ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Studying English Language



Studying English Language

Question 1

The distinction between the terms accent and dialect

Most people think of an accent as something that other people have. In some cases, they speak disparagingly about one accent compared with another. The truth is that everyone has an accent, because an accent is simply a way of pronouncing words. The reason that you can tell the difference between people from Boston and the Appalachians, or between London and Manchester is because each group of people has a different way of pronouncing the same words. In other words, accent is all about sound. (David, 1992: 136)

When it comes to changes in vocabulary in different regions, then you're talking about dialect. Dialect refers to differences in accent, grammar and vocabulary among different versions of a language. For example, depending on where you live in England, one type of baked goods could be called buns, cobs or rolls. It is likely that when you speak in the dialect of a particular region, you will also speak in the accent of a particular region (Crystal, 1997: 252) However, incomers may speak the dialect of a region with a different accent. This may also apply to people who have emigrated from one country to another. They may speak a different form of a language from those born in that country.

So, what does all this have to do with writing? It's simple. Most written English is based on a dialect of English. The variety of English known as standard English uses a certain type of grammar and vocabulary which is taught to students of English all over the world. They may speak with a different accent, but the dialect is basically the same.

New Englishes

Since the early 1980's the term New Englishes has been used for non-native varieties of English spoken in former colonies of England, chiefly in South-Asia, South-East Asia, West Africa and East Africa. (Svartvik, 2006: 147) The essential difference between these varieties and those in countries like the United States or Australia is that they do not derive from settler English, i.e. there has been no transmission of native-speaker English across the generations. It has developed through the education system (possibly even as a medium of education at a certain level), rather than as a first language of the home.(b) It has developed in an area where a native variety of English was not spoken by a majority of the population.

New Englishes show a strong influence of the background languages spoken in a region, e.g. of Hokkien Chinese, Malay or Tamil in Singapore. Due to language and educational policy, New Englishes have virtually become native-speaker varieties of Englishes, e.g. in Singapore, and will most probably continue to expand given the role of English on an international level and its role as a lingua franca in countries with many native languages which are mutually incomprehensible, e.g. in Nigeria or in India.

Monolingual

Throughout history, people have enjoyed finding reasons which, in their own eyes, make them better than other ...