CHAPTER 5 SECTION 1 LANGUAGE Unit III

Where are English-Language speakers distributed ?

Origin and Diffusion of English Spoken by 1/2 BILLION people Second only to Mandarin (clustered in one country) English is spread around the world English is the official language in 50 countries 2 billion people live in a country where English is the official language and they may not speak it

English Colonies Contemporary English around the world is due in part to British Colonies Came to North America - 17th century  Jamestown 1607  Plymouth 1620 British took:  Ireland 17th century  South Asia mid 18th century  South Pacific late 18th early 19th century  Africa late 19th century English has recently diffused to Philippines

Origins of English in England English is a Germanic language Celts arrived 2000 BC, bringing the Celtic language Celts pushed out AD 450 to Cornwall Wales & Scotland

German Invasion Invaders included Angles (S Denmark ), Jutes ( N Denmark )& Saxons ( NW Germany ) English people can trace cultural heritage back to Anglo-Saxons England comes from “Angles’ land”, spelt Engles in Old English

Norman Invasion Normans (Normandy, France) Invaded in 1066 England spoke French for the next 300 years England and France fought one another (100 Year’s War) few people in England wanted to speak French

1362 Parliament passed Statue of Pleading, official language of court was once again English German origin words - sky, horse, man, woman French origin words - celestial, equestrian, masculine, feminine,

Dialects of English Dialect - regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling & pronunciation Dialects reflect distinctive features of the environment in which groups live North Americans speak a different English than those in India, Pakistan or England

Standard language - dialect that is well established and widely recognized as the most acceptable for government, business, education, & mass communication British Received Pronunciation - associated with upper class Britons, recognized as the standard from of British Speech

Dialects in England Grammar books appeared in 1476 using the London Dialect Regional dialects still exist  Northern  Midland  Southern  Southeast  Southwest

Differences Between British & American English Differences in vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation New words for things that did not exist in England: moose, raccoon, canoe; some of these words borrowed from Indians

Noah Webster created the first American dictionary Determined to develop a unique American dialect of English Eliminated the “u” out of English words like honour and colour

Pronunciation is easily recognizable Differences in the pronunciation of the letters “r” and “a” British do not have the letter “r” except when before a vowel Americans pronounce unaccented syllables (secretary, necessary)

Dialects in the United States Immigrants to the 13 colonies came from different areas of England New England – Puritans from SE England, few from N. England Middle Atlantic – Quakers from N England, Scotch, Irish, German, Dutch, Swedish Southeastern – SE England, diverse social class backgrounds

Current Dialects Differences in the East Major dialects differences on the east coast Every word that is not used nationally has a geographic region or boundary Word usage boundary is an isogloss Three major dialect regions  Northern  Midlands  Southern

Pronunciation Differences Easier to recognize pronunciation differences than word differences Southern words have an extra syllable added (mine into mi-yen) New England accents drop the “r” heart is pronounced hot (reflects origin of S England)

Pronunciation sounds strange in the American West since their accent is derived from the Middle Atlantic states This diffusion is due to the westward movement of the colonists Midwest south of Ohio River was settled by Virginia New Englanders moved into the Great Lakes region West has a much more uniform language

Soft Drink Dialects