Is Standard English considered a dialect?
Standard English started as a regional dialect that developed in the southeast of England. This variety, which is perceived as official, is used in writing, the education system (grammar books and dictionaries), the court, the church, in newspapers, the media and for official purposes.
What are examples of social dialect?
However, a sociolect's main identifier is a socioeconomic class, age, gender, and ethnicity in a certain speech community. An example of a dialectal difference, based on region, is the use of the words soda or pop and coke in different parts of the United States.
What dialect is Standard English based on?
For English, the first Standard English was developed in the 15th and 16th centuries, and was based on dialects spoken in London and the East Midlands for spelling and grammar, and the accent of the high society in London for pronunciation (Nevalainen 2003: 133-134).
Why standard language is described as social dialect?
Standard languages arise when a certain dialect begins to be used in written form, normally throughout a broader area than that of the dialect itself. The ways in which this language is used—e.g., in administrative matters, literature, and economic life—lead to the minimization of linguistic variation.
What is meant by social dialect?
In sociolinguistics, social dialect is a variety of speech associated with a particular social class or occupational group within a society. Also known as a sociolect, group idiolect, and class dialect.
What is the difference between dialect and social dialect?
"In contrast to a regional dialect, a social dialect is a variety of a language spoken by a particular group based on social characteristics other than geography."
What kind of English is Standard English?
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service announcements and newspapers of record, etc.
Is standard Australian English a dialect?
Australian English is a regional dialect of the English language.
How do you define Standard English?
: the English that with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary is substantially uniform though not devoid of regional differences, that is well established by usage in the formal and informal speech and writing of the educated, and that is widely recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken ...
What is the difference between dialect and standard language?
Languages are broader, and dialects are smaller and more specific, and often regional. Languages are thought of as more formal and clearly defined, whereas dialects can be looser and more fluid in use. Oftentimes, languages are adopted as “official” by countries and states, but dialects rarely are.
Why are there many social dialects?
As a general rule, those dialects, or at least certain dialectal features, with greater social prestige tend to replace those that are valued lower on the social scale. In times of less-frequent contact between populations, dialectal differences increase; in periods of greater contact, they diminish.
What are the social dialect of English in Nigeria?
Nigerian English, also known as Nigerian Standard English, is a dialect of English spoken in Nigeria. Based on British English, the dialect contains various loanwords and collocations from the native languages of Nigeria, due to the need to express concepts specific to the culture of the nation (e.g. senior wife).
Why are there many social dialects?
As a general rule, those dialects, or at least certain dialectal features, with greater social prestige tend to replace those that are valued lower on the social scale. In times of less-frequent contact between populations, dialectal differences increase; in periods of greater contact, they diminish.
What is the best example of a dialect?
Examples of Dialect: A Northern American might say, “hello.” A Southern American might say, “howdy.” This is an example of the differences in dialect.
What are the social dialect of English in Nigeria?
Nigerian English, also known as Nigerian Standard English, is a dialect of English spoken in Nigeria. Based on British English, the dialect contains various loanwords and collocations from the native languages of Nigeria, due to the need to express concepts specific to the culture of the nation (e.g. senior wife).
What are the four types of dialects?
The concept of a standard dialect is exactly that: a concept, not an actuality. No one actually speaks Standard English or even Standard American English....Regional Dialect. A subgroup variety of a language associated with a particular geographical area is called a regional dialect. ... Ethnic dialect. ... Sociolect. ... Accent.
What is an example of Standard English?
Standard English is what you would hear in the news or radio. Often standard English is spoken with no accent and the vocabulary and grammar are co...
How many variations of English are there?
There are hundreds of variations of English. Currently, the number is around 160, but new variations are developing every day.
What does Standard English mean?
Standard English is considered the standardized variety of English that is commonly used in mainstream media, education, academics, science, and bu...
What are the different dialects in England?
Here are some of the most common regional dialects of English in the United Kingdom: 1 Standard English: Taught in school and is what you would think of when you read British literature or watch a movie set in England. 2 Cockney: The working class dialect in London. Some argue that to be a true Cockney, one must have been born within hearing distance of the Bow Bells in London's Cheapside District. 3 Yorkshire: Influenced by 13th century Viking invasions, the dialect is found in Northern England. 4 Southeast Midlands: Influenced by Scandinavian, French and Middle English. It has a drawl to the words and tends to incorporate older words such as 'thee' and 'thou.'
What dialect is called "dunkers"?
It bears the iconic twang in the pronunciation of many words. North Midland: North Midlanders call doughnuts 'dunkers' or 'fatcakes.'. They are in the transition zone between North and South, East and West.
What is a dialect?
A dialect is the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation of a language. Dialects are standard and non-standard. There are regional and dialectical variations of Standard English in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, there are two dialects: Standard English and regional variation.
What is the standard English dialect?
The standard English dialect is the dialect of English that's taught in schools, spoken by the media, and in law. Most often, even if a person's speech changes to a regional dialect, their writing retains the features of standard English.
How many dialects are there in the United States?
A Long Island University report suggests that 24 regional dialects exist in the United States. Many of the dialects are a result of settlers and colonization of the country throughout its history. The 24 regions include: Pacific Northwest: The dialect is influenced by Native American languages.
How many variations of English are there in the United States?
In the United States, there is Standard American English and somewhere between three and 24 regional variations. Social scientists suggest that New England, Southern, and Western are the three main regional variations of English, but there are sub-dialects within those variations that bring the number up to 24.
Why is it impossible to determine the exact amount of dialects?
However, it's important to note that in both instances of British English and American English, it's impossible to determine the exact amount of dialects because the language changes from one person to the next. An accent is simply the way a person pronounces words within one's dialect.
What is standard English?
Standard English is a controversial term for a form of the English language that is written and spoken by educated users. Abbreviation: SE. Also known as Standard Written English ( SWE ). According to Tom McArthur in The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), the term Standard English "resists easy definition but is used ...
What was the most influential factor in the rise of Standard English?
Origins of Standard English. "By far the most influential factor in the rise of Standard English was the importance of London as the capital of Eng land...London English took as well as gave. It began as a Southern and ended as a Midland dialect.
Who is Richard Nordquist?
Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. Standard English is a controversial term for a form of the English language that is written and spoken by educated users. Abbreviation: SE.
Is standard English legislated?
The rules of standard English are not legislated by a tribunal but emerge as an implicit consensus within a virtual community of writers, readers, and editors. That consensus can change over time in a process as unplanned and uncontrollable as the vagaries of fashion.
How to incorporate dialect into the classroom?
For example, students can be encouraged to do a research language project on dialect that requires them to interact within two different communities, their own and a community that predominantly uses Standard English. They can participate in a volunteer program that allows them to interact in these communities. As students perform their volunteer duty, they should also be cognizant on listening to how people speak in these communities and write down their observations. They can prepare to do a presentation that describes how individuals pronounce the same words in different ways. They should compare their own dialects with those of standard English. This assignment would allow English language learners to reflect upon their own language skills and improve acquiring the English language and the American standard English dialect. The teacher can ask administration for assistance in organizing these volunteer assignments or take the initiative to coordinate one on their own.
Why is it important to teach students in their new language?
Although it is important to educate students in their new language standard dialect, teachers should not ignore their students’ dialects. Educators need to recognize that they show they value their students’ cultural and ethnic background so that learners do not feel alienated from their new country. Acceptance helps establish student empowerment and confidence to learn the new language and assimilate to the new culture. However, there are certain situations that teachers should allow non-native English speakers to use their dialects and certain situations when students must be required to use standard English. Teachers must demonstrate when is the right time students should use their own dialects and when they should employ standard American English dialect.
Is the United States a diverse country?
The United States is a culturally diverse nation. It is a country comprised of not only people of different ethnic backgrounds, but also with distinct dialects that are socially and ethnically related varieties of the same language. For example, there are those who speak English of upper-middle class New Yorkers and that of lower-class New Yorkers. Additionally, there are dialects that stem from different accents of people who immigrated into the country. Although most citizens of the United States speak with a dialect or accent, we tend to draw negative attention to those who speak differently than those who speak standard English (Parker & Riley, 2010). This form of language is known as nonstandard English. For example, an educated person who commands the standard English dialect might judge a speaker of a nonstandard English, that comes from a lower socioeconomic status, lacking education or is unintelligent. This negative social judgement impacts English Language Learners because the language spoken in schools are normally referred to as Standard English and often attempts to remove regionalism and accents, both in spoken and written language” (Adams, Michael and Ann Curzon, 2009).
What is a dialect?
Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible .". 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.
What is dialect in English?
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 .
What is standard English?
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.
What is a language between parentheses?
Languages between parentheses are varieties of the language on their left.
What is the name of the dialect spoken in Wexford?
Forth and Bargy dialect (also known as Yola), thought to have been a descendant of Middle English, spoken in County Wexford. Fingallian, another presumed descendant of Middle English, spoken in Fingal.
Examples and Observations
- In the latter, the regionally neutral accent is referred to as General American (hereafter GA). GA is a social dialect, not a geographical one, although it was said to have originated in the northeast in New England and spread by immigration and media broadcasting. Though somewhat ironically, many of the urban areas in the northeast have in the las...
Tacit Conventions of Usage
The Convenience of Standard English
Origins of Standard English
- "The term Standard English refers to both an actual variety of language and an idealized norm of English acceptable in many social situations. As a language variety, Standard English is the languag...
- "We need to know Standard English, but we need to know it critically, analytically, and in the context of language history. We also need to understand the regularity of non-standard varia…
- "The term Standard English refers to both an actual variety of language and an idealized norm of English acceptable in many social situations. As a language variety, Standard English is the languag...
- "We need to know Standard English, but we need to know it critically, analytically, and in the context of language history. We also need to understand the regularity of non-standard variants. If we...
Varieties of Standard English
- "[T]he conventions of linguistic usage are tacit. The rules of standard English are not legislated by a tribunal but emerge as an implicit consensus within a virtual community of writers, readers, and editors. That consensus can change over time in a process as unplanned and uncontrollable as the vagaries of fashion. No official ever decided that respectable men and women were permitte…