English in Kuwait: Development, status and usage

This volume presents the first in-depth exploration of Kuwait within the framework of World Englishes. It examines the historical trajectory of English language contact, the contemporary spread of the language, and public attitudes toward its use in the country. Central to the study is the development and analysis of the Kuwaiti English National Corpus, almost 128 million words across both spoken and written texts. The volume also assesses the relevance of Schneider’s (2003, 2007) Dynamic Model and Buschfeld and Kautzsch’s (2017) Extra- and Intra-territorial Forces Model in the Gulf context. Findings reveal the emergence of innovative linguistic forms, particularly in discourse pragmatics, while also highlighting significant interpersonal variation and the multifaceted role of English in identity construction. This work offers valuable insights for scholars examining the status and functions of English in the Gulf and contributes to ongoing efforts to refine the World Englishes paradigm to better represent linguistic realities on the ground.

• Publication date: 20 August 2026
• Page count: 231
• Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Co
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9789027237736