Dialect Contact and Social Networks

Keiko Hirano received her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Essex, and is currently Professor at the Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Studies, University of Kitakyushu (Japan). Her research focuses on dialect contact, variation and change in the English language.

• Contents: English Education and the Anglophone Community in Japan – Theoretical Background and Previous Research – Hypotheses and Research Questions – Linguistic Variables – Methodology – Results – Discussion of the Results of this Study.

«[Hirano’s book] is a very interesting, stringently planned and conducted study about an area which is little inverstigated to date. It is absolutely interesting for readers with previous knowledge in this field as well as for readers without such previous knowledge.» (Jana Neuhaus, Lingua 158, 2015)