The English of The Sleeping Lady: An exploration of the historical and current influences on the English of Kosrae

Kosrae, or ‘The Island of The Sleeping Lady’ as it is known to locals, is the most remote island of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), located in the western Pacific. FSM is an independent sovereign nation consisting of four state in total: Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap and Kosrae. First claimed by the Spanish, who were forced to cede FSM to Germany in 1899. In 1914, the Japanese took military possession of the region resulting in considerable economic, social and political change for the islands’ inhabitants. By 1947 after WWII, the islands formed part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands commissioned by the UN and administered by the US. The FSM became an independent nation in 1986 while still retaining affiliation with the US under a ‘Compact of Free Association’ encouraging the officiating of English as a language of FSM, alongside local languages. Here I examine the presence and uses of English in Kosrae with reference to these socio-historical influences. First, I discuss the extralinguistic factors which have shaped the English that is currently found on Kosrae. Secondly, I assess the use of English in this community in light of Schneider’s (2007) ‘Dynamic Model’. Finally, an overview of the salient linguistic characteristics of Kosraean English, based on data collected in informal conversations on the island, will be presented. The overall objective is to present a socio-historical, political and linguistic description of a hitherto unexamined English emerging in a postcolonial environment. Schneider, E. (2007). Postcolonial Englishes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Research Interests: Global Englishes

Lady-Bird : (Marienkäfer) ; eine Erzählung

von Georgina Fullerton. - Aus dem Engl. von H. Brinckmann

Lady Carlisle [Illustration] : (Porträt)

Samuel Cooper

The Lady of Longford : lyrisches Drama in einem Akt

Musik von L. Emil Bach. [Text] von Augustus Harris und F. E. Weatherly. Dt. Version von Julius Lichtenstein

Charlotte Wolter als Lady Macbeth, Rollenbild, in: William Shakespeare: Macbeth, Wien: Burgtheater

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F02195

Charlotte Wolter als Lady Macbeth, Rollenbild, in: William Shakespeare: Macbeth, Wien: Burgtheater

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F02221

Rosa Poppe als Lady Macbeth, Rollenbild, Kniestück, in: William Shakespeare: Macbeth

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F05818

Esther Palliser als Lady Rowena, Rollenbild, in: Arthur Sullivan: Ivanhoe

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F09465

Adele Sandrock als Lady Mavis, Szenenfoto, Brustbild, in: Reinhold Schünzel: Die englische Heirat

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11764

Adele Sandrock als Lady Mavis, Szenenfoto, Brustbild, in: Reinhold Schünzel: Die englische Heirat

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11765

Adele Sandrock als Lady Mavis, Szenenfoto, Kniestück, in: Reinhold Schünzel: Die englische Heirat

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11766

Agnes Straub als Lady Macbeth, Rollenbild, Brustbild, in: William Shakespeare: Macbeth

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11829

Eva Bubat als Lady Percy, Rollenbild, Kniestück, in: William Shakespeare (Robert George): König Heinrich IV., Frankfurt a. M.: Römerbergfestspiele, 1937

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F12046