09/10/22, 10:00 English accents and dialects- Advanced level English

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English accents & dialects

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Is English one language? Or several? The answer to this question depends on how you define the
word "language". But however the word is defined, it is clear that English is a language with many
different varieties. Even within the United Kingdom there are different regional or social varieties
of English; worldwide there are very many more, some of them quite a long way from what is
known as standard English.

How many English languages are there? Well, it depends

where you draw the line between different languages. Are
American and English different? An American might say : " I
dropped all my tomatoes on the sidewalk" (with the middle
syllable of tomatoes pronounced mate — an Englishman
would say "I dropped my tomatoes on the pavement", (with
the middle of tomatoes pronounced mart).
This example has two differences: the first is just a question
of accent — the second is a question of language, or dialect.
Sidewalk, or pavement.
O.K. so American is different from English — we all know
that: but what about the different types of English spoken in
Great Britain alone ? British English is actually one of the
most varied languages in Europe. The kind we usually teach
is called R.P., or Oxford English, or the Queen's English —
but it's just one of many varieties. Accents and dialects vary
according to geographical region and social standing and
there are hundreds of different varieties! Take the
word garage: in the south of England people usually say
garage, as in French; in the north of Britain people tend to
say garridge, as if it rhymed with bridge .
Sometimes, more rarely, the intonation of a word varies: a
careful speaker will probably say controversy, other people Only a minority of English speakers speak "the Queen's
will say controversy. English".
A much more common feature is the way English speakers
frequently "drop their Hs": a careful speaker, meeting his friend coming back from holiday might say: "Hello
Henry, I Hope you Had a Happy Holiday !" Someone speaking with a more "common" accent might say: " 'Allo
'Enry, I 'ope you 'ad an 'appy 'oliday."
The last three examples are questions of accent . But then there's the question of dialect too. We talk
about dialect when it is not only the pronunciation of words that changes, but the words themselves and even
the grammar. This is a common feature of regional varieties of English, but sometimes it also distinguishes
between different social levels of language.
If you, as a foreigner, were in England and asked someone for change for a fifty-pound note, the person might
reply: "Sorry, I haven't got any!" No problem there: it's just what you learn in your English classes ! But what if
the person you're talking to replied, "Sorry mate ! Ain't got none !" ? In this case, you'll probably understand that

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the reply is negative, because of the word sorry, but the rest of the sentence may be incomprehensible. Mate, is
a slang word (in this context) meaning friend; the word I has disappeared from the answer; ain't is a general
negative form that can replace most negative auxiliaries (haven't, isn't, etc.), and any has become none, a
double negative. Sorry mate, ain't got none ! is the kind of sentence you might hear anywhere in Britain.
Most dialects are regional: for example there are several different dialects of English in Scotland. Many Scots
say things differently from the English: phonetically, as in the word go (with a monophthong) rather than go
[gəu], with a diphthong or hame instead of home. Sometimes grammar and words change too; many Scotsmen
say I dinna ken rather than I don't know, or couldna instead of couldn't, wee instead of little, or a lum instead
of a chimney. Scotland is a different country from England, and the reasons for its language being different are
not hard to imagine: but England itself has many regional accents and dialects. Northern English is different from
Southern English, but there again, there are many varieties of each !
There are obviously some general shared features: in most Northern dialects, the [ʌ] sound of southern
English becomes [u]: the word duck, in the North of England, rhymes with look. In many southern regional
dialects, other vowels change: the pronoun I may be pronounced [oi], rhyming with boy, and the short [ɔ] as
in fox becomes [a:], so making fox rhyme with Marx (as in many American dialects). While it is the vowels that
change most from one accent or dialect to another, some consonants change a little, especially the R which is
fully pronounced in some English and many American dialects. Compare standard English I'm a farmer with
Westcountry English Oi'm a varrmer!
Yes, it's all very complicated, and no one expects a student from another part of the world to understand all the
details ! Whole books have been written on the question ! What is important is that non-native speakers of
English realise that all these different varieties of English do exist, even within the United Kingdom. If you go to
England expecting everyone to speak "the Queen's English", you will get a big surprise ! Go expecting to find a
variety of accents and dialects, and you will find that they are easier to understand !

WORDS

RP: Received Pronunciation - feature : characteristic, quality -

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English accents and dialects

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