List of dialects of the English language

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This is a list of dialects of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar from each other and from Standard English (which is itself a dialect).

Dialects can be usefully defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible".[1] British linguists distinguish dialect from accent, which refers only to pronunciation. Thus, any educated English speaker can use the vocabulary and grammar of Standard English, but different speakers use their own local words for everyday objects or actions, regional accent, or Received Pronunciation, which within the U.K. is considered an accent distinguished by class rather than by region. American linguists, however, include pronunciation differences as part of the definition of regional or social dialects. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions. The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into the three general categories of the British Isles dialects, those of North America and those of Australasia.[citation needed]

Contents

By continent [edit]

Europe [edit]

[icon] This section requires expansion. (July 2011)

United Kingdom [edit]

British English:

England [edit]

English language in England:

Scotland [edit]
Wales [edit]
Northern Ireland [edit]
Isle of Man [edit]
Channel Islands [edit]

Republic of Ireland [edit]

  • Hiberno-English
    • Cork
    • Dublin (General, North Dublin, South Dublin)
    • Donegal
    • Galway City
    • Limerick City
    • Sligo Town
    • Waterford City
    • Border (Connacht/Leinster/Ulster) (Cavan, Leitrim (North), Louth (North), Monaghan)
    • East (Leinster) (Kildare, Louth (South), Meath, Wicklow)
    • South East (Leinster/Munster) (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford)
    • Midlands (Leinster/Munster) (Laois, Longford, Offaly, Tipperary, Westmeath)
    • South West (Munster) (Cork, Kerry, Limerick)
    • West (Connacht/Munster) (Clare, Galway, Leitrim (South), Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo)

Malta [edit]

North America [edit]

North American English

United States [edit]

American English - Standard American English is the general form

Canada [edit]

Canadian English:

Bermuda [edit]

Bermudian English

Native/American indigenous peoples [edit]

Native American/[[indigenous peoples of the Americas]] English dialects:

Oceania [edit]

Australia [edit]

Australian English (AusE, AusEng):

New Zealand [edit]

New Zealand English (NZE, NZEng):

Other [edit]

Central and South America [edit]

Belize [edit]

Bay Islands Department [edit]

Falkland Islands [edit]

Guyana [edit]

Caribbean [edit]

Anguilla [edit]
Antigua [edit]
The Bahamas [edit]
Jamaica [edit]
Trinidad and Tobago [edit]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [edit]

Asia [edit]

Burma [edit]

Hong Kong [edit]

Pakistan [edit]

Thailand [edit]

India [edit]

Nepal [edit]

Malaysia [edit]

Philippines [edit]

Singapore [edit]

Sri Lanka [edit]

Africa [edit]

Cameroon [edit]

Liberia [edit]

Nigeria [edit]

Malawi [edit]

South Africa [edit]

East Africa [edit]

Uganda [edit]
Kenya [edit]

Constructed [edit]

See also: International English

Manual encodings [edit]

Main article: Manually Coded English

These encoding systems should not be confused with sign languages such as British Sign Language and American Sign Language, which, while they are informed by English, have their own grammar and vocabulary.

Pidgins and creoles [edit]

The following are portmanteaus devised to describe certain local creoles of English. Although similarly named, they are actually quite different in nature, with some being genuine mixed languages, some being instances of heavy code-switching between English and another language, some being genuine local dialects of English used by first-language English speakers, and some being non-native pronunciations of English. A few portmanteaus (such as Greeklish and Fingilish) are transliteration methods rather than any kind of spoken variant of English.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Wakelin, Martyn Francis (2008. First published 1978). Discovering English Dialects. Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7478-0176-4. 
  2. ^ JC Wells, Accents of English, Cambridge University Press, 1983, page 351
  3. ^ "Virginia's Many Voices". Baconsrebellion.com. Retrieved 2010-11-29. 

External links [edit]

 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2010)
Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent
Europe
Other
North America
Other
Oceania
Other
South America
Africa
Asia
Description of the English language
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