Standard English: Difference between revisions

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	The issue is particularly complicated because English has become the most widely used language in the world, and therefore it is the language most subject to alteration by non-native speakers.		The issue is particularly complicated because English has become the most widely used language in the world, and therefore it is the language most subject to alteration by non-native speakers.

			The two most common internationally recognized varieties of standard English are ] and ]/]. However, opposition to these two varieties, which are often too closely associated with their countries of origin (the United States and the United Kingdom), has given rise to many local ''Englishes''. See ''Varieties of English'' on the right.
	A rough ] used in some parts of the world, particularly those that are (or were) members of the ], is to follow pronunciation and old usage guides of the ], otherwise known as ] or the ]. Some residents of such countries oppose what they see as the linguistic mandate of moneyed classes and claim to intentionally use non-standard English as a form of protest.

	In other places (particularly in places not formerly colonized by Britain), ] is being taught as the preferred dialect, perhaps due to the ]'s pre-eminence in the world economy.

Revision as of 04:16, 24 April 2005

Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent

Europe

Great
Britain

England

North	Cheshire Cumbria Barrow Lancashire Liverpool Manchester Northumbria Pitmatic Sunderland Tyneside Teesside Yorkshire
Midlands	East Midlands West Midlands Birmingham Black Country Stoke-on-Trent
South	East Anglia London & Thames Estuary Cockney Multicultural Received Pronunciation West Country Cornwall Dorset

Americas

Midland New England Boston East Maine West New York City accent North Inland North North-Central Philadelphia Baltimore South Appalachia High Tider New Orleans Older Texas West California Pacific Northwest Western Pennsylvania
Social and ethno-cultural	African-American Vernacular American Indian Cajun Chicano General American Miami Latino Mid-Atlantic New York Latino Northeastern elite Pennsylvania Dutch

Caribbean

Oceania

Australia	variation accent Aboriginal South Torres Strait West
Fiji New Zealand accent Palau Solomon Islands

Africa

Asia

East Asia	Hong Kong
South Asia	Bangladesh India regional and occupational Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
Southeast Asia	Brunei Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore

Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. There are no set rules or vocabulary for "standard English" because, unlike languages such as French, English does not have a governing body (see Académie française) to establish usage. As a result, the concept of "standard English" tends to be fluid. Various regional and national "standards" exist.

The issue is particularly complicated because English has become the most widely used language in the world, and therefore it is the language most subject to alteration by non-native speakers.

The two most common internationally recognized varieties of standard English are American English and British/Commonwealth English. However, opposition to these two varieties, which are often too closely associated with their countries of origin (the United States and the United Kingdom), has given rise to many local Englishes. See Varieties of English on the right.