NAME:______________________ SCHEDULE:__________

Let’s be poetic!

MOTHER TONGUE
Oh, to be in England DIFFERENCES OF AMERICAN AND BRITISH ENGLISH
If only ‘arf a mo’
Where when they speak of wireless
AMERICAN BRITISH
They mean a radio
Where private schools are public
And public schools are snobby
And insurance is assurance
And a cop is called a bobby

Where traffic hub’s a circus

And up is down the street
And a sweater is a jumper
And a candy is a sweet.
Where a cracker is a biscuit
And a trifle is a dessert
And bloody is a cuss word
And an ad is an advert.

Where gasoline is petrol

And a stone is fourteen pound
And motorcars have bonnets
And you take the underground
Where holding up your trousers,
It’s braces that you use
And a truck is called a lorry
And boots are really shoes.

Where a druggist is a chemist

And the movies are the flicks
And you queue up on the pavement
For a stall at three and six.
There is no language barrier
The tourist needs to read

As long as he knows English

From A to Z ( no Zed)
Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written
Languages
A. Language Varieties
The concepts of language variety and variation lie
at the heart of the world Englishes enterprise. The
notion of world Englishes, in its turn, may be seen
as having both a wider and narrower application.
The wider application of the concept subsumes
very many different approaches to the study of
English worldwide (including varieties-based
studies) ranging from the Celtic Englishes of
Britain, through diverse varieties in the USA,
Australia, New Zealand, and Africa to English in
Europe and Asia, and also involves the study of·
discourse and genre in those contexts where
English is regarded as a second or foreign
language. The narrower application of the term,
however, refers to schools of thought closely
associated with the Kachruvian approach which
has three circles to show the different varieties of
English.
1) The inner circle
The inner circle is comprised of those countries
who are considered the ‘traditional bases’ of
English, such as the U.K., U.S.A, Australia, New
Zealand, Ireland and Anglophone Canada. English
in these countries are classed as a ‘first’ language.
Kachru labels the inner circle countries as ‘norm-
providing’ - the norms of the English language are
produced there
2)The outer circle
The outer circle is comprised of countries where
English is not spoken natively but is still
maintained as an important language for
communication (e.g. as an official ‘second’
language or as the nation’s official language for
business and commerce) largely due to historical
reasons. These countries include: India, Nigeria,
the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia,
Tanzania, Kenya, non-anglophone South Africa
and Canada. Kachru labels these countries as
‘norm-developing’ - the norms produced by the
inner circle are further developed and reproduced
in the outer circle.
3)The expanding circle
The expanding circle includes much of the rest of
the world’s population - countries that do not hold
historical or governmental importance towards
English, but class it as a foreign language or lingua
franca. Main examples of such countries include:
most of Europe, China, Russia, Japan, Korea,
Egypt and Indonesia. These countries are ‘norm-
dependent’ - they fully depend on the norms
originally produced by the native speakers of the
inner circle. They generally do not develop or
reproduce ‘Englishes’
Varieties of English Language
By Govind
English is the most widely-spoken language in the
world, having the distinct status of being the
official language of multiple countries. While the
English language is uniform with major variations
in spelling present between American English and
British English, the dialect or accent is usually the
factor that enables one to distinguish the various
types of English out there. Like most languages,
there are varieties of English too, however, the
difference is not as prominent as you may see in
other languages.
From the thick Ugandan English to the French-
themed Canadian English, the varieties of accents
present are both diverse and beautiful. Apart from
accents, there is a tendency for people to mix
English with their local lingo to form a hybrid
variety of English language that is as colorful as the
culture in that country.
Read on to find out more about the various types of
English language that are present in countries
around the world.
BRITISH ENGLISH
British English is the English language as spoken
and written in the United Kingdom or, more
broadly, throughout the British Isles. Slight
regional variations exist in formal, written English
in the United Kingdom.
English is a West Germanic language that
originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought
to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts
of what is now northwest Germany and the
northern Netherlands. The resident population at
this time was generally speaking Common
Brittonic—the insular variety of continental Celtic,
which was influenced by the Roman occupation.
This group of languages (Welsh, Cornish,
Cumbric) cohabited alongside English into the
modern period, but due to their remoteness from
the Germanic languages, influence on English was
notably limited.
AMERICAN ENGLISH
American English sometimes called United States
English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the
English language native to the United States and
widely adopted in Canada. English is the most
widely spoken language in the United States and is
the common language used by the federal
government, considered the de facto language of
the country because of its widespread use. English
has been given official status by 32 of the 50 state
governments.
AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
Australian English is a major variety of the English
language, used throughout Australia. Although
English has no official status in the constitution,
Australian English is the country’s national and de
facto official language as it is the first language of
the majority of the population.
Australian English began to diverge from British
English after the founding of the Colony of New
South Wales in 1788 and was recognized as being
different from British English by 1820. It arose
from the intermingling of early settlers from a great
variety of mutually intelligible dialectal regions of
the British Isles and quickly developed into a
distinct variety of English.
CANADIAN ENGLISH
Canadian English is the set of varieties of English
native to Canada. According to the 2011 census,
English was the first language of approximately 19
million Canadians (57% of the population) the
remainder of the population were native speakers
of Canadian French (22%) or other languages
(allophones, 21%).
The term “Canadian English” is first attested in a
speech by the Reverend A. Constable Geikie in an
address to the Canadian Institute in 1857. Canadian
English is the product of five waves of immigration
and settlement over a period of more than two
centuries. The first large wave of permanent
English-speaking settlement in Canada, and
linguistically the most important, was the influx of
loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, chiefly
from the Mid-Atlantic States – as such, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland,
Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia.
Canadian English is believed by some scholars to
have derived from northern American English.
INDIAN ENGLISH
English public instruction began in India in the
1830s during the rule of the East India Company
(India was then, and is today, one of the most
linguistically diverse regions of the world). In
1835, English replaced Persian as the official
language of the Company. Lord Macaulay played a
major role in introducing English and western
concepts to education in India. He supported the
replacement of Persian by English as the official
language, the use of English as the medium of
instruction in all schools, and the training of
English-speaking Indians as teachers.
The view of this language among many Indians has
gone from associating it with colonialism to
associating it with economic progress, and English
continues to be an official language of India, albeit
with an Indian twist, popularly known as Indian
English.
PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
Philippine English is any variety of English
(similar and related to American English) native to
the Philippines, including those used by the media
and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English
is taught in schools as one of the two official
languages of the country, the other being Filipino
(Tagalog).
Philippine English has evolved tremendously from
where it began decades ago. Some decades before
English was officially introduced, if not arguably
forced, to the Philippines, the archipelagic nation
has been subject to Spanish rule and thus Spanish
was the language of power and influence.
However, in 1898, when the Spanish gave the
United States control of the nation, the English
language, although initially not favored, became
widely used in a matter of years, which was
catalyzed by the coming of American teachers.
UGANDAN ENGLISH
Ugandan English, or Uglish (pronounced you-
glish), is the dialect of English spoken in Uganda.
As with similar dialects spoken elsewhere,
Ugandan English has developed a strong local
flavor. The speech patterns of Ugandan languages
strongly influence spoken English. Uganda has a
large variety of indigenous languages, and
someone familiar with Uganda can readily identify
the native language of a person speaking English.
Ugandan speakers will alter foreign words to make
them sound more euphonic.
B. Language Registers
Language register is the level of formality with
which you speak. The choice of language register
depends on communication situations and people
involved. There are five types of language or
speech registers that you should know.
1. Frozen Register- literally “frozen” in time and
form. It does not change. This type of language is
often learned and repeated by rote.
 Quality is static
  Ritualistic and may even be archaic.
 Most formal communicative style used in
respectful situation or formal ceremonies.
 The communication is linear.
Example: biblical verse, prayers, the Pledge of
Allegiance, national anthem, marriage ceremonies,
2. Formal Register-Language is standard that it
often follows a prescriptive format.
 Avoids slang and may use technical or
academic vocabulary.
 Speaker avoids word contractions “have
not” instead of “haven’t”.
Example: Sermons, rhetorical statements and
questions, speeches, announcements, ceremonies
3. Consultative Register- The style applied when
speaking to strangers or persons who are neither
acquaintances nor friends or relatives.
Features:
 The speaker supplies background information-
he does not assume that he will be understood
without it; and
 The listener participates continuously.
 Uses feedback and listener participation
 Words are general but precise, rather than
technical
 Conversational in tone, Interruptions can
occur during the communication
 Sentence tend to be shorter and
spontaneous
Example: A communication between:
 A superior and a subordinate
 A doctor and a patient
 A lawyer and a judge
 A teacher and a student
 A counsellor and a counselee
4. Casual Register- It is the language used among
and between friends. Words are general, rather than
technical. This register may include more slang and
colloquialisms.
 Very relaxed and focused on just getting the
information
 Conversations in tone. Interruptions can
occur during the communication
 Used in informal situation and uses
informal language like slangs, vulgarities
and colloquialisms
Examples: Chat with buddies
Emails or letters to friends
5. Intimate Register- This is the most intimate
form of language. It is a non- public speech style.
 It is used by family members and very close
friends.
 Uses private vocabulary- personal language
codes, terms of endearment and name
callings.
 Best avoided in public and professional
situations.
The Need Of Knowing When And How To Move
Between Registers
By: Sarah Elain Eaton
A speaker may move from one register to another
with ease. For example, it is not uncommon for
Canadian teachers to address one another casually
in the staff room, and then adopt a more
consultative register when speaking with a parent
or school board trustee.
If one register is expected and another is presented,
the result can be either that offense is taken (or
intended) or a comic response. For example, on the
TV show “Big Bang Theory”, Sheldon’s character
often uses the higher consultative register with his
friends, as well as everyone else. He sometimes
seems “stuck” in the world of high-level
vocabulary, unable to speak in the lower casual
register that his friends use among themselves. The
result is comedic. The audience laughs at his social
awkwardness and inability to understand that he
can (and should) adapt his speech to different
contexts.

In contrast to Sheldon’s academic speech, some

researchers have found that those living in poverty
are more likely to be “stuck” at the casual register.
They are less likely to have developed the skills at
the consultative or formal language registers. Or if
they do know how to use the higher registers, it
feels inauthentic to do so, like wearing a suit that
does not fit properly. As a result, those living in
poverty may disregard the higher registers or
simply refuse to use them in their speech and
writing. This, in turn, may inhibit them from
advancing in their work and ultimately, getting out
of poverty. The same may also apply to
professionals looking for advancement or aspiring
scholars who wish to publish their work.

For professional and academic writing, the formal

or at the very least, the consultative register, is
appropriate.

Knowing what the various registers are, how to

differentiate between them and when to use which
one increases your chances of being accepted by
groups and speakers in a variety of contexts.
NAME:________________________
SCHEDULE: ____________________

Instructions: Write agree if you think the statements is correct; otherwise write disagree.

_______1. The inner circle is comprised of those countries who are considered the ‘traditional
bases’ of English.

_______2. The varieties of accents give confusion to the speakers.

_______3. The inner circle is comprised of countries where English is not spoken natively but
is still maintained as an important language for communication.

_______4. Varieties of English language creates challenging yet harmonious communication.

_______5. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and is the common
language used by the federal government.

_______6. Consultative register is used among friends and acquaintances.

_______7. Speeches for state ceremonies are examples of formal register.

_______8. Different situations and people call for the same registers.

_______9. The accent is usually the factor that distinguishes the various types of English in
the world.

______10. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the Philippines,
the other language is Cebuano.