Transcript English in the World

English in the World
Fernando Trujillo
Language Diffusion
During the period of Modern English
(from XVII), English has extended to be
used by 670 million people with a
native or native-like command of
English, increasing to approximately
1,200–1,500 million if the criterion of
reasonable competence is adopted
(Crystal, 1997, English as a global language).
English varieties
The British Isles
English in Britain has co-existed o exists
together with (or sometimes against):
Irish, Scottish Gaelic,Manx , British , Welsh,
Cornish , Cumbric , Pictish , Latin , Scots,
Norse and Norn , Flemish in Wales , AngloNorman , Romani and some other
Community Languages.
The British Isles
The British Isles: main
differences among varieties
use of vowel // (blood vs. good).
use of // y // (pat vs. path).
use of // e // (city ending in one of them).
use of //.
use of // y // (to contrast pull vs. pool and
cot vs. caught).
use of the glottal stop //.
dissappearance of // before // y //, among
others.
Welsh English
Words such as dance, sample, grant, branch
are pronounced with /  / instead of //.
//-// is neutralized: rubber as //.
Non-rhotic with linking and intrusive /r/.
Strong aspirarion of voiceless plosives.
// is clear in all contexts.
Scottish English
Rhotic variety
//-// is neutralized in favour of //: palm = Pam.
//-// is neutralized in favour of //: pool = pull.
//-// is neutralized: cot = caught.
Scottish Vowel Length Rule:vowels are longer before
//, //, // y // and in final position.
Loss of aspiration of voiceless plosives.
[] instead of // in non-initial position.
// dark in all positions.
Irish English
Rhotic variety.
clear //.
// between vowels as [].
Words such as dance, sample, grant, branch
are pronounced with /  / instead of //.
Contrasts //-// y //-// are lost in
favour of // y //.
Australian English
// instead of // in very, and // instead of // in
non-stressed syllables.
use of // and // in laugh and dance.
use of open // in final position: ever as // .
non-rhotic variety, with linking and intrusive /r/.
// between vowels turns into // .
use of the glottal stop //.
AusEng // is darker than RP.
New Zealand English
// is a central phoneme close to //.
// realized as //.
words such as dance, sample, grant, branch are
pronounced with // instead of //.
neutralization of // y // (beer and bear).
neutralization of // y // before // (doll and dole).
use of dark // in all contexts.
// between vowels produced as [].
non-rhotic with linking and intrusive /r/.
South African English
words such as dance, sample, grant, branch
are pronounced with // instead of //.
a tendency towards monophthong.
// instead of // in very, and // instead of
// in non-stressed syllables.
loss of aspiration of voiceless plosives.
// between vowels produced as [].
non-rhotic but no linking or intrusive /r/.
US English
US English: Southern
Varieties
Lower Southern: non-rhotic
Inland Southern: rhotic
offglide of //, //, // towards // in stressed
syllables.
diphthong // turns into [].
diphthongs // y // have an open first
element.
// and // are neutralized before nasals: pin
y pen.
US English: General American
Varieties:
Central Eastern (=standard),
Western,
Midland and
Northern.
Central Eastern
Rhotic
// between vowels produced as [].
Use of dark // in all contexts.
// instead of // in very
Northern Variety
“Northern Cities Chain Shift”:
• // to the front.
• // closer to [],
• // more central close to //
US English: North Eastern
Varieties:
Eastern New England and New York City.
Eastern New England
The most similar USEng variety to EngEng.
Non-rhotic, linking and intrusive /r/
Use of // and //.
New York City
Non-rhotic with linking and intrusive /r/.
Use of vowels // and //.
// becomes //.
// y // become [] y [].
Canadian English
Similar to Western US variety.
The “Canadian Rising”: before voiceless
consonants, diphthongs // y // have
centralized allophones on the first element of
the diphthong: night time as / / and
out loud as / /.
The difference between cot and caught is
neutralized.
African English
Non-rhotic
Tendency to reduce consonant clusters:
last as //.
Tendency to devoice final voiced
consontants, as proud //.
Loss of vowel sounds (from 10 to 7).
Indian English
Non-rhotic.
Simplification of vowel sounds.
Loss of aspiration of voiceless plosives.
In some varieties, neutralization of // y
//, // y //, // y //, // y //, // y //.