List of dialects of the English language
This is an overview list of dialects of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. For the classification of varieties of English in terms of pronunciation only, see Regional accents of English.
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 localized 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.
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 will often be a form of the language considered to be Standard English – the Standard Englishes of different countries differ, and each can itself be considered a dialect. Standard English is often associated with the more educated layers of society.
Europe
United Kingdom
England
- Northern (In the northeast, local speech is akin to Scots)[3]
- Cheshire
- Cumbrian (Cumbria including Barrovian in Barrow-in-Furness)
- Geordie (Tyneside)
- Lancastrian (Lancashire)
- Mackem (Sunderland)
- Mancunian (Manchester)
- Northumbrian (rural Northumberland)
- Pitmatic (Durham and Northumberland)
- Scouse (Liverpool)
- Smoggie (Teesside)
- Yorkshire (also known as Broad Yorkshire)
- East Midlands
- West Midlands
- Black Country
- Brummie (Birmingham)
- Potteries (north Staffordshire)
- Telford (east Shropshire)
- East Anglian
- Southern
- Received Pronunciation
- Cockney (working-class London and surrounding areas)
- Essaxon (Essex)
- Estuary (Thames Estuary)
- Kentish (Kent)
- Multicultural London (Inner London)
- Sussex
- West Country
Scotland
- Scottish English
- Scots (note this is controversial, with some people considering it a dialect of English, others considering a different language, albeit descended from, and mutually intelligible with, English.)
Wales
Northern Ireland
Isle of Man
Channel Islands
Gibraltar
- Gibraltar English
Republic of Ireland
- Cork
- Dublin
- Dublin 4 (D4)
- Inner city
- Donegal
- Kerry
- Limerick city
- Midlands
- North East
- Sligo town
- Waterford city
- West
- Wexford town
Extinct
- Forth and Bargy dialect, 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]
North America
United States
- Cultural and ethnic American English
- General American English
- General American: the "standard" or "mainstream" spectrum of American English.
- Regional and local American English
- Eastern New England
- Boston: Greater Boston, including most of eastern Massachusetts
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Mid-Atlantic (Delaware Valley)
- Midland
- North Midland: Kansas City, Omaha, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis
- South Midland: Kentucky, Southern Indiana, Southern Illinois, southern Missouri, southern Kansas, and Oklahoma
- New York City
- Northern
- Inland Northern: Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Western New York, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the overall U.S. Great Lakes region
- St. Louis (in transition)
- Western New England: Connecticut, Hudson Valley, western Massachusetts, and Vermont
- North Central (Upper Midwestern)
- Southern
- Western
- Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
- Eastern New England
- Extinct or near-extinct American English
Canada
Bermuda
Indigenous North America
Native American English dialects:
- Mojave English
- Isletan English
- Tsimshian English
- Lumbee English
- Tohono O'odham English
- Inupiaq English
Central and South America
Belize
Falkland Islands
Guyana
Honduras
Caribbean
Antigua
Anguilla
The Bahamas
Barbados
- Bajan English
Jamaica
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Vincentian English
Trinidad and Tobago
Asia
Brunei
Burma
Hong Kong
Pakistan
India
- Standard India English
- Indian English: the "standard" english use by adminstration and educated peoples.
- Regional and local Indian English
- East Region
- West Region
- North Region
- South Region
Nepal
Malaysia
- Malaysian English (Manglish)
Philippines
- Philippine English (PhE)
Singapore
- Singapore English (SE)
Sri Lanka
- Sri Lankan English (SLE)
Africa
Cameroon
Kenya
Liberia
Malawi
Namibia
Nigeria
South Africa
- South African English
- Black South African English
- Acrolect
- Mesolect
- Cape Flats English
- Indian South African English
- White South African English
- Broad accent
- General accent
- Cultivated accent
- Black South African English
South Atlantic
- South Atlantic English spoken on Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena[6]
Uganda
Oceania
Australia
Australian English (AusE, AusEng):
- Cultural
- Regional
New Zealand
New Zealand English (NZE, NZEng):
Constructed
Manual encodings
These encoding systems should not be confused with sign languages such as British Sign Language and American Sign Language, which, while they are informed by English, have their own grammar and vocabulary.
Code-switching
The following are portmanteaus devised to describe certain local varieties of English and other linguistic phenomena involving English. Although similarly named, they are actually quite different in nature, with some being genuine mixed languages, some being instances of heavy code-switching between English and another language, some being genuine local dialects of English used by first-language English speakers, and some being non-native pronunciations of English. A few portmanteaus (such as Greeklish and Fingilish) are transliteration methods rather than any kind of spoken variant of English.
- Anglish (English stressing words of Germanic origin)
- Arabish (Arabic English, mostly chat romanization)
- Army creole (military dialect of acronyms and profanity)
- Benglish (Bengali English)
- Bislish (Bisaya English)
- Corsish (Corsican English)
- Chinglish (Chinese English)
- Czenglish (Czech English)
- Danglish (Danish English)
- Dunglish (Dutch English)
- Engrish/Japlish (Japanese English) - most popularly refers to broken English used by Japanese in attempts at foreign branding.
- Finglish (Finnish English)
- Franglais (French English)
- Denglisch/Germlish/Genglish/Ginglish/Germish/Pseudo-Anglicism (German English)
- Greeklish (Greek English)
- Hebrish (Hebrew English, chat romanization) – also sometimes used to refer to English written with Hebrew characters
- Hinglish (Hindi English)
- Hunglish (Hungarian English)
- İngilazca (English with Karadeniz-Turkish accent)
- Italgish (Italian English)
- Konglish (South Korean English)
- Manglish (Malaysian English)
- Maltenglish (Maltese English)
- Norwenglish (Norwegian English)
- Poglish/Ponglish (Polish English)
- Porglish (Portuguese English)
- Punglish (Punjabi English)
- Rominglish/Romglish (Romanian English)
- Runglish (Russian English)
- Serblish (Serbian English) and Cronglish/Croglish/Croenglish
- Sardish (Sardinian English)
- Sheng (a Swahili-English cant; originated among urban youths Nairobi, Kenya)
- Siculish (Sicilian English)
- Singlish (Singapore English, multiple pidgins)
- Spanglish (Spanish English)
- Swanglish/Kiswanglish (Swahili English)
- Swenglish (Swedish English)
- Taglish (Tagalog English)
- Tanglish (Tamil and English)
- Tenglish (Telugu and English)
- Tinglish/Thailish (Thai English)
- Ukrainglish (Ukrainian English)
- Vinish (Vietnamese English)
- Wenglish (Welsh English)
- Yeshivish (Yeshiva English)
See also
- Survey of English Dialects
- Regional accents of English
- History of the English language
- Anglish
- Macaronic language
- European English
- English-based creole languages
- List of English-based pidgins
- World Englishes
References
- ↑ Wakelin, Martyn Francis (2008). Discovering English Dialects. Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7478-0176-4.
- ↑ Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge University Press, 2003
- ↑ JC Wells, Accents of English, Cambridge University Press, 1983, page 351
- 1 2 Hickey, Raymond (2005). Dublin English: Evolution and Change. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 196–198. ISBN 90-272-4895-8.
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10
External links
- Sounds Familiar? Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar?' website
- A national map of the regional dialects of American English
- IDEA – International Dialects of English Archive
- Dialect poetry from the English regions
- American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices - An online audio resource presenting interviews with speakers of German-American and American English dialects from across the United States