User:PK2/Accents and dialects of English

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Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. This article provides an overview of the numerous identifiable variations in pronunciation; such distinctions usually derive from the phonetic inventory of local dialects, as well as from broader differences in the Standard English of different primary-speaking populations.

Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling and grammar, while accent is the part of dialect only concerning local pronunciation.

Secondary English speakers tend to carry over the intonation and phonetics of their mother tongue in English speech. For more details, see non-native pronunciations of English.

Primary English-speakers show great variability in terms of regional accents. Some, such as Pennsylvania Dutch English, are easily identified by key characteristics, bur others are more obscure or easily confused. Broad regions can possess sub-forms as identified below; for instance, towns located less than 10 miles (16 km) from the city of Manchester, such as Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham and Salford, each have distinct accents, all of which together comprise the broader accent of Lancashire. Those sub-dialects are very similar to one another, but non-local listeners can identify firm differences. On the other side of the spectrum, Australia has a "General accent" that is virtually consistent over thousands of kilometers.

English accents can differ enough to create room for misunderstandings. For example, the pronunciation of pearl in some variants of Scottish English can sound like the entirely unrelated word petal to an American ear.

For a summary of the differences between accents, see International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects.

Overview[edit]

Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible."[1] English speakers from different countries and regions use a variety of different accents (systems of pronunciation) as well as various localized words and grammatical constructions; many different dialects can be identified based on these factors. Dialects can be classified at broader or narrower levels: within a broad national or regional dialect, various more localised sub-dialects can be identified, and so on. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions without any prior exposure.

The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into three general categories: the British Isles dialects, those of North America, and those of Australasia.[2] Dialects can be associated not only with place but also with particular social groups. Within a given English-speaking country, there is a form of the language considered to be Standard English: the Standard Englishes of different countries differ and can themselves be considered dialects. Standard English is often associated with the more educated layers of society as well as more formal registers.

British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world, excluding countries in which English is spoken natively such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. In many former British Empire countries in which English is not spoken natively, British English forms are closely followed, alongside numerous American English usages that have become widespread throughout the English-speaking world.[citation needed] Conversely, in many countries historically influenced by the United States in which English is not spoken natively, American English forms are closely followed. Many of these countries, while retaining strong British English or American English influences, have developed their own unique dialects, which include Indian English and Philippine English.

Chief among other native English dialects are Canadian English and Australian English, which rank third and fourth in the number of native speakers. For the most part, Canadian English, while featuring numerous British forms, alongside indigenous Canadianisms, shares vocabulary, phonology and syntax with American English, which leads many to recognise North American English as an organic grouping of dialects.[3] Australian English, likewise, shares many American and British English usages, alongside plentiful features unique to Australia and retains a significantly higher degree of distinctiveness from both larger varieties than does Canadian English. South African English, New Zealand English and Irish English are also distinctive and rank fifth, sixth, and seventh in the number of native speakers.

Varieties of Standard English and their features[4]
Phonological
features		 United
States		 Canada Republic
of Ireland		 Northern
Ireland		 Scotland England Wales South
Africa		 Australia New
Zealand
/æ/ rather than /ɑː/
in can't 		+ +
father–bother merger + +
consistent intervocalic
alveolar-flapping 		+ + +
unrounded [ɑ]
in pot 		+ + +
syllabic [ɝ]
in bird 		+ [verification needed] + + +
cot-caught merger ± + + +
pool-pull merger + + ±
bath with /ɑː/ + ± ± + ± +
non-rhotic [a] +[b] + + + +
monophthongal /aɪ, aʊ/,
close vowels for /æ, ɛ/ 		+ + +
front [aː]
for /ɑːr/ 		+ +
Dialects and open vowels
word RP GA Can sound change
THOUGHT /ɔ/ /ɔ/ /ɑ/ cot–caught merger
CLOTH /ɒ/ lot–cloth split
LOT /ɑ/ father–bother merger
PALM /ɑː/
PLANT /æ/ /æ/ trap–bath split
BATH
TRAP /æ/

English dialects differ greatly in their pronunciation of open vowels. In Received Pronunciation, there are four open back vowels, /æ ɑː ɒ ɔː/, but in General American there are only three, /æ ɑ ɔ/, and in most dialects of Canadian English only two, /æ ɒ/. In addition, which words have which vowel varies between dialects. Words like bath and cloth have the vowels /ɑː ɒ/ in Received Pronunciation, but /æ ɔ/ in General American. The table above shows some of these dialectal differences.

List[edit]

Europe[edit]

Dialects and accents of English spoken in the British Isles.

Great Britain[edit]

England[edit]
Elsewhere[edit]

Ireland[edit]

Extinct[edit]
Elsewhere[edit]

North America[edit]

Dialects of English spoken in Canada and the United States. 1. Standard Canadian English
2. Western American English
3. North-Central American ("Upper Midwest") English
4. Inland Northern American ("Great Lakes") English
5. Midland American English
6. Southern American English
6a. Texan English
6b. Inland Southern American ("Appalachian") English
7. Western Pennsylvania ("Pittsburgh") English
8. Mid-Atlantic American ("Baltimore" and "Philadelphia") English
9. New York City English
10. Southwestern New England English
11. Southeastern New England ("Rhode Island") English
12. Northwestern New England ("Vermont") English
13. Northeastern New England ("Boston" and "Maine") English
14. Atlantic Canadian English

North American English

United States[edit]

American English:

Canada[edit]

Canadian English:

Caribbean, Central, and South America[edit]

Caribbean[edit]

The Bahamas[edit]

Barbados[edit]

Belize[edit]

Bermuda[edit]

Cayman Islands[edit]

Falkland Islands[edit]

Guyana[edit]

Honduras[edit]

Jamaica[edit]

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[edit]

  • Vincentian English

Trinidad and Tobago[edit]

Asia[edit]

Bangladesh[edit]

Brunei[edit]

Burma[edit]

Hong Kong[edit]

China[edit]

India[edit]

Indian English:

Japan[edit]

Malaysia[edit]

Middle East[edit]

Nepal[edit]

Pakistan[edit]

Philippines[edit]

Singapore[edit]

Sri Lanka[edit]

Africa[edit]

Cameroon[edit]

The Gambia[edit]

Ghana[edit]

Kenya[edit]

Liberia[edit]

Malawi[edit]

Namibia[edit]

Nigeria[edit]

Sierra Leone[edit]

South Africa[edit]

South Atlantic[edit]

South Sudan[edit]

Uganda[edit]

Zambia[edit]

Zimbabwe[edit]

Oceania[edit]

Australia[edit]

Australian English (AusE, AusEng):

Fiji[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

New Zealand English (NZE, en-NZ)

Other[edit]

Antarctica[edit]

Tristan da Cunha[edit]

World Global English[edit]

These dialects are used in everyday conversation almost all over the world, and are used as lingua francas and to determine grammar rules and guidelines.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wakelin, Martyn Francis (2008). Discovering English Dialects. Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7478-0176-4.
  2. ^ Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge University Press, 2003
  3. ^ Trudgill and Hannah, 2002
  4. ^ Trudgill, Peter; Hannah, Jean (2002). International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English (4th ed.). London: Arnold. pp. 4–6.
  5. ^ a b Hickey, Raymond (2005). Dublin English: Evolution and Change. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 196–198. ISBN 90-272-4895-8.
  6. ^ Hickey, Raymond (2002). A Source Book for Irish English (PDF). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 28–29. ISBN 90-272-3753-0. ISBN 1-58811-209-8 (US)
  7. ^ "Chicago Daily Tribune". 1903-06-02. Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2020-01-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10
  9. ^ Harrington, Jonathan; Gubian, Michele; Stevens, Mary; Schiel, Florian (13 November 2019). "Phonetic change in an Antarctic winter". Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 146 (5): 3327–3332. doi:10.1121/1.5130709. PMID 31795649. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  10. ^ Bard, Susanne. "Linguists Hear an Accent Begin". Scientific American. Retrieved 2020-04-28.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]


Category:English language Category:English as a global language Category:English phonology Category:Shibboleths
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