STANDARD ENGLISH AND VARIETIES OF ENGLISH thuyết trinh môn đa dạng tiếng anh

Topic 9

STANDARD ENGLISH AND
C
VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
Group 5


Group members :
Đào Tú Uyên 187na11307
Nguyễn Mạnh Khang 187na15771
Võ Lê Anh Khoa 187na15781

Nguyễn Minh Hân 187na15728
Nguyễn Kim Hạnh 187na15717


1.Academic English - Prof. David Crystal on standard vs. nonstandard English

Prof. David Crystal


• Define: A standard language is a variety of language that is used by
governments, in the media, in schools and for international
communication. There are different standard varieties of English in
the world, such as North American English, Australian English and
Indian English. Although these standard varieties differ in terms of
their pronunciation, there are few differences in grammar between
them.

-In contrast, there are non-standard forms of a language that are used, for example, in different
regional dialects and these non-standard varieties are different from each other.
-Standard English is proper English is correct English. Dilect is inferior English, is low quality,
is deficient in some way to be judged against the criterion of the standard language.
-Standard English is the minority dialect – always has been

-And indeed you will hear standard English spoken on the most public of occasions, and that's
why everybody gets the impression that it's universal but in actual fact perhaps only five percent
at most of the spoken English around the world is going to be standard English.


2.Standard English:
• According to Tom McArthur in The Oxford Companion to
the English Language (1992) , the term Standard English
"resists easy definition but is used as if most educated people
nonetheless know precisely what it refers to."

• We need to know Standard English, but we need to know it
critically, analytically, and in the context of language
history.

Tom McArthur


The Convenience of Standard English
Standard English is that particular variety of English which is regarded by educated people as
appropriate for most types of public discourse, including most broadcasting, almost all
publication, and virtually all conversation with anyone other than intimates.
- For example : American users of standard English say the first floor and I've just gotten a letter
and write center and color, while British users say ground floor and I've just got a letter and write

centre and colour.
But these regional differences are few in comparison with the very high degree of agreement
about which forms should count as standard. Nevertheless, standard English, like all living
languages, changes over time


Varieties of Standard English
There is no such thing (at present) as a Standard English which is
not British or American or Australian, etc. There is no International
Standard (yet), in the sense that publishers cannot currently aim at a
standard which is not locally bound."


3.Standard english and non-standard english
-Standard English is the form of English used in:
+Almost all written texts
+Speech in formal situations

=>All English-speakers need to know how to write and speak
standard English.


Some types of non-standard English:
+Dialect: may be regional of ethnic, has its own grammatical rules, has its own dialect words.
+Slang: usually related to an age-group, special words and phrases used to show membership
of the group, exclude and mystify others.
+Jargon: usually related to an occupation, special words and phrases used to express technical
Know-how, show membership of group, exclude and mystify others.

+Other: non-standard forms that started as dialect or slang but became widespread considered

to be incorrect or ‘uneducated’ use of English.


Example:
Non-standard: I works hard.

Standard: I work hard.

You has won.

You have won.

Note:
-Watch out for past sentences:

Non-standard: I seen you.
She done it.

Standard: I saw you.
She did it.

-Double negatives are not standard English:
Non-standard: You don’t know nothing.

Standard: You know nothing.

You’re not going.

You’re going nowhere.

-Adjectives should not be used as adverbs:
Non-standard: He did it proper.
I played good.

Standard: He did it properly.
I played well.


4.Varieties of English
- In America, Britain, England, Australia, Canada, English has different pronunciations for
the same words, different words for the same object.


Regions in America
. East coast pronunciation shares similarities
with England.
Example : Queer is use as something strange
or odd, Common as a pejorative
. East vs West: Harruble vs Horruble, Fahrun
vs Forun
. New York Accent: Intensified over the
years, Doo-awg for dog, Coo-awfee for
coffee.


Regions in Britain
. More different dialects than any other
country in English speaking world.
. At least 42 different dialects.

. An accent can greatly differ just between
two towns!


England
Pronunciations as a fashion statement during the 80s
. Use of broad ‘a’ in bath, glass

. Cockney
. Flaffly or Hyperlect
. Talking without much movement of the lips
. Prince Charles is an expert


Regions in Australia
Use of British words
. Many new words devised: Billabong for
brackish body of water, Kangaroo,
Outback, Didgeridoo, Tucker for food.
. Use of American words as well: Station
wagon instead of estate car; Mail, not post
; Labor, not labour ; Band-aid, not plaster.


Regions in Canada
• .Use of British words: Scone, Tap(for
faucet), Porridge.

• . 10000 Canadianisms: Skookum for
strong, Reeve for a mayor

• . Mostly American influence though


Alternate view
. At

CA American slang is mainly adopted.

. Shortening of words like ‘Caf’ for cafeteria, ‘Perf’ for perfect.
. Linguists tend to divide the major native dialects into: British Isles dialects,
North American dialects and Australasia.

. Similar method to how Bryson does it in the chapter.


Standard English
-Standard English is what we think of as the “rules” of English. It is what the professional world
expects you to follow when you write or speak in formal situations.
-No one is in charge of the English Language. Language is a system of symbols and meanings. If
you can communicate using it, it’s language.
-English follows the pattern: S + V + Complete Thought (SVO)
-The benefit of following Standard English is that other people who understand Standard English
will probably understand you.

-Standard English is almost impossible to follow in Spoken English which uses other systems
such as “body language”and “tone” to communicate meaning in ways Written Language can’t.


Dialects
A dialect is a form of the language that is spoken in a particular part of the country or by a

particular group of people. There are many different dialects of English and they have different
words and grammar.

Examples of dialect forms in British English are:
I ain’t going to school today. (standard form: I’m not going to school today.)
She don’t understand. (standard form: She doesn’t understand.)
Dialects are not wrong, but they may not be “Standard”.
Dialects used in the “wrong” setting may be judged.
-You don’t have to follow Standard English, but you may be judged by others if you don’t. The
same is true with dialects.


Vernacular English
Vernacular Englishes are ways of speaking English that are formed or adopted by different social
groups of English speakers.
Here are just three vernacular Englishes:
1. Appalachian Vernacular English (or Appalachian Dialect), some call this “country English”
2. African-American Vernacular English, some call this “Ebonics”
3. Tex-Mex Vernacular refers to Texas and Mexico and is a mix of English and Spanish words.


Vernacular works well in a variety of situations:

Talking with friends

Singing or rapping lyrics in
music

Texting/snapchatting/social media

Dialogue by characters in
stories/movies


Vernacular Englishes are not always wrong but it is wrong in your
speaking and writing for teachers. For example:


What is Standard English ?
Standard English (SE) is the variety of English language that is used as the
national norm in an English-speaking country, especially as the language for
public and formal usage.


Qualitles of writing In Standard English
- no slang
- no abbreviations or contractions

- establishes a serious, objective tone
- precise word choice
- establishes credibility and authority
- mostly uses third person
- more complex sentences