Britain, and the language of the occupier remained as an official language, being used in the courts and in churches, and in literature, for many centuries thereafter. Then came the well-documented Icelandic and Germanic influences that shaped Old and Middle English, then the French influences after 1066, and these all contributed to the making of the major language of the islands of Britain, until that language became recognisably Modern English around the time of Shakespeare and the King James Bible.

The lecture goes on to look at the spread of English worldwide when it developed as a colonial and then a world language, until another post-colonial moment, when it transcends itself, no longer just the language of a few islands off the coast of Europe, and becomes a worldwide range and variety of Englishes.

What post-colonial? What future? What English?

John McRae has been Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies in the School of English Studies at the University of Nottingham since 1992 and, from 1999 to 2004  was Professeur Invité at the University of Avignon.  He worked for the British Council for several years; in Italy he taught at several universities, including the Magistero Faculty in Napoli from 1975 to 1992, and inaugurated the English Department of the new University of Basilicata in Potenza 1984-1991. He is an Adviser on Language and Literature to the British Council Literature and Film Department, has been closely involved with the British Council Oxford Conference on the Teaching of Literature for 15 of its 21 years, as Chair, co-Chair and Consultant, and was Deputy Chairman of the British Council’s Language in Literature and Culture committee. He holds Visiting Professor posts in China  and Spain, and has been Visiting Professor in Austria, Brazil,  India, Malaysia, Sweden and the USA (1997-2002).  

Please register by 13 February 2008 by calling British Council at 6257788