LANGUAGE VARIATION

VARIETIES OF LANGUAGE There are many varieties or types of language. Different languages are spoken in different geographical locations in the world. The same language may be spoken in countries that are far away from each other.

Internal Variation People from Spain, Cuba, Venezuela, and Mexico all speak Spanish. They can all communicate with each other. Spanish spoken in each country is somewhat different. We can distinguish between varieties of the same language.

Dialect A particular variety of a language spoken by one group of persons, that differs noticeably from the variety or varieties of the same language spoken by another group or other groups of people.

Standard Variety The dialect spoken by a group of people that have economic power or social influence in a particular society. This dialect is used for writing and other formal purposes. It is given prestige over the other varieties in the particular society.

Standard English British Standard English (BSE) American Standard English (ASE) Caribbean Standard English (CSE) These standard forms all share the same structures and are considered to be internationally acceptable; that is they are understood by all other speakers of English. There differences lie primarily in the areas of vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling.

Group Activity Gather as many words as possible that vary according to BSE and ASE. BSE vs ASE

BSE ASE Flat Apartment Tyre Tire Centre Center Autumn Fall Holidays Vacation Labour Labor Number plate License plate Full stop Period Lift Elevator

Caribbean Variations Trini - boy, ah ketch me tail to bring dis for yuh! British- tail? What tail? You have a tail? And what is ketch? Is it short for ketchup? Trini- oh sorry, I said, I got into a lot of trouble trying to bring this item for you.

Accents This is the variation of pronunciation and not a variety of language. Accents can make it hard for two people who speak the same dialect to understand each other. A person’s accent is the way he or she sounds.