The sociolinguistic reality of writers from the Expanding Circle: A new English literature

Nowadays, poets and novelists from all over the world might choose to write in English, regardless of their native tongues, and those in the Expanding Circle of World Englishes are no exception. This study proposes that a new branch of English literature is currently forming through the works of authors who live and work in contexts in which English is taught as a foreign language (EFL) and who choose English as their creative communication tool. This claim is based on extended interviews with eight writers (representing Argentina, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Mongolia, and Thailand) who differ from their English-using counterparts in the post-colonial contexts of the Outer Circle in such concerns as themes, audience, goals; choice of English over another language or translation; venues for publication; attitudes toward English; and style and code-switching. Given the resulting map of the sociolinguistic reality of these writers, it is argued that yet another distinctive branch of new literatures in English is emerging that further studies will show to be deserving of recognition and inclusion among known English literatures