Sameness and difference across two nations and languages. In order to begin the discussion regarding a sitcom from American television used in a Brazilian classroom, I believe it is necessary to discuss the situation of the world as we know it at the beginning of the 21st century. Using the theories of the Brazilian sociologist Renato Ortiz (1994) as the basis for this discussion, it is possible to differentiate between the terms global and world-systemic (or mundial). In this view, global refers to the economic and technological processes at work in the modern day world, while world-systemic refers to the domain of culture. The category world is linked to the global, but signifies a world-view, a symbolic universe which is specific to the historic moment in which we live.

The text is the editor's introduction to The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible to be published in 2004.

THOUGH it is the most important book in the religious life and the culture of the English-speaking world, the King James Bible or Authorised Version of 1611 has never been perfectly printed. This is not to say either that it is badly printed or that absolute perfection can be achieved, but that the text and its presentation can be improved. First, what we now read as the King James Bible contains numerous deliberate and some accidental changes to the text, and these can be revised to make it more faithful to the King James translators' own decisions as to how it should read. Second, the presentation of the text – spelling, punctuation and formatting – interferes with the clarity with which it speaks to the minds and souls of present-day readers. Unnecessary background noise gets in the way. To use another image, there is dust and dirt on the old master, the paint is darkened and cracked: we can still see that the picture is a great one, but not how great it is. This article continues to explore the criteria used behind the publication of this new work.

The contents of this issue reflect the diversity of English today, as a world language, and as a language of diverse functions and possibilities, with contributions from Asia, South Africa and Europe. The first article by Kingsley Bolton looks at issues related to Asian Englishes, and attempts to survey major questions relating to the spread of English in the region. The second article by Rajend Mesthrie focuses on the role of English in contemporary South Africa and debates relating to the maintenance of African languages among young people in the post-apartheid era. One point that emerges from both articles is that English in both locations is seen as a middle-class language, or, at least, a language of middle-class aspiration.

A survey of the acronyms and other types of abbreviation used among students, soldiers, nurses, hobos and others in the USA

Is the language really in need of protection, anywhere in the world? If it is, who could be the protectors? A freelance journalist offers some comments on usage gurus and linguistic popes.

YINQUAN WANG in Nanjing, China, considers the ease with which English absorbs words from other languages and how such words are currently handled in the newsmagazines ‘Time’ and ‘Newsweek’

SHEILA BURKE, a primary school teacher in England, describes how she came to terms with information and communication technology in the classroom (first of two articles)

Following Elizabeth Anne Malischewski's report on the English of Newfoundland (ET24, Oct 90), a review of the many kinds of English in mainland Canada

JOHN D. BATTENBURG of California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly) discusses tensions currently inherent in university departments of “English”, especially in the United States

SAMUEL AHULU raises some points relating to Edmund O. Bamiro's ‘Innovation in Nigerian English’ (ET39, Jul 94)

DAVID CRYSTAL comments wryly on some implications of the BBC's annual Reith Lectures, given this year on language and linguistics by Jean Aitchison, the Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford. A less developed version of the article appeared in ‘The Independent on Sunday’ in February 1996

A detailed further inquiry into the nature, use and prospects of medical technical terms based on personal names

The sequel to ‘The coordinated President’, the article on George Bush's style that appeared in ET24, Oct90

An account of how Hawai'i Creole arose and has been evolving into a literary dialect

Some features of Australian English that may confuse the unwary foreigner