Three+Major+Sets+of+Dialects

= Three Major Sets of Dialects =

These are the countries in which English is the "de facto" language.


When a language is considered to be "de facto", it means that it has been practiced and spoken casually as an official language, but it is not concerning the law, hence the translation, "concerning fact". All of the other countries that use English as an official language are under the law. These are "de jure" countries. The three major countries that have English under this condition are the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.


 * British English
 * American English
 * Australian English

=__British English __= British English is a set of dialects that is used across the United Kingdom. The written British English is considerably similar to other forms of English, but its spoken English is much more different. The English used in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland are both governed by convention rather than formal code. During the rise of London in the 9th century, the language used in Britain became standard English within the court. In British English, collective nouns can be used as both singular or plural.

=__The Different Dialects and Accents __= There are a large variety of dialects and accents used across the United Kingdom. The major divisions are //English// English, //Welsh// English, and //Scottish// English. The accent that is considered to be upper class is located in the southern counties of England and it is called Received Pronunciation. This is often highly stereotyped and is said to be a //posh// accent. It is a mixture of the Midland and Southern dialects used in London during the early modern period. In the South East, the dialect most commonly used is called //Cockney//. It is very, very different from Received Pronunciation and it uses rythymic slang that outsiders usually don't understand. Citizens from London typically speak with mixed accents. Some British citizens can swing their accents to make them sound more flowing and to help outsiders understand what they are saying. Most informal British speakers use //glottalization//; this is when British speakers cut off the t, p, or d in words except for when it is at the beginning of a word. What occurs is the glottis in the throat slightly closing whenever you utter a vowel before a consonant.

=__Video Link __= Here is a video that teaches you a couple of tips on how to speak a British accent using Received Pronunciation.

=__American English __= American English is the most common language in the U.S.A. Unlike British English, American English is much more homogenous. Most of the States have American English as their official language. American English is influenced on West African languages, the Native American population, and immigration. American English is known for using nouns as verbs. These are words such as //interview//, //vacuum//, and //lobby//. American English uses more compound words and phrases than England.

=__The Different Dialects and Accents __= American English has the same dialects for the most part. However, some distinctive accents can be found in the New England region northeast because those are the states that had the most contact with England. American English is divided into //rhotic// and //non-rhotic// accents. Rhotic accents are used in words like //hard//, c//ard//, and //bar//. Notice how the //a// in all of the words is replaced with the //r// sound. Also, rhotic accents are used with the //er// sound in words like //butter// and //fur//. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Many American English words are derived from different languages and dialects. For example, //burrito// is from Spain, //gopher// is French, and //cookie// is Dutch. Many words in the American English vocabulary were used in the 1800s to describe the land of North America. Some examples are //fork//, //gulch//, and //divide//. Ever since the American Revolution, many political words and phrases have been added to the English Language. Some examples are //pork barrel// and //primary election//. Words such as //shop//, //store//, and //lumber// have had their meanings changed. Other phrases have been influenced by the German and Yiddish. These are phrases such as //hamburger// and //"Are you coming with?"//.

=__<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Words that Survived in America __= <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Many words are used in American English that were formerly used in the United Kingdom. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">However, some are still used as cognates in the Lowland Scots. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">These were words that originally came from around the Middle English era. These are words like //fall// (as in the season), //skillet//, and //candy//. Some of the meanings of words shifted back to England though in the late 1900s.

=__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Video Link __= <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Here is a video that teaches you how to speak in the General American Accent



=__<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%;">Australian English __= <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Australian English is the form of English used throughout Australia. It is the first language of the vast majority of Australia. Although it is the de facto language of Australia, it has been given no official status by the Constitution. Australian English has been mainly derived from British English since it founded the colony of New South Wales in 1788. It was finally decided in 1820 that Australian English was definitely different from British English. The first form of Australian English was spoken by the children of colonists born into the colony of New South Wales. The native children of the colony formed the dialect by listening from the speech they heard around them. A large part of the speech they heard was the Irish. However, the strongest influence was from London.

=__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Influences __= <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">When the Australian gold rushes first started in the 1850s, many people immigrated to New South Wales and Victoria in the United Kingdom. The influence of the immigrants was very strong and many Irish words and dialects were added to the language. Many of the words used in Australian English were also from the Aboriginal languages. These are words such as //kangaroo// and //boomerang//. Ever since the 19th century, many words were added from the influence of North American English. Some even became typically Australian words. Today, many of the vocabulary influenced from North America has been from media and pop culture.

=<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Vocabulary and Grammar__ = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Australian english is primarily //non-rhotic//. Because of this, it is pretty easy to distinguish. It is mostly made up of Southern Hemisphere accents, hence the nickname "Down Under". It uses very extensive uses of Received Pronunciation, using long vowels called //monopthongs// and //diphthongs//. Since it is non-rhotic, the //r// sound does not always appear at the end of a syllable or before a consonant. There are many variations in Australian English on how to use consonants and where to place them. When using vowels, the sound of the vowel is drawn out longer than most other dialects of English.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Australian english uses idioms more casually than British and American English. Some examples are //Dinkum?// which means //Is that true?//, //the bush// meaning a forest or country area, and a //dinky-di// meaning a devoted or truthful person. The term, //Aussie//, is a common slang word used for the people of Australia. Like in the United Kingdom, //mate// is used a lot when you are talking to someone you respect. //Litotes// are also used commonly in Australia. This is when you describe an object by double negatives. These are phrases such as //not bad// and //you're not wrong// to indicate familiarity. Also used, but not commonly, are incomplete comparisons. These are phrases such as //sweet as// or //full//. In some parts of outer Australia, the //ly// used in adverbs are omitted. So, //really good// would change into //real good//.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">There are no official rules for correct spelling or grammar in Australian english. Like British English, Australian english uses the letter //u// in words like //favourite// and //colour// and //re// instead of //er// in words like //theatre// and //metre//. The letters //-ise// are used the most commonly while //-ize//, although used in the language, is extremely rare. However, the spelling contrasts greatly from British english. For example, jail is //gaol// and medieval is //medaeval//. In words like //acknowledgement//, the spelling can include the //e// at the end of the base word.

=__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Video Link __= <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Here is a video that teaches you how to speak an Australian accent

= __<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%;">My Overall Evaluation __ = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 23px;">I am really glad that I found all this information on just three sets of dialects in the English language! For me, the most interesting information I found was on Australian English, as you can probably tell, because I found out so much about Australian English that is very detailed and important. Also, I never knew how many accents and dialogues were used in the United States! Twenty-two is a lot in my opinion. One thing that I was struggling with was putting New Zealand English on here. The list of countries with English as "de facto" was modified after I took notes about British, American, and Australian English. I looked at New Zealand English and I thought that it looked a little too similar to Australian English, so I just decided to go with Australian English since it is a more major dialect and the population of the people who speak it is bigger.

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