The Pacific and Australasia

varieties of English in the Pacific and Australasia*

A note on geographical coverage

This part provides linguistic sketches of the most significant Englishes currently spoken in the Pacific (on islands between the American continents, Asia and Australia) and Australasia (in Australia and New Zealand and on neighboring islands of the South Pacific Ocean). These sketches cover a range of the different variety types (including both native and contact varieties) that have evolved as a consequence of the spread of English into these regions. Even though the Hawaiian Islands are politically part of the United States, and have been since 1958, they are included in this volume on account of their geographical location in the northern Pacific, and the special linguistic relationship with other Pacific rather than North American varieties.