This is an introduction to the main varieties of English spoken throughout the world. This edition has been expanded and updated to add substantial information on regional and ethnic varieties of American English. It also examines a wide range of non-native varieties of English, from West Africa to Bangladesh, and Pakistan to the Philippines. The book is aimed at teachers and advanced learners of English as a second or foreign language, and to students and lecturers with an interest in the English language, sociolinguistics and language variation. A complementary cassette is also available. It presents the vowel systems of the varieties of English discussed in the book, together with readings by a native speaker.