Let us assume you wish or need to get more specific and to work out more detailed information on English as used Anywhere-in-the-World – perhaps for a paper, a class presentation, or the like. It may be tempting to replicate what you find in any source, but it is more interesting and more challenging to ask a few principled questions and to see whether it is possible to find responses. Here are a few guiding questions which you can ask and apply practically anywhere, and which will help you to structure your work:

History

• When did English arrive in your area, who brought it there, and why?

• When and how did it spread and develop? What was the sociolinguistic and cultural background of its early uses and developments? Was it used only by native-speaking in-migrants, or also by the indigenous population (and if so, [since] when, why, by whom)?

• Were there later settler groups or immigrant streams or other developments that modified or influenced its character?

• Which other languages and cultures did it get into contact with? What were the consequences of such contact?

Current political and sociocultural background; language attitudes; users and usage conditions

• Characterize your country with respect to its character, population structure, and political situation (especially insofar as these have consequences for the language situation).

• Are there any other languages spoken in your area? If so, which? What is the mutual relationship and role distribution between these languages like?

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