The Southern English dialects are those dialects of English English spoken in southern England. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This is a list of varieties of the English language. ... British English (BrE) is a term used to differentiate the form of the English language used in the United Kingdom from other forms of the English language used elsewhere. ... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... Highland English is the variety of Gaelic influenced Scottish English spoken in the Scottish Highlands. ... Mid Ulster English (Ulster Anglo-Irish) is the dialect of most people in Ulster, including those in the two main cities. ... Diagram showing the geographical locations of selected languages and dialects of the British Isles. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Manx English or Anglo-Manx describes the English language as it is spoken by the people of the Isle of Man. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called Black English, Black Vernacular, or Black English Vernacular (BEV), is a type of lect (dialect , ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Baltimorese, sometimes phonetically written Bawlmerese, is a dialect of American English which originated among the white blue-collar residents of southern Baltimore. ... The Boston accent is the dialect of English not only of the city of Boston itself, but more generally of all of eastern Massachusetts; it shares much in common with the accents of New Hampshire and upper Maine. ... California English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the U.S. state of California. ... General American is a notional accent of American English based on speech patterns common in the Midwest of the United States and those used by many American network television broadcasters. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Hawaiian English is the standard of the English language as used in the State of Hawaii, and is — along with the Hawaiian language — an official language of the state. ... Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from central Kentucky and northern Virginia to the Gulf Coast and from the Atlantic coast to eastern Texas. ... Spanglish, a portmanteau of the words Spanish and English, is a name used to refer to a range of language-contact phenomena, primarily in the speech of the Hispanic population of the USA, which is exposed to both Spanish and English. ... Chicano English is a dialect of American English used by Chicanos (persons of Mexican descent in America). ... Canadian English is the form of English language used in Canada, spoken as a first or second language by over 25 million – or 85 percent of – Canadians (2001 census). ... Newfoundland English is a name for several dialects of English specific to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, distinct from Canadian English. ... Québec English is the dialect of English spoken within the province of Québec. ... Australian English (AuE) is the form of the English language used in Australia. ... New Zealand English is the dialect of English spoken in New Zealand, occasionally referred to within New Zealand as Newzild. ... For more background on this topic, see languages of Hong Kong. ... Indian English refers to the dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in India and the Indian subcontinent, and also by Indian diaspora elsewhere in the world. ... It has been suggested that British and Malaysian English differences be merged into this article or section. ... Philippine English is the English language as it is used in the Philippines, where it is one of two official languages, the other being Filipino. ... Singlish, a portmanteau of the words Singaporean and English, is the English-based creole spoken colloquially in Singapore. ... Sri Lankan English (SLE) is the English language as spoken in Sri Lanka. ... Bermudian English is the variety of English spoken in Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic. ... Caribbean English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the Caribbean. ... Jamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a dialect of English encompassing in a very unique way, parts and mergers of both American English and British English dialects. ... Liberian English is the form of English spoken in the African country of Liberia. ... Malawian English is the English language as spoken in Malawi. ... South African English is a dialect of English spoken in South Africa and to some extent, in neighbouring countries with a large number of Anglo-Africans living in them, such as Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. ... Basic English is a constructed language with a small number of words created by Charles Kay Ogden and described in his book Basic English: A General Introduction with Rules and Grammar (1930). ... Commonwealth English is intended as a collective term for the perceived standard English language used in the Commonwealth of Nations1, applying in theory to Australian English, British English, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Hiberno-English (Irish English)2, Hong Kong English3, Indian English (includes Pakistani English), formal Malaysia English, New Zealand... Globish is a neologism and a portmanteau of the words Global and English. ... International English is the concept of the English language as a global means of communication in numerous dialects, and the movement towards an international standard for the language. ... Plain English focuses on being a flexible and efficient writing style that readers can understand in one reading. ... Simplified English is a controlled language originally developed for aerospace industry maintenance manuals. ... Special English is a simplified version of the English language used by the United States broadcasting service Voice of America in daily broadcasts. ... Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. ... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ...

London and the Home Counties

The accents of this region are uniformly nonrhotic, that is, the sound [ɹ] occurs only before vowels. Before consonants and in word-final position it is dropped, for example far /fɑː/, farm /fɑːm/. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... The phrase Home Counties is a name for the group of English counties which border London. ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the letter r (equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ...

Some characteristics of a London accent include:

• diphthongal realization of /iː/ and /uː/, for example beat [bɪit], boot [bʊʉt]
• diphthongal realization of /ɔː/ in open syllables, for example bore [bɔə], paw [pɔə] versus a monophthongal realization in closed syllables, for example board [boːd], pause [poːz]. But the diphthong is retained before inflectional endings, so that board and pause can contrast with bored [bɔəd] and paws [pɔəz].
• lengthening of /æ/ in a few words such as man, sad, bag etc., leading to a split of /æ/ into two phonemes /æ/ and /æː/, as in Australian English. See bad-lad split.
• an allophone of /əʊ/ before "dark L" ([ɫ]), namely [ɒʊ], for example whole [hɒʊɫ] verus holy [həʊli]. But the [ɒʊ] is retained when the addition of a suffix turns the "dark L" clear, so that wholly [hɒʊli] can contrast with holy.

Cockney, the working-class accent of London, is characterized by a number of phonological differences from RP, most of which are highly stigmatized: Australian English (AuE) is the form of the English language used in Australia. ... The bad-lad split is a phonemic split of the Early Modern English short vowel phoneme into a short and a long . ... In phonetics, an allophone is one of several similar phones that belong to the same phoneme. ... A Cockney, in the loosest sense of the word, is a working-class inhabitant of the East End of London. ...

• The dental fricatives [θ, ð] are replaced with labiodental [f, v], for example think [fɪŋk]
• The diphthong /aʊ/ is monophthongized to [æː], for example south [sæːf]
• H-dropping, for example house [æːs]
• Replacement of [t] in the middle or end of a word with a glottal stop; for example hit [ɪʔ]
• Diphthong shift of [iː] to [əi] (for example beet [bəiʔ]), [eɪ] to [aɪ] (for example bait [baɪʔ]), [aɪ] to [ɒɪ] (for example bite [bɒɪʔ]), and [ɔɪ] to [oɪ] (for example, boy [boɪ].
• Vocalization of [ɫ] (dark L) to [ɯ], for example, people [pəipɯ]

Estuary English is the name given to an accent (or group of accents) that may informally be considered a compromise between Cockney and RP. It avoids some of the most stigmatized aspects of Cockney speech, such as H-dropping and the replacement of [θ, ð] with [f, v], while retaining others, such as replacement of [t] with [ʔ] (the glottal stop) in weak positions, the vocalization of [ɫ] (dark L) to [o], and yod coalescence in stressed syllables (for example, duty /dʒuːti/). Dentals are consonants articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both. ... Fricatives (or spirants) are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. ... In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lips and the upper teeth, or viceversa. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds) is a vowel combination in a single syllable involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... H-dropping is a colloquial term used to describe the dropping of initial in words like house, heat, and hangover in many dialects of English, particularly in English accents like Cockney. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds) is a vowel combination in a single syllable involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... In animals, vocalization is a means of communication generated in many cases by their primitive versions of vocal chords. ... Estuary English is a name given to the form of English widely spoken in South East England, especially along the river Thames and its estuary. ... H-dropping is a colloquial term used to describe the dropping of initial in words like house, heat, and hangover in many dialects of English, particularly in English accents like Cockney. ... The glottal stop or voiceless glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in many spoken languages. ... In animals, vocalization is a means of communication generated in many cases by their primitive versions of vocal chords. ... A dark l is a common way of referring to a velarised alveolar lateral approximant. ... Yod-dropping is the elision of the sound , the term comes from the Hebrew letter ×™, Yod, pronounced as . ... In linguistics, stress is the emphasis given to some syllables (often no more than one in each word, but in many languages, long words have a secondary stress a few syllables away from the primary stress, as in the words cóunterfòil or còunterintélligence. ... This article discusses the unit of speech. ...

The speech of Jamaicans, or children of Jamaican parents, in London shows interesting combinations of the Jamaican accent with the London accent. For example, in Jamaican English, [θ] is replaced by [t], for example both /boːt/. In London, word-final [t] is replaced by [ʔ], as mentioned above. In Jamaican-London speech, glottalization of [t] applies also to [t] from [θ], for example both of them [bʌʊʔ ə dem]. Hypercorrections like /fʊθ/ for foot are also heard from Jamaicans. John C. Wells' dissertation, Jamaican pronunciation in London, was published the Philological Society in 1973. Hypercorrection is (1) elaborate, prescriptively based correction of common language usage, often introduced in an attempt to avoid vulgarity or informality, that results in wording commonly considered clumsier than the usual, colloquial usage (for example, in English, adherence to the proscription against split infinitives or the ending of a clause... John Christopher Wells, MA (Cantab), Ph. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

"Hood-Chat" is part accent, part dialect, from around the mid-1990s, and influenced not only by British black urban culture, but by American rap music. This variant is used by the youth of all races as a 'street' patois, with clear U.S. influences (such as the greeting "Yo!"), but also Caribbean patterns such as "arks" (rather than "ask"). This dialect is used by all races. It can be heard in many parts of England, but especially the south. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, the last decade of the 20th Century. ... Hip hop music is a style of popular music. ... ...

South East England and the Home Counties (the counties bordering London) tend to reflect the interface between London and non-London regional accents. Affluent districts are associated with a slightly "posh" (RP) accent, reflecting their traditional popularity with middle-class and upper-class residents as desirable semi-rural areas within commuting distance of London. Less affluent areas have London-like accents that grade into southern rural outside urban areas. South East England is one of the official regions of England. ... The phrase Home Counties is a name for the group of English counties which border London. ...

Essex, however, is usually associated with Estuary English, mainly in urban areas receiving an influx of East London migrants. The non-urban Essex accent, generally found in the north of the county, is more closely related to those of East Anglia. Essex is traditionally split east-west, with the northern part being thought of as East Anglian, while the southern is in the Home Counties. Essex is a county in the East of England. ...

Hertfordshire varies: the east Herts accent is akin to the native Essex, while west Herts and neighbouring Bedfordshire shares elements with West Country accents and south Midlands accents — again with strong influences from London accents thanks to the influx of post-WW2 migrants from London. Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom, officially part of the East of England Government region. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ...

Southern rural and West Country accents

Main articles: West Country dialects, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], and [[{{{5}}}]]

This family of similar strongly rhotic accents — now perceived as rural — originally extended across much of southern England south of the broad A isogloss, but are now most often, (but not always) found west of a line roughly from Shropshire to Hampshire via Oxfordshire. Their shared characteristics have been caricatured as Mummerset. The West Country is an informal area of southwestern England, roughly corresponding to the administrative region South West England. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the phoneme (the letter r, equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ... The trap-bath split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English, in the Boston accent, and in the Southern Hemisphere accents (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English), by which the Early Modern English phoneme was lengthened in certain environments and ultimately merged... Isoglosses on the Faroe Islands An isogloss is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, e. ... Shropshire (abbreviated Salop or Shrops) is a traditional, ceremonial and administrative county in the West Midlands region of England. ... Hampshire (abbr. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from Latin Oxonia) is a county in south-east England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... Mummerset is an invented English language dialect used by actors that mimics the stereotypical speech of rural Southern England, while not being specific to one area. ...

They persist most strongly in areas that remain largely rural with a largely indigenous population, particularly the West Country. In many other areas they are declining due to immigration by RP and Estuary speakers; for instance, strong Isle of Wight accents tend to be more prevalent in older speakers. The West Country is an informal area of southwestern England, roughly corresponding to the administrative region South West England. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island, south of Southampton off the southern English coast. ...

As well as rhoticity, common features of these accents include

• The diphthong /aɪ/ (as in price) realised as [ʌɪ] or [ɔɪ], sounding more like the diphthong in Received Pronunciation choice.
• The diphthong /aʊ/ (as in mouth) realised as [ɛʊ], with a starting point close to the vowel in Received Pronunciation dress.
• The vowel /ɒ/ (as in lot) realised as an unrounded vowel [ɑ], as in many forms of American English.
• In traditional West Country accents, the voiceless fricatives /s/,/f/,/θ/,/ʃ/ (as in sat, farm, think, shed respectively) are often voiced to [z],[v],[ð],[ʒ], giving pronunciations like "Zummerzet" for Somerset, "varm" for farm, "zhure" for sure, etc.
• In the Bristol area a vowel at the end of a word is often followed by an intrusive dark l, [ɫ]. Hence the old joke about the three Bristolian sisters Evil, Idle, and Normal (written Eva, Ida, and Norma). L is pronounced darkly where it is present, too, which means that in Bristolian rendering, 'idea' and 'ideal' are homophones.

Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the educated spoken English of southeastern England. It is a dialect of English English often taught to non-native speakers, and represented in the pronunciation schemes of most British dictionaries. ... Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the educated spoken English of southeastern England. It is a dialect of English English often taught to non-native speakers, and represented in the pronunciation schemes of most British dictionaries. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Bristol is a unitary authority with city and ceremonial county status in South West England. ...

East Anglian English

Features which can be found in East Anglian English (especially in Norfolk) include: Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... Norfolk (pronounced NOR-fk) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ...

• Yod-dropping after all consonants: beautiful may be pronounced [bʉːʔɪfəl], often represented as "bootiful" or "bewtiful", huge as [hʉːʤ], and so on. There are more details on [1], written by Norfolk-born linguist Peter Trudgill.
• Absence of the long mid merger between Early Modern English /oː/ (as in toe, moan, road, boat) and /ɔʊ/ (as in tow, mown, rowed). The vowel of toe, moan, road, boat may be realised as [ʊu], so that boat may sound to outsiders like boot.
• Glottal stop frequent for /t/.
• The diphthong /aɪ/ (as in price) realised as [ʌɪ], sounding more like the diphthong in Received Pronunciation choice.
• The vowel /ɒ/ (as in lot) realised as an unrounded vowel [ɑ], as in many forms of American English.
• Merger of the vowels of near and square (RP /ɪə/ and /ɛə/), making chair and cheer homophones.
• East Anglian accents are generally non-rhotic.

There are differences between areas within East Anglia, and even within areas: the Norwich accent has distinguishing aspects from the Norfolk dialect that surrounds it — chiefly in the vowel sounds. Yod-dropping is the elision of the sound , the term comes from the Hebrew letter ×™, Yod, pronounced as . ... Professor Peter Trudgill (born 1941 in Norwich, England, UK) is a sociolinguist, academic and author. ... The toe-tow merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels (as in toe) and (as in tow) that occurs in most dialects of English. ... Early modern English is a name for the modern English language the way it was used between around 1485 and 1650. ... The glottal stop or voiceless glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in many spoken languages. ... Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the educated spoken English of southeastern England. It is a dialect of English English often taught to non-native speakers, and represented in the pronunciation schemes of most British dictionaries. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... The English language has undergone a number of phonological changes before the phoneme /r/. In recent centuries, most or all of these changes have involved merging of vowel distinctions; in standard American English, for example, although there are ten or eleven stressed monophthongs, only five or six vowel contrasts are... Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the educated spoken English of southeastern England. It is a dialect of English English often taught to non-native speakers, and represented in the pronunciation schemes of most British dictionaries. ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the phoneme (the letter r, equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ... The Norfolk dialect, also known as Broad Norfolk, is a dialect that was once spoken by those living in the county of Norfolk in England. ...

Some examples of the Norfolk accent (with dialectal words thrown in) at [2]

Differences between dialects

Several differences between dialects in Southern England exist, that also differ within the English of New England. This includes well-known features such as rhoticity. The Southwest constituted a large part of the English settlers in America. The Flag of Plymouth Colony, also know as the First Flag of New England First Flag of New England, 1686-c. ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the phoneme (the letter r, equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ...