Braj B. Kachru (1932-2016)
CAL is saddened by the passing of Braj B. Kachru, a visionary and advocate of World
Englishes, the field he pioneered and led. He was also an influential scholar on the languages of India and published extensive studies on Kashmiri. Dr. Kachru’s career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign spanned 50 year where he headed the Department of Linguistics, directed the Division of English as an International Language, and was director of the Center for Advanced Study.
Dr. Kachru authored and edited over 25 books and more than 100 research papers. He was on the editorial board of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, International Journal of the Sociology of Languages, Asian Englishes and Linguistics and the Human Sciences. Along with authoring the prize-winning The Alchemy of English: The Spread, Functions and Models of Non-Native Englishes, Dr. Kachru was also the associate editor for Contributor to the Cambridge History of the English Language and the acclaimed The Oxford Companion to the English Language.
Dr. Kachru was a member of the Indian Cultural Society, the Linguistic Society of America and the founder of the International Association of World Englishes.
