This volume is a collection of articles dealing with African, in particular West African, varieties of English, including English-based Pidgins and Creole languages, some of which have received only scant attention so far. A wide range of different aspects are highlighted: the role of the varieties discussed in their respective linguistic situations, evidence of the acculturation of English in an African context, lexical and grammatical characteristics, questions of language and education policy, and - for the first time - a lexical comparison of two developing national varieties.