Standard english and varieties of englis (Đa dạng Tiếng Anh)

Standard English Varieties of English Standard English Varieties of English Babette Verhoeven University of Huddersfield Aquinas College, Stockport Outline 1 Exploring what standard English is a.Standard English Varieties of English Standard English Varieties of English Babette Verhoeven University of Huddersfield Aquinas College, Stockport Outline 1 Exploring what standard English is a.

Standard English & Varieties of English

Babette Verhoeven

University of Huddersfield & Aquinas College, Stockport

3 Non-UK varieties of English: a taste of World Englishes’ lexis; Non-UK English:

African American Vernacular – phonology & grammar

4 Sociolect as a variety of English: the case of Polari.

Some final thoughts on standard English & varieties in English

Activity 1: What is standard English?

• Can you come up with a definition of standard English in your own words?

• What about the 5 definitions of standard English on the handout: is there one that you would choose as a preferred definition? Why?

• Are there any of these definitions that you disagree with? Why?

• Of the SE definitions on the handout, are any familiar to you?

(a) Standard English can be recognised by the use of a very small range of forms such as those books, I

did it and I wasn’t doing anything (rather than their non-standard equivalents); it is not limited to any

particular accent It is the variety of English which is used with only minor variation, as a major world language Some people use Standard English all the time, in all situations from the most casual

to the most formal, so it covers most registers

(b) The form of the English language widely accepted as the usual correct form.

(c) The English that with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary is substantially

uniform though not devoid of regional differences, that is well established by usage in the formal and informal speech and writing of the educated and that is widely recognized as acceptable wherever

English is spoken and understood.

(d) English which is characterized by idiom, vocabulary etc., that is regarded as correct and acceptable

by educated native speakers.

(e) A standard language is a variety of language that is used by governments, in the media, in

schools and for international communication There are different standard varieties of English in the world, such as North American English, Australian English and Indian English Although these

standard varieties differ in terms of their pronunciation, there are few differences in grammar between them In contrast, there are non-standard forms of a language that are used, for example, in different regional dialects and these non-standard varieties are different from each other.

National Curriculum for English – Glossary:

Standard English can be recognized by the use of a very small range of forms such

as those books, I did it and I wasn’t doing anything (rather than their non-standard

equivalents); it is not limited to any particular accent It is the variety of English

which is used with only minor variation, as a major world language Some

people use Standard English all the time, in all situations from the most casual to the most formal, so it covers most registers

The aim of the national curriculum is that everyone should be able to use Standard English as needed in writing and in relatively formal speaking.

Oxford Dictionary:

The form of the English language

widely accepted as the usual correct

form

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

The English that with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary is substantially uniform though not devoid of regional differences, that is well established

by usage in the formal and informal speech and writing of the educated and that is

widely recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken and understood

Passive voice hides authority

behind the acceptance as

“usual correct form”

Adverb “widely” implies

most of us know it when we

Collins English Dictionary:

English which is characterized by

idiom, vocabulary etc., that is

regarded as correct and acceptable

by educated native speakers

Cambridge Dictionary:

A standard language is a variety of language that is used by governments, in the media, in schools and for international communication There are different standard varieties of English in the world, such as North American English, Australian English and Indian English Although these standard varieties differ in terms of their pronunciation, there are few differences in grammar between them In contrast, there are non-standard forms of a language that are used, for example, in different regional dialects and these non-standard varieties are different from each other

One of the few definitions to acknowledge varieties of standards and to imply standard is linked to dialects!

“Bob’s your uncle” as standard

English in USA? Need to posit

different national standards first!

who will have been

taught SE - speak the

language?

What is missing from these definitions?

• An indication, explanation of the origin(s) of standard English;

• An indication or acknowledgement that standard English is itself subject to diachronic change;

• For most definitions, an indication that standard English itself comes in different varieties;

• Some definitions draw on the notion of standard English as a form that is used / suitable for a range of different registers, while others ignore register completely;

• Webster’s definition includes speech, whereas most definitions stick to written mode only – so an

indication whether SE applies to a specific mode only or to all;

• For most, there is little mention of the role of accent – only NC definition mentions SE as being possible

in any accent, while Webster’s includes “pronunciation” (accent?) as part of SE;

• Again, Webster’s is the exception here, but most definitions lack an awareness of English’ nature as the global Lingua Franca and fact there are more non-native speakers than native speakers of English;

• For most, a descriptivist approach, HOWEVER, adjective “correct” appears twice implying a

prescriptivist attitude;

• Apart from the NC’s definition, none include examples of SE or non-SE – expected to know it when you see it.

What do linguists have to say about standard English?

“Standard English can be recognized by the use of a very small range

of forms such as those books, I did it and I wasn’t doing anything

(rather than their non-standard equivalents); it is not limited to any particular accent It is the variety of English which is used with only minor variation, as a major world language Some people use

Standard English all the time, in all situations from the most casual to the most formal, so it covers most registers”

So, what do linguists have to say about Standard English?

Written Australian, Indian, British English are understood by all English speakers… we can describe this international kind of written

English as standard English.

David Crystal Paul Kerswill

Peter Trudgill

Standard English [is] a class dialect based

on written norms … Unusually, in England, the standard language is strongly associated with a powerful class accent, Received Pronunciation (or BBC,

Queen’s, Oxford etc English).

SE speakers have a full range of styles, including swearing and slang The social convention in most English-speaking societies

is for SE to dominate relatively formal social situations BUT the NSE-SE parameter is theoretically independent of the formal-

informal parameter.

The authority on standard English:

“For a number of reasons it is difficult to point to a fixed and invariant kind of

English that can properly be called the standard language” (p 18)

“… only in the spelling system…full standardisation really has been

achieved” (p 18)

“Strictly speaking…standardisation does not tolerate variability” (p 19)

“It is best … to look at the question of ‘Standard English’ in a different light, and

to speak of standardisation as a historical process, which… is always in progress

in those languages that undergo it” (p 19)

“Standardisation is motivated … by various social, political and commercial needs and is promoted in various ways, including the use of the writing system,

which is relatively easily standardised” (p 19)

“…absolute standardisation of a spoken language is never achieved” (p.19)

“…it seems appropriate to speak …of standardisation as an ideology, and

a standard language as an idea in the mind rather than a reality” (p 19)

“a set of abstract norms to which actual usage may conform to

a greater or lesser extent” (p 19)

A closer look at some of these examples : (3) As England wickets tumbled, I was sat in the coach’s room…

-The Daily Telegraph

• The use of “stood” and “sat” as adjectives with a copula

rather than as auxiliary verb with past participle (suggestive

of a passive) is spreading (was common in Northern dialects);

• The use of a modal verb in the conditional “if-clause” (as well

as a modal verb appearing in the main clause) –

hypercorrection? Exaggerated politeness strategy?;

• Many regional dialects have different forms of negation e.g

“there’s not” and “never” used as general negator;

• Hypercorrection especially in phrases such as “… and me”;

• “Ten items or less”: “item” is a countable noun, in SE

expected to take “fewer”, HOWEVER, “less than six weeks” is

SE – discussing a period lasting no more than 6 weeks…

“Less people” – collective noun like “period”…makes it SE?

• Idiomatic expressions, (mild) swearing, and slang are

perfectly SE: “left field” (USA – baseball) & “bloody

knackered”

(4) Two police officers were stood at

the back of the court room – The

Guardian

(17) There’s no difference in

height between you and I – BBC

Radio 4

(13) If parents would ensure their

son / daughter could arrive … - Trip

letter from my own 6 th from college to

students’ parents…

In short: all examples from mainstream media (broadsheet newspapers & BBC broadcast) and an educational institution – gatekeepers

of standard English!

Examples of non-standard English:

Do any of these examples strike you as typical of one (or more) British regional dialects?

(1) You ain’t seen nothing yet – double negatives

occur in many dialects, as does negating auxiliary

“ain’t” e.g South East England & London (personal

data).

(5) I have wrote… - past participle same as past

tense verb form, typical in North West dialects (taken from one of my own students’ work).

(6) …she were wearing a mask – past tense “to

be” regular paradigm either /r/ (Northern dialects)

or /s/ (Scouse, Irish, London & South East dialects)

(6) Happen she were… - dialect lexis typical for

Pennines (Lancs., Yorks & East Midlands (from British Library’s Sounds Familiar? Archive

(10) …, so I was – emphatic tag, typical of

Irish varieties of English (from BL’s

Sounds Familiar?)

(11) … when I come home – past tense of verb

is unmarked – much older form than SE’s

“came”, present in many dialects (from BL’s

Sounds Familiar?)

(18) …them books” – demonstrative pronoun

used as determiner Common in many dialects such as those of the North (personal data).

(20) While it shuts – conjunction is used to mean “until”

Typical of Yorkshire dialect (Petyt, K.M (1985) Dialect

and Accent in Industrial West Yorkshire Amsterdam:

John Benjamins P 236

Dialects as Varieties of English

• Northern Regional Dialects

• Northern Regional Accents

• Perceptions or stereotypes: sociolinguistics of

NSE

Activity 3:

Northern Dialect Vocab Quiz

• Explore / experience some

of the differences between regional dialects in one language level: lexis

Northern Dialect Vocabulary: Answers

1 Nesh: C Delicate, weak susceptible to cold From Yorkshire

2 Ket: C A sweet From Teeside, North East

3 Ginnel: A A narrow walkway between buildings Common in both West Yorkshire & East

Lancashire

4 Ratch: B To rummage around to find something From Cumbria and North Yorkshire

5 Plodge: C To wade or trudge through mud or water From Newcastle and Sunderland

6 Twag: C To play truant From East Yorkshire (also used in this sense in Lincolnshire)

Six more questions from BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07tczl3 (Matter of the North homepage – lovely links to accents of the North, too 1 minute guides to Liverpudlian, Mancunian, Geordie and Yorkshire accents as well as description of accents of the North by a voice coach)

Northern Dialect Grammar: Activity 4

What are the typical features of Northern dialect grammar?

• Preterite / Past tense of “to be” either completely regularised to “was” or “were” forms

(“were” more typical of Lancashire & Yorkshire, “was” in Liverpool & Merseyside and Irish

community in Manchester) – this is a typical dialectal grammatical feature across UK

regional dialects;

• Reduction and omission of prepositions , simplification of prepositions: “Give it me” cf

“Give me it” / “Give me the book”;

• “What” as a relative pronoun / conjunction – earlier research (1978) suggested this was

Southern dialect, current research shows more common in Midlands and North, less

frequent in South and N Ireland;

• Object pronoun “them” as demonstrative – typical in the North (81%), but also in rest of UK

e.g South (50%), rarest in Scotland (33%);

• Past participle “done” used as preterite / past tense “to do” – was assumed to be Southern

dialect, but there 51% of speakers use it, compared to 56% in North;

• Preterite and past participle form collapse for frequent irregular verbs such as “to take”, “to

write” analogous to “to teach – taught – taught” and other frequent irregular verbs, “to

read”, “to buy”, “to catch” etc.

• Contractions of auxiliary with personal pronoun rather than contracting auxiliary and

negator: “I haven’t got it” is more typical of South (and SE), Midlands up it becomes “I’ve

not got it”, except in N Ireland

• “stood” and “sat” past participles used as adjectives – this is spreading and could become

SE…see next slide:

Note: many dialectal features are in a sense more logical, less irregular than

SE These patterns are also present in related languages, e.g standard Dutch (s/r) and its Southern dialects (r only) show similar patterns in s/r paradigm of “to be” past tense Some standards have even gone down r or s- paradigm only e.g Norwegian (r).

“Was stood”, “am sat” etc A case study:

“stood / sat” as adjective NSE, typical in Northern

several NSE examples:

e.g “was sat” 49x, “were

sat” 24x “was stood” 19x

(out of 96 million words).

British Web Corpus

“was stood” 32x (out of nearly

388 million words).

Even in Multicultural London English Corpus, there is

1 NSE “was stood” (out of nearly 3 million words)!

Final thought: Is this an example of language change? OE had verb “to

tire” (from circa 1000 in current sense) gave rise to adjective “tired” (first recorded 1488) “Stood” and “sat” describe a state rather than dynamic action, shift in understanding of progressive aspect?

Northern Regional Accents:

What are the typical features of Northern accents?

• The shorter /æ/ vowel in ‘grass’, ‘bath’ as opposed to long /aː/ typical for Southern & RP;

• The lack of /ʌ/ so ‘put’ and ‘putt’ sound the same: /pʊt/;

• Glottal stops such as /t/ substitution in for example the Mancunian discourse marker “What it

is, right” = /wɒɂɪɂɪs/ /ɹaɪɂ/;

• In some regional accents (Scouse, Lancashire, Yorkshire) the /ʊ/ becomes /uː/ e.g look = /luːk/;

• Initial ‘h’-dropping in some regional accents e.g Mancunian “dead ‘ard”, Yorkshire “by ‘eck”

Is it possible to say that there a generic “Northern” accent?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1RpWFqs6CR94G8DqKNVKGrQ/a-guide-to-northern-english-accents