Oxford World English Symposium 2022

Subscribe to the OED newsletter

Bringing together Oxford University Press’ dictionary teams with academic researchers, teachers, lexicographers, and other language practitioners to share research findings, experiences, and insights on World Englishes, in order to come up with innovative approaches to the creation of dictionaries and other lexical resources.

All recordings from the Oxford World English Symposium 2022 are published below.

Opening remarks and keynote address

Opening remarks and keynote address for the Oxford World English Symposium 2022.

Speakers and presenters:

Panel 1: Dictionaries and the decolonization of English

The participants in this panel discussed the role that dictionaries can play in the decolonization of English, so that the language can truly evolve from an instrument of colonial domination into an authentic medium of expression that can serve as a key to personal development and social mobility for its speakers in postcolonial nations.

Speakers and presenters:

Panel 2: Language corpora and research resources

The participants in this panel discussed the different sources of textual evidence that can be used to create dictionaries of World Englishes, from traditional printed texts to synchronic and diachronic language corpora and digital text databases. Panellists also shared insights on the use of less formal and mediated forms of expression such as song lyrics, film and television scripts, blogs, wikis, and posts on social media sites as alternative resources for lexical research on varieties of English.

Speakers and presenters:

Panel 3: Dictionaries, World Englishes, and ELT

The participants in this panel discussed the apparent tension between the need to create dictionaries and other learning materials that recognize the diversity and pluricentricity of English, and the need to provide adequate instruction to English language learners who are under pressure to develop language skills and proficiency as defined by norms that are still largely based on the idea of a single standard English. Panellists shared insights on how this tension can be resolved so that dictionaries can be more responsive to the needs, interests, and experiences of diverse learners.

Speakers and presenters:

Panel 4: Spectrum of variation in English

The participants in this panel discussed the different manifestations of variation and change in English (e.g., regional and social dialects, hybrid Englishes, pidgins and creoles), as well as the various theoretical frameworks that have been used to describe and analyze varieties of English (e.g. World Englishes, Global Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca). Panellists also shared insights on how these categories and research paradigms have influenced the documentation of World English vocabulary.

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 1: Introduction to World Englishes in the OED

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 2: Language prejudice and the documentation of minoritized varieties of English

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 3: World Englishes and context-based ELT in Nigeria

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 4: Translingual Words and Social Media

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 5: English as an ASEAN lingua franca

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 6: Multicultural London English

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 7: Australian Aboriginal English

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 8: South African English and OUP Southern Africa

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 9: Representing World English Pronunciations in OED

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 10: English and Identity in a Multilingual Society

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 11: Ugandan English

Speakers and presenters:

Parallel Session 12: New Words Collection Programme in the Greater China Region

Speakers and presenters:

Closing remarks

Closing remarks for the Oxford World English Symposium 2022.

Speakers and presenters: