ИСТИНА

What makes the Expanding Circle Englishes real rather than abstract varieties? In this presentation, I will argue that it is culture that makes the specifics of an English variety whereas linguistic features might be shared by a number of other varieties. Russian English as a linguistic entity is based on the specifics of Russian culture and mentality revealed on all language levels, lexical level being the most evident. The negative attitude towards the concept of Russian English can be accounted for a) by substituting the idea of the variety for its only one lectal subtype (mainly, for a basilect), while any variety is a complex and a continuum of several lects; b) by substituting the concept of a dynamic and functional variety characteristic of a speech community for an interlanguage of an individual with a fossilized level of language competence, and c) by ignoring a matter-of-course expression of cultural mentality in real life discourse.