Varieties of English Flashcards
What’s the purpose of having a Standard English
- The conventional form of the language is established ; a convention = used in books, to teach..
- it limits variation
- it can be spoken in any accent and be understood all over the country.
= a unified means of communication.
Which variety became standard
the East Midlands variety
Why was the East Midlands variety chosen?
- It was a good compromise: the midlands are in the middle geographically and LINGUISTICALLY
- Because of the triangle of prestige
Explain the standardisation process
- the language is selected, codified & stabilised. ; It’s a process of variation reduction
- A “prestige” variety of language
What was the situation before the standardisation of a variety?
Very different dialects across the country, they could not all understand eachother easily
What consequences had the Black Death geographically?
Many Englishmen moved to London, because there were jobs available. They were mostly coming from the Midlands.
How was Standard English selected?
- A status acquired gradually.
- It was the dialect of the Royal Court in London as it was the leading dialect. It was an upper social dialect
When was the rise of Standard English
end of the 14th Century
Dialect levelling
= a convergence of varieties
reduction or elimination of variation between dialects
What is the triangle of prestige
Called the golden triangle: the triangle formed by London-Oxford-Cambridge, there can be found prestigious university.
During the 14th century the variety spoke within that area was the East Midlands variety
What helped the new norms of a standardised English to spread faster?
- After the Middle English Period: networks more literacy dependent ; scriveners who belonged to several networks (agent of change)
- Royal representatives all around the country helped diffuse London norms through official written documents.
- Chancery English developed
Chancery English
emerged in 1430: based on East Midlands variety, it was used in official documents (king’s document), a national standard of spelling and grammar.
==> Prescriptive norms imposed by the weight of authority
Prescriptive norms
refers to moral values and societal standards about behaviors
“How people should write and speak”
what did William Caxton do?
He is said to have introduced printing in England, he opened his print shop in Westminster, the site of Chancery and the administrative seat of government, to establish the idea that his documents were printed in “official” English.
Caxton exhibited a self-consciousness about the kind of language that should be standard because he had an impact, practices are defined by publishers at that time.
Act of Union England-Wales + Scottish Parliament dissolved (Birth of UK)
1707
Language security
The way you speak conforms to what you think the norm is
Linguistic insecurity
can be defined as the lack of confidence experienced by speakers when they believe that the way they speak does not conform to - and is inferior to - the standard variety.
Is there a standard variety of spoken English? (as in the accent)
Phonology is more resistant to standardisation, because of the extremely variable and changing nature of pronunciation.
Yet, there exists a ‘spoken standard’, a standard accent of British English: RP.
What are the two main dialects used to teach English as a foreign language?
British Standard English associated with RP
North American English associated with GA
RP
Received Pronunciation is the accent regarded as neutral and most prestigious. Not linguistically superior, but it tends to be associated with the better-educated parts of society. Yet, RP no longer has the prestigious social position it once held.
GA
General American : the majority accent of American English. The accent is used, for example, by most radio and television presenters, and is not without some internal variation, but it is thought of as chiefly excluding speakers with eastern (New England) or southern backgrounds. It is often referred to as Network English or Network Standard.
Lingua Franca
The language used between non-native (english) people when they don’t share a common native language.
Today –> English as a Lingua Franca
The LFC by linguist Jennifer Jenkins
The Lingua Franca Core (LFC) is a selection of pronunciation features of the English language recommended as a basis in teaching of English as a lingua franca.
What is the Survey of English Dialects (SED)?
In the 50/60’s under the direction of Harold Orton
Fieldworkers visited more than 300 different towns and villages. They asked working-class men about their words for everyday objects and got them to talk.
The result was hundreds of dialect recordings & phonetic transcriptions. = They made dialect maps. eg. trap/bath split