Overseas variants of English

Overseas variants of English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States. Compared with English as spoken in England, North American English is more homogeneous. North America has given the English lexicon many thousands of words, meanings, and phrases. Several thousand are now used in English as spoken internationally.

American English has always shown a marked tendency to use nouns as verbs. Examples of verbed nouns are interview, advocate, vacuum, lobby, pressure, rear-end, transition, feature, profile, spearhead, skyrocket, showcase, service (as a car), corner, torch, exit (as in "exit the lobby"), factor (in mathematics), gun ("shoot").

While written AmE is standardized across the country, there are several recognizable variations in the spoken language, both in pronunciation and in vernacular vocabulary. General American is the name given to any American accent that is relatively free of noticeable regional influences.

American English and British English (BrE) differ at the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary, and, to a lesser extent, grammar and orthography. The first large American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language, was written by Noah Webster in 1828; Webster intended to show that the United States, which was a relatively new country at the time, spoke a different dialect from that of Britain.

Differences in grammar are relatively minor, and normally do not affect mutual intelligibility; these include: different use of some verbal auxiliaries; formal (rather than notional) agreement with collective nouns; different preferences for the past forms of a few verbs (for example, AmE/BrE: learned / learnt, burned / burnt, snuck/sneaked, dove/dived); different prepositions and adverbs in certain contexts (for example, AmE in school, BrE at school); and whether or not a definite article is used, in very few cases (AmE to the hospital, BrE to hospital; contrast, however, AmE actress Elizabeth Taylor, BrE the actress Elizabeth Taylor). Often, these differences are a matter of relative preferences rather than absolute rules; and most are not stable, since the two varieties are constantly influencing each other.

Differences in orthography are also trivial. Some of the forms that now serve to distinguish American from British spelling (color for colour, center for centre, traveler for traveller, etc.) were introduced by Noah Webster himself; others are due to spelling tendencies in Britain from the 17th century until the present day (for example, -ise for -ize, although the Oxford English Dictionary still prefers the -ize ending) and cases favored by the francophile tastes of 19th century Victorian England, which had little effect on AmE (for example, programme for program, manoeuvre for maneuver, skilful for skillful, cheque for check, etc.). One of the most common spelling differences is that words ending in "-re" in BrE are rendered as "-er" in AmE (such as "centre" and "center", "theatre" and "theater", and "metre" and "meter").

AmE sometimes favors words that are morphologically more complex, whereas BrE uses clipped forms, such as AmE transportation and BrE transport or where the British form is a back-formation, such as AmE burglarize and BrE burgle (from burglar). It should, however, be noted that while individuals usually use one or the other, both forms will be widely understood and mostly used alongside each other within the two systems.

Canadian English (CanE, CE) is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians (77%), and more than 28 million (86%) are fluent in the language. 82% of Canadians outside Quebec speak English natively, but within Quebec the figure drops to just 7.7% as most residents are native speakers of Quebec French.

Canadian English contains elements of British English and American English in its vocabulary, as well as many distinctive Canadianisms. In many areas, speech is influenced by French, and there are notable local variations. The phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon for most of Canada are similar to that of the Western and Midland regions of the United States. The Canadian Great Lakes region has similarities to that of the Upper Midwest & Great Lakes region and/or Yooper dialect (in particular Michigan which has extensive cultural and economic ties with Ontario), while the phonological system of western Canadian English is virtually identical to that of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and the phonetics are similar. As such, Canadian English and American English are sometimes classified together as North American English, emphasizing the fact that the vast majority of outsiders even from English speaking countries (and even Canadians and Americans themselves), cannot distinguish Canadian English from American English by sound. Canadian English spelling is largely a blend of British and American conventions.

Grammar. When writing, Canadians will start a sentence with As well, in the sense of "in addition"; this construction is a Canadianism. Canadian, Australian and British English share idioms like in hospital and at university, although "in the hospital" is also commonly heard. In American English, the definite article is mandatory in both cases.

Where Canadian English shares vocabulary with other English dialects, it tends to share most with American English. Many terms are shared with Britain, but not with the majority of American speakers. In some cases British and the American terms coexist in Canadian English to various extents; a classic example is holiday, often used interchangeably with vacation, distinguishing the two between a trip elsewhere and general time off work respectively. In addition, the vocabulary of Canadian English also features words that are seldom (if ever) found elsewhere.

Australian English (AusE, AuE, AusEng) is a major variety of the English language and is used throughout Australia. Although English has no official status in the Constitution, Australian English is Australia's de facto official language and is the first language of the majority of the population. Australian English started diverging from British English after the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognised as being different from British English by 1820. It arose from the intermingling of children 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. The primary way in which Australian English is distinctive from other varieties of English is through its unique pronunciation. Like most dialects of English it is distinguished primarily by its vowel phonology.

Australian English has many words and idioms which are unique to the dialect and have been written on extensively, with the Macquarie Dictionary, widely regarded as the national standard, incorporating numerous Australian terms.

Internationally well-known examples of Australian terminology include outback, meaning a remote, sparsely populated area, the bush, meaning either a native forest or a country area in general, and g'day, a greeting. Dinkum, or fair dinkum means "true", or "is that true?", among other things, depending on context and inflection. The derivative dinky-di means 'true' or devoted: a 'dinky-di Aussie' is a 'true Australian'. Australian English, in common with several British English dialects (for example, Cockney, Scouse, Glaswegian and Geordie), uses the word mate. Many words used by Australians were at one time used in England but have since fallen out of usage or changed in meaning.

For example, creek in Australia, as in North America, means a stream or small river, whereas in the UK it means a small watercourse flowing into the sea; paddock in Australia means field, whereas in the UK it means a small enclosure for livestock; bush or scrub in Australia, as in North America, means a wooded area, whereas in England they are commonly used only in proper names.

Australian spelling is closer to British spelling and Canadian spelling than American spelling. As in British spelling, the "u" is retained in words such as honour and favour, and "re" is preferred over "er" in words such as theatre and for metric units such as metre, litre. The "-ise" ending is used in words such as organise and realise, although "-ize" also exists, but is far less common. Words spelt differently from British spelling, according to the Macquarie Dictionary include "program" (in all contexts) as opposed to "programme". In addition to these words, the dictionary also notes an increased tendency within Australia to replace the 'ae' in words such as "palaeontology" and "faeces", and the 'oe' in words such as "foetus" and "diarrhoea" with 'e', as with American practice.

New Zealand English (NZE) is the dialect of the English language used in New Zealand. The English language was established in New Zealand by colonists during the 19th century. It is one of "the newest native-speaker variet[ies] of the English language in existence, a variety which has developed and become distinctive only in the last 150 years". The most distinctive influences on New Zealand English have come from Australian English, British English in Southern England, Irish English, Scottish English, the prestige Received Pronunciation, and Māori. New Zealand English is similar to Australian English in pronunciation, with some key differences. One of the most prominent differences is the realisation of /ɪ/: in New Zealand English, as in some Scots and South African varieties, this is pronounced as /ɘ/. Many local everyday words have been borrowed from the Māori language, including words for local flora, fauna, place names and the natural environment. The dominant influence of Māori on New Zealand English is lexical. The everyday use of Maori words, usually colloquial, occurs most prominently among youth, young adults and Maori populations. Examples include words like "kia ora" ("hello"), or "kai" ("food") which almost all New Zealanders know. Māori is ever present and has a significant conceptual influence in the legislature, government, and community agencies (e.g. health and education), where legislation requires that proceedings and documents are translated into Māori (under certain circumstances, and when requested). Political discussion and analysis of issues of sovereignty, environmental management, health, and social well-being thus rely on Māori at least in part. Māori as a spoken language is particularly important wherever community consultation occurs.

Spanglish refers to the blend (at different degrees) of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of Spanglish. Sometimes the pidgin spoken in Spanish holiday resorts which are exposed to both Spanish and English is called Spanglish. Spanglish may also be known by a regional name. Spanglish does not have one unified dialect and therefore lacks uniformity; Spanglish spoken in New York, Miami, Texas, and California can be different. In Texas and California a large Mexican population can be found and within that population are Chicanos or second-generation Mexican-Americans. Spanglish is not a pidgin language (is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common). It is totally informal; there are no set hard-and-fast rules. There are two phenomena of Spanglish, borrowing and code-switching. English borrowed words will usually be adapted to Spanish phonology. Code-Switching and Code-Mixing on the other hand is commonly used by bilinguals. Code-switching means that a person will begin a sentence in one language and at a certain point this one will begin speaking in another language. This switch will occur at the beginning of a sentence or a new topic. In code-mixture this change in language will occur at any given time with no regard to the beginning of a sentence or topic.

Chinglish refers to spoken or written English language that is influenced by the Chinese language. The term "Chinglish" is commonly applied to ungrammatical or nonsensical English in Chinese contexts, and may have pejorative or deprecating connotations, reflecting the attitudes of those who apply the label. Other terms used to describe the phenomenon include "Chinese English", "China English", and "Sinicized English". The degree to which a Chinese variety of English exists or can be considered legitimate is disputed.

Hong Kong English may refer to two different yet interrelated concepts. The first concept refers to the variation or dialect of the English language used in Hong Kong. The second concept refers to the accent and elements as a result of its use by Cantonese speakers.For the first meaning, Hong Kong predominantly uses British spellings. Pronunciations and words are also predominantly British, although influences from Canadian and Australian English do exist.

Colloquial Singaporean English, also known as Singlish, is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore. Singlish is commonly regarded with low prestige in Singapore. The Singaporean government and many upper class Singaporeans alike heavily discourage the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English. The government has created an annual Speak Good English Movement to emphasise the point. Singlish is also heavily discouraged in the mass media and in schools. However, such official discouragement and routine censorship is actually countered by other presentations in the "official" mainstream media, including routine usage by ordinary people in street interviews broadcast on TV and radio on a daily basis, and occasional usage in newspapers. The vocabulary of Singlish consists of words originating from English, Malay, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Tamil and to a lesser extent various other European, Indic and Sinitic languages. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series and films.

Manglish (or sometimes Malglish or Mangled English) is an English based creole spoken in Malaysia. The vocabulary of Manglish consists of words originating from English, Malay, Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, and to a lesser extent various other European languages, while Manglish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series.

Danglish is a portmanteau of Danish and British or American English. The term is used in Denmark to refer to the increasingly strong influx of English or pseudo-English vocabulary into Danish. Many Danes fully accept a takeover of correct English expressions when a proper Danish expression either doesn't exist or can not be created out of several possible reasons. This is particularly true for expression from the sector of modern computing and / or media.

Taglish refers to the Philippine language Tagalog (or its liberalized official form, Filipino) infused with American English terms. It is an example of code-switching. Taglish is perhaps most common in Metro Manila (the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines), where its use has become stereotyped. Its influence has nevertheless become great, as it is now arguably a lingua franca in the Tagalog-speaking regions. As with other examples of code-switching, Taglish is spoken for convenience.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04