List of dialects of English

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Further information: List of countries by English-speaking population

Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling and grammar. For the classification of varieties of English only in terms of pronunciation, see regional accents of English.

Overview[]

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.

Europe[]

English language in Europe

Dialects and accents of English spoken in the British Isles.

British Isles[]

  • British English

British Islands[]

English language in England:

  • Received Pronunciation (sometimes called "the Queen's English" or Standard English in British English)
  • Northern
  • East Midlands
    • Lincolnshire
    • East Lincolnshire
  • West Midlands
  • East Angle
  • Southern
    • Cockney (working-class London and surrounding areas)
    • Essaxon (Essex)
    • Estuary (middle-class London, Home Counties and Hampshire)
    • Kentish (Kent)
    • Multicultural London (London)
    • Surrey
    • Sussex
  • West Country

Scotland[]

  • Scottish English comprising varieties based on the Standard English of England.

Wales[]

Isle of Man[]

Channel Islands[]

Gibraltar[]

Ireland[]

  • Hiberno-English (Irish English)
    • Ulster
      • Ulster Scots dialects
    • Leinster
      • Dublin
        • Dublin 4 (D4)
    • South-West Ireland

Extinct[]

  • Forth and Bargy dialect (also known as Yola), thought to have been a descendant of Middle English, spoken in County Wexford[4][5]
  • Fingallian, another presumed descendant of Middle English, spoken in Fingal[4]

European Union[]

European English:

  • Euro English

Malta[]

The Netherlands[]

Germany[]

  • German English

Nordics[]

Sweden[]

  • Swedish English

Norway[]

  • Norwegian English

Finland[]

  • Finnish English

Denmark[]

Mainland Denmark[]
  • Danish English
Greenland[]

North America[]

United States[]

American English:

  • Cultural and ethnic American English
  • Regional and local American English
    • Northern American English
      • Inland Northern English: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Western New York, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and most of the U.S. Great Lakes region
      • Northeastern American English
        • New England English
          • Eastern New England English (including Boston and Maine English)
          • Rhode Island English
          • Western New England: Connecticut, Hudson Valley, western Massachusetts, and Vermont
      • North-Central (Upper Midwestern) English: Brockway, Minot, Bismarck, Bemidji, Chisholm, Duluth, Marquette, etc.
    • Southeast Super-Regional English
      • Mid-Atlantic (Delaware Valley) English
        • Baltimore English
        • Philadelphia English
        • Metropolitan New York English
      • Midland American English
        • North Midland English: Iowa City, Omaha, Lincoln, Columbia, Springfield, Muncie, Columbus, etc.
        • South Midland English: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City, St. Louis (in transition), Decatur, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Dayton, etc.
      • "Hoi Toider" English: traditional dialect of the Chesapeake Bay, Tangier, Ocracoke, the Outer Banks, Virginia Barrier Islands, etc.
      • New Orleans English
      • Southern American English
        • Southern Appalachian English: Linden, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Asheville, and Greenville
        • Texan English: Lubbock, Odessa, and Dallas
        • Upper Dixie: Smyrna, Nashville, and Murfreesboro
    • Western American English
    • Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) English
  • Extinct or near-extinct American English
    • Boontling
    • Older Southern American English
    • Mid-Atlantic accent
  • American English-based hybrid languages (creoles or Pidgin)

Canada[]

Canadian English:

Caribbean, Central, and South America[]

Caribbean[]

The Bahamas[]

Barbados[]

  • Bajan English

Belize[]

Bermuda[]

Cayman Islands[]

Falkland Islands[]

Guyana[]

  • Guyanese English

Honduras[]

Jamaica[]

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[]

  • Vincentian English

Trinidad and Tobago[]

  • Trinidadian English

Asia[]

Bangladesh[]

Brunei[]

Burma[]

  • Burmese English

Hong Kong[]

  • Hong Kong English

China[]

India[]

Indian English:

  • Standard Indian English
    • Indian English: the "standard" English used by administration and educated people, it derives from the British Indian Empire.
  • Regional and local Indian English
    • East Region
      • Oriya English
      • Assamese/Bengali English
      • North-East Indian English
    • West Region
      • Gujarati English
      • Maharashtrian English
    • North Region
      • Hindustani English or Hinglish
      • Delhi/Punjabi English
      • U.P./Bihari English
      • Rajasthani English
    • South Region
      • Telugu English
      • Kannada English
      • Tamil English
      • Malayali English

Japan[]

Malaysia[]

Middle East[]

Nepal[]

  • Nepali English

Pakistan[]

  • Pakistani English

Philippines[]

  • Philippine English (similar to American English)

Singapore[]

  • Singapore English, (similar to British English)

Sri Lanka[]

Africa[]

Cameroon[]

The Gambia[]

Ghana[]

Kenya[]

  • Kenyan English

Liberia[]

Malawi[]

Namibia[]

Nigeria[]

  • Nigerian English (similar to American English and British English)

Sierra Leone[]

South Africa[]

  • South African English (similar to Australian English, British English and Zimbabwean English)
    • Black South African English
      • Acrolect
      • Mesolect
    • Cape Flats English
    • Indian South African English
    • White South African English

South Atlantic[]

South Sudan[]

Uganda[]

Zambia[]

  • Zambian English

Zimbabwe[]

  • Zimbabwean English (Shares similarities with British English and other Southern Hemisphere Englishes especially South African English)

Oceania[]

Australia[]

Australian English (AusE, AusEng):

Fiji[]

  • Fiji English (FijEng, en-FJ)

New Zealand[]

New Zealand English (NZE, en-NZ)

  • Maori English
  • Southland accent
  • Taranaki accent

South Atlantic[]

World Global English[]

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.

  • Standard English
  • International English
  • English as a lingua franca

See also[]

References[]

  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. ^ Jump up to: a b Hickey, Raymond (2005). Dublin English: Evolution and Change. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 196–198. ISBN 90-272-4895-8.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10

Further reading[]

  • Hickey, Raymond (ed.) (2004). Legacies of Colonial English. Studies in Transported Dialects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521175074.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Hickey, Raymond (ed.) (2010). Varieties of English in Writing. The Written Word as Linguistic Evidence. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ISBN 9789027249012.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Hickey, Raymond (2014). A Dictionary of Varieties of English. Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-470-65641-9.
  • "English Language§Varieties of English", Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 6 Earth–Everglades (Fifth ed.), 1974, pp. 883–886 |volume= has extra text (help)
  • Bolton, K. (2002), Hong Kong English: Autonomy and Creativity, Asian Englishes Today, Hong Kong University Press, ISBN 978-962-209-553-3, retrieved 2015-10-22
  • Crystal, David (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Second ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-521-53033-4. Retrieved 2006-07-20.
  • Fischer, Steven Roger (2004), History of Language, Reaktion Books, ISBN 978-1-86189-594-3
  • Okrent, A. (2010), In the Land of Invented Languages: A Celebration of Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius, Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks, ISBN 978-0-8129-8089-9
  • Nunan, David (2012), What Is This Thing Called Language?, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-1-137-28499-0

External links[]

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