Pluricentric Theory beyond Dominance and Non-Dominance:

The present volume contains ten contributions that deal with the theory of the pluricentricity of languages. The papers utilize the concepts of dominance and non-dominance and try to advance the theory of pluricentricity in general. Each contribution, is a testimony to the usefulness of pluricentricity as a theoretical framework. They show that the alternative concept of “pluriareality” that is favoured by some linguists working on German has no theoretical basis and cannot describe pluricentric languages correctly. The languages and national varieties dealt with are: Dutch: Belgium Dutch, Netherlandic Dutch; German, German German, Austrian German, South Tyrolean German; Italian: Italian Italian, Swiss Italian; Karelian: Finnish Karelian, Russian Karelian; Spanish: Argentinean Spanish, US-Spanish, Dominican Spanish, Puerto Rican Spanish; Russian: Belarusian Russian, World Englishes.