The alchemy of English: The spread, functions, and models of non-native Englishes. By Braj B. Kachru Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1990 (1986). Pp. xii, 200. $12.95.

What emerges from Kachru's fine work is the potential demarcation of an entire field, rather than merely the fruitful exploration of a topic. . . . [Kachru] is to be congratulated for having taken us as far as he already has and for doing so in so stimulating and so productive a fashion. -- World Englishes A potent addition to theoretical, sociolinguistic, attitudinal and methodological explorations vis-a-vis the spread and functions of, and innovations in, English from the viewpoint of a non-Western scholar. -- The Language Teacher Winner of the Joint First Prize, Duke of Edinburgh English Language Book Competition of the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth, 1987