This special issue highlights the importance of world Englishes research in the Arabic‐speaking and non‐Arabic Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Scrutiny of the world Englishes (WE) research literature suggests that the MENA region is largely understudied and undertheorized, and that there is a lacuna in research with reference to this topic. The use of English in this geopolitical region is diverse, and the spread of English has emerged not merely as a response to political and economic advancements, but also as the need for scientific progress and development, and the need in higher education in the region. As the role of English has been increasingly important in recent decades, official language policies have been based on both economic and political considerations, while various ideologies have also impacted the spread of English in the domain of education.

中文翻译：

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中东和北非世界英语（MENA）

本期专刊强调了世界英语研究在讲阿拉伯语和非阿拉伯中东及北非（MENA）地区的重要性。对世界英语（WE）研究文献的仔细研究表明，中东和北非地区在很大程度上没有得到充分的研究和理论化，并且在此主题的研究中存在空白。在这个地缘政治地区，英语的使用是多种多样的，英语的传播不仅是对政治和经济发展的回应，而且还是对科学进步和发展的需要以及对该地区高等教育的需要。由于近几十年来英语的作用越来越重要，因此官方语言政策是基于经济和政治方面的考虑，