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[citation needed] into the three general categories of the British Isles dialects, those of North America and those of Australasia.

Contents

[edit] By continent

[edit] Europe

[icon] This section requires expansion.

United Kingdom (British English)

Ireland

  • Hiberno-English
    • Dublin
    • Cork
    • Kerry and Cork County
    • Connacht
    • Sligo Town
    • Galway City
    • Rural Munster (Tipperary, Limerick County, Clare, Waterford)
    • Limerick City
    • North Leinster (Louth and Meath)
    • South Leinster (Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow)

Isle of Man

Channel Islands

Malta

[edit] North America

[edit] Oceania

[edit] Central and South America

[edit] Caribbean

[edit] Asia

[edit] Africa

[edit] Constructed

See also: International English

[edit] Manual encodings

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.

[edit] Pidgins and creoles

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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wakelin, Martyn Francis (2008. First published 1978). Discovering English Dialects. Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7478-0176-4. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=l_V9jb1rq4EC&printsec=frontcover&dq=English+Accents+OR+Dialects&lr=lang_en&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=1965&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=1980&as_brr=0&as_pt=BOOKS&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
  2. ^ JC Wells, Accents of English, Cambridge University Press, 1983, page 351
  3. ^ "Virginia's Many Voices". Baconsrebellion.com. http://www.baconsrebellion.com/Issues05/05-09/Curious.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-29. 

[edit] External links

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Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent
Europe
Other
North America
Other
Oceania
Other
South America
Africa
Asia
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