This volume is one of the first detailed expositions of the history of different varieties of English. It explores language variation and varieties of English from an historical perspective, covering theoretical topics such as diffusion and supraregionalization as well as concrete descriptions of the internal and external historical developments of more than a dozen varieties of English.

• Table of Contents 6
• Abbreviations 8
• Chapter 1: Introduction 12
• Chapter 2: Standard American English 20
• Chapter 3: Regional varieties of American English 42
• Chapter 4: Canadian English in real-time perspective 64
• Chapter 5: Re-viewing the origins and history of African American Language 91
• Chapter 6: Standard British English 107
• Chapter 7: Regional varieties of British English 132
• Chapter 8: Received Pronunciation 162
• Chapter 9: Estuary English 180
• Chapter 10: Cockney 198
• Chapter 11: Celtic and Celtic Englishes 221
• Chapter 12: Scots 242
• Chapter 13: English in Ireland 255