Language – What Should I Say? ___________ – set of mutually intelligible sounds and symbols that are used for communication. Many languages also have literary ________ – or a system of written communication. Lack of written record makes it difficult to document the distribution of many languages. Countries designate at least one language as their official language.

Distribution of English A language originates at a particular place and _______ to other locations through the _________ of speakers. English is spoken fluently by one- half billion people, more than any other language except for _________. Whereas nearly all Mandarin speakers are clustered in one country – _______ – English speakers are distributed around the world. The contemporary distribution of English speakers around the world exists because the people of England migrated with their language when they established colonies during the last 400 years.

Colonization During colonization, both abroad and within countries, colonizers commonly forced the colonized people to speak the language of the colonizer. These language policies continued in many places until recently and were enforced primarily through public (government) and church (mission) schools. American, Canadian, Australian, Russian, and New Zealand governments each had policies of forced __________ during the 20 th century, including not allowing indigenous people to speak native languages. Contemporary distribution of English speakers around the world exists because the people of England migrated with their language when they established colonies during the past four centuries.

English Colonies First diffused west from England to NA in the 17c. Likewise, British took control of Ireland in the 17c., South Asia in mid-18c., the South Pacific in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries, and southern Africa in the late 19c. Recently, the US has been responsible for diffusing English to several places.

Title:English-speaking countries. Caption: English is the official language in 42 countries, although in 26 of these it is not the most widely used language. English is also understood by a significant number of people in several other countries that were once British colonies. Keywords:languages, English

Origin of English British Isles – Celts 2000 BC German Invasion Norman Invasion – Normans in 1066 (French) for 150 years.

Dialects Variants of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines are called _________. Differences in vocabulary, ______ (the way words are put together to form phrases), pronunciation, ______ (the rhythm of speech), and even the pace of speech all mark a speaker’s dialect. Even if the written form of a statement adheres to the standard language, an accent can reveal the regional home of a person who reads the statement aloud. Examples: Horse and Oil

Dialects of English Standard Language – a dialect that is well established and widely recognized as the most acceptable for government, business, education, and mass communication. British Received Pronunciation (BRP) – commonly used by politicians, broadcasters, and actors. Associated with upper-class Britons living in London.

Dialects in England My Fair Lady – Eliza Doolittle – rain = rine, drops the “h” from the beginning of words. Audrey Hepburn illustrates English has a wide variety of dialects that use different pronunciations, spellings, and meanings for particular words. Grammar books and dictionaries Three main dialects: Northern, Midland, and Southern.

Vocabulary and Spelling US English differs from that of England in three significant ways: vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. Noah Webster – American dictionary – spelling and grammar reforms. People in the US do not speak “proper” English because when the colonies left England, “proper” English was not what is it today.

Dialects in the US Settlements – New England, Middle Atlantic, and Southeastern. Differences on the East Coast – single word or group of words can reveal the source area of the dialect. _______ – geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs, but such a boundary is rarely a simple line. Two important isoglosses separate the eastern US into three major dialect regions. Some words are commonly used within one of the three major dialect areas but rarely in the other two. In most instances, these words relate to _____ life, food, and objects from daily activities. Many words were once regionally distinctive are now national in distribution. Mass media – TV and radio – adoption of words.

Pronunciation Differences New England accent is well known for dropping the /r/ sound (Car), shared with speakers from the south of England. The mobility of Americans has been a major reason for the relatively uniform language that exists throughout much of the West. om/articles/yankeetest.htmlhttp:// om/articles/yankeetest.html