*Ap?lied Linguistics; *English (Second Language);Foreign Countries; *Language Standardization; Language Variation

This paper addresses the issue of the relationshipbetween World Englishes (WE) and applied linguistics. The diffusionof English is seen in terms of three concentric circles: the InnerCircle (first-language varieties, e.g., the United States, UnitedKingdom), the Outer Circle (English-as-a-Second-Language varieties),and the Expanding Circle (English-as-a-Foreign-Language varieties).The discussj.on is essentially restricted to the Outer Circle in wn:i.chthe institutionalized non-native varieties of English are used inmultilingual and multicultural contexts, and focuses on four majorissues, including: theoretical, applied, societal, and ideological.The paper is divided into the following sections: ontological issues;conflict between idealization and reality; acquisition andcreativity; the "leaking paradigms"; cultural content of English;ideological change; where applied linguistics fails the Outer Circleof English; and types of fallacies about WEs. (Authcr/JL) ***********************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that uan be madefrom the original document. "PERMISSIO