British English is a term used to differentiate between ...



UNIVERSITY OF ŽILINA

Faculty of Science

Department of English Language and Literature

BRITISH ENGLISH – ITS FORMS,

DIALECTS, ACCENTS, SLANG, AGE, GENDER AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES

Silvia Frišová

2007

UNIVERSITY OF ŽILINA

Faculty of Science

Department of English Language and Literature

BRITISH ENGLISH - ITS FORMS, DIALECTS, ACCENTS, SLANG,

AGE, GENDER AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES

Diplomová práca

Silvia Frišová

Školiteľ: doc. PhDr. Anna Hlavňová, CSc.

Komisia pre obhajoby: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry

Predseda komisie: prof. PhDr. Stanislav Kavka, CSc.

Stupeň odborovej kvalifikácie: magister

Dátum odovzdania práce: 2007-04-15

Dátum obhajoby: .........................

Žilina 2007

ABSTRACT

FRIŠOVÁ, Silvia: British English – its forms, dialects, accents, slang, age, gender and social differences. [Diplomová práca]. Žilinská univerzita v Žiline. Fakulta prírodných vied; Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry. Školiteľ: doc. PhDr. Anna Hlavňová, CSc. Komisia obhajoby: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry.

Stupeň odbornej kvalifikácie: magister. Žilina: FPV, 2007. 80 strán.

Diplomová práca sa zaoberá problematikou britskej angličtiny, jej formami, prízvukmi, dialektmi, slangom a rozdieloch jej použitia podľa veku, pohlavia a sociálneho zaradenia v spoločnosti. Jej hlavným cieľom je oboznámiť čitateľa s hovorovou angličtinou a inými prízvukmi ako štandardným. Prvá kapitola je venovaná rôznym formám britskej angličtiny a rozdielom medzi nimi, druhá kapitola porovnáva štandardnú angličtinu a jej prízvuk s ich neštandardnými obmenami. V ďalších kapitolách sa rozoberá hovorová angličtina, rozdielne používanie slovnej zásoby a gramatiky ovplyvnené vekom, pohlavím a sociálnym postavením a pôsobenie emailu na anglický jazyk. Práca obsahuje aj názorné ukážky praktického využitia.

Kľúčové slová: Štandardná angličtina. Prízvuky. Dialekty. Vplyv veku,

pohlavia a sociálneho postavenia na jazyk. Slang. Email.

This thesis deals with the topic of British English, its forms, dialects, accents, slang, age, gender and social differences. Its main objective is to supply a reader with spoken English and other accents than is the modified Received Pronunciation. The first chapter deals with different forms of British English and differences among them, the second chapter compares Standard English and its accent with their non-standard varieties. Following chapters analyse slang, distinct use of vocabulary and grammar when taken into consideration age, gender and social class and the influence of email on English language. This thesis also contains some practical exercises for teachers of English language.

Keywords: Standard English. Accents. Dialects. Age, gender and social

differences. Slang. Email.

FOREWORD

Firstly, I would like to express my thanks to all the people who helped me to complete this thesis, especially to doc. PhDr. Anna Hlavňová, CSc. As my tutor, she gave me valuable pieces of advice and instructions and was very helpful throughout the entire project.

I have chosen this topic mostly because of personal experience. After several years of studying English, I visited Great Britain and was rather surprised. English that I had expected to hear on the streets of England did not coincide with English I was taught to. I was not ready for everyday spoken English and all its slang. For this reason, this work introduces ´other´ sides of British English as is the Standard written which Slovak students are usually in contact with.

This thesis also contains several exercises which are oriented on spoken English and its slang and which, I believe may not only positively enrich lessons of English but also bring practical value for students in the future.

Grammar, the preferred element of studying the language in Slovakia, is clearly not always the basis for everyday communication.

CONTENT

0 INTRODUCTION 13

1 BRITISH ENGLISH AND ITS FORMS 15

1.1 Standard English 15

1.2 English and its forms 16

1.2.1 Formal English 16

1.2.2 Informal English 17

1.2.2.1 Usage of Formal and Informal English 18

1.2.3 Spoken and Written English 18

1.2.3.1 Differences between Spoken and Written English 19

1.2.3.2 Other features of Spoken and Written language 21

2 ACCENTS AND DIALECTS 27

2.1 Regional dialects and Standard English 27

2.2. Regional Accents and Received Pronunciation 31

2.2.1 Main pronunciation differences between RP and other English accents 32

2.2.2 Basic differences between SE and NE 34

2.2.3 Scottish English 36

2.2.4 Welsh English 37

2.2.5 English in Northern Ireland 38

3 SLANG 40

3.1 Characteristics of slang 40

3.2 Origins of slang 41

3.3 What slang is not 41

3.4 Why people use slang 42

3.5 My favourite slang words 44

3.6 Cockney English 47

3.6.1 Etymology of Cockney English 47

3.6.2 Cockney speech and its features 48

3.7 Cockney Rhyming Slang 50

3.7.1 Sociolinguistics of Cockney Rhyming Slang 51

3.7.2 Examples of Cockney Rhyming Slang 53

3.8 Exercises 57

4 SOCIAL, AGE AND GENDER DIFFERENCES 59

4.1. Social class differences 59

4.2 Age differences 64

4.3 Gender differences 67

4.3.1 Do women speak more ´correct´ than men? 67

4.3.2 Do women speak more politely than men? 69

4.3.3 Do women talk more than men? 72

5 LANGUAGE IN EMAIL MESSAGES 74

5.1 Email 74

5.2 Email style 74

5.2.1 Typical characteristics of email language 75

5.3 Exercise 78

6 CONCLUSION ………...…………………………………………………………75

ATTACHMENTS

Recordings 1 - 6 a CD

0 INTRODUCTION

British English, its sub variations, dialects, accents and slang. Subjects or better said main concerns of many linguists who try to point out, even for native speakers, differences between written, spoken English and slang.

Age, gender and social differences can also cause some uncertainties when it comes to the use of language.

In casual oral communication it is not normal to reflect on the correct use of English grammar and vocabulary. Indeed to correct a person who may use grammatically inappropriate words or sentence constructions would be accepted as rude or impolite in British society.

Learning the English language, I have been dealing with this matter from my early arrival in England. I have started to compare it from the very first day of arriving to the British Isles. I guess it was highlighted by the fact that the lady of the family I stayed with was Australian and her husband was British. This was the beginning of my ´exploration.´ I have lived in the UK for some time and enjoyed many opportunities to meet people from not only different age and gender groups but also social classes. I must admit, it was interesting, and, in hindsight, very helpful for my thesis, to watch sometimes trivial, sometimes greater differences and sometimes bizarre peculiarities in the usage of this dominant international language.

My first chapter deals with Standard English, its forms and differences between them. It is accompanied by a sample of spoken English on which I tried to depict all its typical characteristics.

In the second passage, I compare Standard English and Received Pronunciation with other British accents and dialects and point out the main distinctions. All theory is supported by examples which I used either from my experience or from the attached recordings. Due to the restrictions of the length of this work, I was not able to use and analyse more recordings.

Slang, Cockney English and Cockney Rhyming slang is another, and perhaps my favourite and most entertaining, part of this work. This section reveals the real and truthful English. It contains a very useful language for everyday communication in Britain. Once again, everything is demonstrated by examples with some supporting, practical exercises.

Some interesting data and results depending on age, gender and social class differences are presented in the fourth chapter.

The last section shows the influence of email onto the language; how it changes written English and declines its quality and on the other hand, how popular it is among people.

Awright… so, take a momun´, make Bruce Lee, turn off da Sharon Stone, put yaaahr dog´s meat up an´ hairy knees, read dis work. ´ope yew´ll enjoy it ;-)

1 BRITISH ENGLISH AND ITS FORMS

1.1 Standard English

Standard English is a term used to denote a form of written and spoken English that is thought to be normative for its users. It is regarded by many as the most ´correct´ form of English and as Gardiner (1, p.35) says “is the variety that children are taught to write.” Unlike languages like, for example, French, Chinese or Dutch, English has no set rules, no principle of origin or no governing body to establish usage. There is no academic authority to rule on what good English is or is not. Moreover, English has become the most widely spoken second language in the world with numerous dialects. Still, the English have developed their standards. They are set for a very simple reason – to communicate with as a wide audience as possible.

According to Trudgill (3) “Standard English is a set of grammatical and lexical forms which is typically used in speech and writing by educated native speakers. It includes the use of colloquial and slang vocabulary, as well as swearwords and taboo expressions.” It is not a strict definition, only its characterisation. Trudgill does not refer to pronunciation, only to grammar and vocabulary. He claims that only about 15% of the population of the British Isles speak Standard English. He says that Standard English is not a language; only a dialect, the variety of English that differs from others in that it has greater prestige and the one which is normally used in writing and printing, the variety associated with the education system in all the English-speaking countries around the world.

David Crystal (4, p.34) offers an alternative, not the less interesting definition of Standard English. It consists of five key features:

1. It is not regionally based.

2. It has distinctive features of grammar, vocabulary and orthography (spelling and punctuation), but not of pronunciation.

3. It is the most prestigious variety of English, associated with people of high social status.

4. It is the variety of English promoted by educational institutions and is used in government, law and the mass media.

5. Standard English is the variety that is commonly used in printed texts. However, only a minority use it when they speak.

In English, as in any language, different styles of expressions are appropriate in different situations and that is why we can go from the formal to the informal or from the written to the spoken. It is evident that written English is not quiet the same as spoken English and people often speak of Standard English as Standard written English (SWE).

1.2 English and its forms

1.2.1 Formal English

People often speak of language as being correct or incorrect. It would be more accurate to refer to particular language structures as being formal or informal, appropriate or inappropriate for a specific context. In everyday conversation we do not have to follow the rules of grammar as carefully as we would in a formal address or a business letter. Official or important situations are often signalled by the use of formal language (it has a more serious, distant and impersonal tone) while everyday or ordinary situations are characterised by the use of informal language (it is relaxed, familiar and conversational). Formality of language depends on factors as public v. private occasion, the size of the audience, the relationship of the speaker/writer with the audience, and so on. The ability to change your language according to the situation is often regarded as a mark of an educated person.

Formal English is, for the most part, a written language. In general, it is confined to the realm of the serious: textbooks, academic or technical works, and most essays written at university. You would write formally in a letter of application for a job. It follows rules of grammar very strictly. Sentences tend to be longer, more complex and complete, language is likely to be impersonal and precise; the vocabulary is elevated, using more specialised and complex words and avoiding slang or vernacular. It avoids e.g. abbreviations, contractions, split infinitives and prepositions at the end of sentences.

Principals of English formal style:

a) The more formal a document is, the more it will use inanimate nouns

as subjects of a sentence.

b) The more formal language is, the more it is likely to use passive

constructions.

c) The more formal language is the more verbal nouns it will use.

d) The more formal a document is the more words of Latin origin it will

contain.

1.2.2 Informal English

Informal language is characterised by a simpler grammatical structure (e.g. loosely-connected and shorter sentences and phrases), personal evaluation, and a colloquial or slang vocabulary. Newspaper articles and columns are usually written informally, and we use informal language when we write to our friends.

Principles of English informal style: a) The more informal or spontaneous language is, the more it will use

humans as the subjects of sentences.

b) The more informal a text is, the less it will use passive structures.

c) The more informal a text is, the more it will use verb structures

(where a choice is possible).

b) The more informal or spoken a text is, the more words of Germanic

origin it will contain.

1.2.2.1 Usage of Formal and Informal English

The register must be appropriate to the subject, the situation and the intended audience.

Formal Informal Slang (Chapter 3)

e.g. comprehend understand get it

intoxicated drunk wasted

exhausted tired bagged

dejected sad bummed (8)

Here are some examples; in each case the same idea is expressed using different levels of formality:

1. a) The inclement climatic conditions obliged the President to return

earlier than scheduled.

b) The President had to go back sooner than he’d planned because the

weather was so bad.

2. a) Please wait instructions before despatching items.

b) Don’t send anything off until you’re told to do so.

3. a) Prior to the discovery of America, potatoes were not consumed in

Europe.

b) Before they discovered America, Europeans didn’t eat potatoes. (6)

1.2.3 Spoken and Written English

The purpose of all languages is to communicate - that is, to move thoughts and information from one person to another. “There are always at least two people in any communication. To communicate, one person must put something "out" and another person must take something "in". We call this "output" and "input".” (7)

Josef Essberger (7) explains this statement as following:

• I speak to you (OUTPUT: my thoughts go OUT of my head).

• You listen to me (INPUT: my thoughts go INto your head).

• You write to me (OUTPUT: your thoughts go OUT of your head).

• I read your words (INPUT: your thoughts go INto my head).

So language consists of four "skills": two for output (speaking and writing); and two for input (listening and reading). We can say this in

a different way - two of the skills are for "spoken" communication and two of the skills are for "written" communication:

Spoken:

>>> Speaking - mouth

> Writing - hand

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