Monday, 27 March 2017

Varieties of English

American English
  • English first introduced to the Americas by English colonization in 1607.
  • Varieties in spelling such as including/removing 'u', where standard English includes and American-English removes- e.g. "colour"/"color". This also includes the variation in spelling when using an 's' or a 'z' where standard English users are using the spelling with the 's' rather than the 'z'. 
  • Differences in lexis where terms are not the same but the meaning is e.g. "Boot"/"trunk", "bonnet"/"hood". However speakers can generally understand eachother due to increased usage of technology such as movies and social media - so interactions are still fluent. 
  • The use of past/present tense in the same situation - Standard English users may use the past tense for a present situation such as "I am sat in the class" where as American-English users would use the present tense "I am sitting in the class".
  • Different formatting of dates - standard English uses day/month/year but American-English uses month/day/year.
Chicano
  • English of a Mexican origin/influence.
  • Consonants are often pronounced as in Spanish - e.g. the 'z' and 'v' often undergoes devoicing.
  • Chicano English also has a complex set of nonstandard English intonation patterns, such as pitch rises on significant words in the middle and at the end of sentences as well as initial-sentence high pitches, which are often accompanied by the lengthening of the affected syllables.
  • It is not a 'learner' variety of English, but is a fully developed form of English that is the native variety of many of its speakers.
  • Often uses double negatives - however may also be a dialectical feature of some standard English in the UK, such as Bristol.
  • Spanish signifies the third person possession through pre-positional phrases rather than possessive nouns, and so sentences such as "the car of my brother is blue" may be produced.

English Lingua Franca (ELF)
  • This is the use of English as a means of communication between speakers of a different language.
  • English is used due to the links between business, the media and even communication during The Olympics - the English language has spread to all 5 continents.
  • Often includes aspects of the speakers native language, so the use of grammar and lexis may vary depending on their mother tongue.
  • Some users may accommodate their language to their recipient, changing the language that they use in order to have a more successful outcome. Some may even slip into the recipients native language to further ensure better communication.
Manglish
  • Originates in Malaysia.
  • Spelling generally follows British English, however it has adopted many American English expressions and slang - particularly among Malaysian youth.
  • Some Malaysian words have become common in Manglish, such as suffixing a sentence with -lah to signify a sentence as being not so serious.
New Zealand English
  • This is the first language of the majority of the population in New Zealand, and was developed by colonists during the 19th century.
  • Some New Zealanders may respond to questions with a rising intonation at the end - making their response sound like another question. This is also heard in Australia.
  • In informal speech, some New Zealanders use the third person feminine she rather than the third person neutral it, again, this is similar to Australian English.
  • Follows the British English usage of -re rather than the American -er, such as "centre" rather than "center".
  • Also favours the English use of -ce rather than the American -se, e.g. "defence"/"defense".

Friday, 24 February 2017

Language Change timeline

1348 - The Black Death:  After almost 1/2 of the population died, people were able to request better conditions and higher wages from their landlords as fewer people were available to work. Subsequently most of these people advanced to higher ranks in society. Language standards may have increased and standard English may have became more prevalent.

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1601-1603 - Shakespeare and Hamlet: introduced more sensitive and existential discussions. May have been shocking to the public, but new language uses may have been introduced and used.
1608 - English arrives in North America: Founded in Virginia, the founder being adventurer John Smith. The spread of the English language,
1611 - King James' bible introduces new phrases: 'salt of the earth' etc. Around 250 phrases are now a part of the English language.
1613 -  First English Dictionary: 3000 words. The preface quoted the poor standard of English at the time. The public may have accepted that is it now unacceptable to speak in a way not supported in the dictionary.
1616 -  Opening of The Globe theater in London - Possible advances in spoken language use.
1674 - Criminal slang: The Canting Academy by Richard Head records the customs, phrases and songs of urban villains and scoundrels. Increase in the use of non-standard Enlish? More slang/offensive language introduced?

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1700 - John Dryden Fables: His style of composition was a template for writing in English in the 1800s.
1724 - Trade and the English language: Cargo lists from other countries such as India influenced our language greatly - Indian influences and backgrounds. Words of an Indian origin may have been introduced and altered over time.
1755 - Johnson's Dictionary: the most famous dictionary in English history, listed 40,000 words. and took 55 years to complete. The English language had grown greatly in the last 100 years. (1613 - 3000 words known).
1762 - Lowth's grammar: fulfilled the demand among a growing middle class for guidance on how to use 'polite' or 'correct' English.
1791 - Walker's correct pronunciation: The public on both sides of the Atlantic were eager for guidance on how to speak correctly. Walker illustrated how to reproduce a 'cultured' London accent. Above all, this was for Londoners with a Cockney accent which to Walker is 'a thousand times more offensive and disgusting'.

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1818 - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein: Frankenstein was a ghost story she made up to amuse her husband.
1824 - Grammar for children: Children often became bored when learning grammar, so colour and poetry was first introduced here.
1825 - Punctuation for children.
1837 - Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist: He adapted his spellings to convey a sense of natural rhythms of London speech at the time.
1847 - Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights.
1855 - Cookery for the poor, Alexis Soyer: Possibly could have heightened the language standards of the poor.
1862-1864 - Alice's adventures in Wonderland.
1864 - The Queen's English: This was one of the earliest and most influential style models. Much of the content addresses Henry Alford's personal views on the use and abuse of English.
1878 - Invention of the telephone: The book 'All about the telephone and phonograph' was also published.
1879 - The Oxford English dictionary: Created a vast and comprehensive collection of English words from 1150 onward.
1886 - The Anglo-Indian dictionary: As British control in India grew, the English language established itself and began to develop. Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell used their notes on Anglo-Indian words to create the 2000 word dictionary.
1888 - Jack the Ripper: Some say that the newspapers came up with his name in order to sell more copies.

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1904 - Sherlock Holmes: Inspired by Doctor Bell of Edinburgh who could predict illnesses in patients and was said to do so by chance. Sherlock Holmes was written as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle thought science should have a part in 'chance'.
1914 - Suffragettes protest: empowerment for women.
1929 - BBC English was formed: Basis on how to pronounce uncommon words or words with varying pronunciations.
1939 - Wanted poster for Hitler: From The Daily Mirror, the 'Wanted' sign cast Hitler as a classic wild west criminal. This was to strengthen the country's resolve against him. This format has been popular in newspapers ever since.
1948 - Immigration from India: introduction of Indian influences on language.
1950s - Chinese restaurants: Chinese may have began to influence English.
1976 - 2nd December The Sex Pistols: Whilst live on TV, the presenter ridiculed the band and 'rude words' went out to the nation. There was a huge backlash from the media and the public.

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