Regional variation of English

British English Pronunciation Standards comprise English English, Welsh English, Scottish English and Northern Ireland English.

English English

1. Southern accents.

1) Southern accents (Greater London, Cockney, Surray, Kent);

2) East Anglia accents (Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk;

3) South-West accents (Gloucestershire, Wiltshire).

2. Northern and Midland accents.

1) Northern accents (Northumberland, Durham, Cleveland);

2) Yorkshire accents;

3) North-West accents (Lancashire, Cheshire);

West Midland (Birmingham, Wolverhampton).

Nothern Ireland English

It should be stated first of all that English pronunciation standards in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Eire are different. The explanation lies in history.

It is, of course, obvious that the language distinction is not coterminous with the political division of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, some areas of the Republic, Donegal, for instance, speak N. Ir. Eng, while some of the northern provinces speak S. Ir. Eng.

Welsh English

In Wales English dominates over Welsh in urban areas, in the west and north-west of the country the balance being in favour of Welsh, where English is learnt at schools as a second language.

Welsh English at the level of educated speech and writing is not much different from that of English English. Most differences are found at the level of more localized dialects.

Scottish English

We must first make clear that the status of Scottish English is still debated. Some linguists say that it is a national variant. Others say that it is a dialect.

English has been spoken in Scotland for as long as it has been spoken in England.


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Regional variation of English