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Representing Lexical Variation Between General American and General British English: Analysis of Swedish Engelska 5-7 Coursebooks
Dalarna University, School of Language, Literatures and Learning.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Learners in upper-secondary English classrooms increasingly navigate a global linguistic landscape shaped by multiple regional varieties of English. Yet, it remains unclear to what extent instructional materials prepare them to engage with this variation in informed and context-sensitive ways. This thesis examines the representation of lexical differences between General American (GA) and General British (GB) English in Swedish upper-secondary coursebooks (Engelska 5–7), with a focus on pedagogical visibility and lexical frequency. Drawing on Lexical Priming Theory and the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, the study analyzes nine nationally distributed textbooks using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative frequency counts with qualitative categorization across four lexical domains: spelling, vocabulary, cultural references, and collocations. The results reveal a consistent predominance of the GA variant – particularly in spelling and general vocabulary –alongside uneven metalinguistic framing across series and proficiency levels. While some books include explicit variety cues, these are inconsistently applied and often absent at higher levels. The findings are interpreted in light of recent curricular shifts, especially the transition from Gy22 to Gy25, which deemphasizes structured variety exposure. The study concludes that despite broad lexical input, pedagogical support for English as a pluricentric language remains limited, with implications for learners’ sociolinguistic awareness.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025.
Keywords [en]
English varieties, General American English, General British English, lexical variation, Swedish curriculum
National Category
Studies of Specific Literatures Comparative Language Studies and Linguistics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-50834OAI: oai:DiVA.org:du-50834DiVA, id: diva2:1981452
Subject / course
English
Available from: 2025-07-04 Created: 2025-07-04 Last updated: 2025-10-09

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Studies of Specific LiteraturesComparative Language Studies and Linguistics

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • chicago-author-date
  • chicago-note-bibliography
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf