Englishes of the World
Australian English
Canadian English
Caribbean English
English English
Irish English
Malaysian English
New Zealand English
Philippine English
Scottish English
South African English
Sri Lankan English
Welsh English
Search the web or printed sources to find the information about the dialect you have chosen.
Make a list of peculiarities of pronunciation and intonation, grammar and vocabulary of the dialect. You may support your presentation with audio examples (Below there is a list of links).
Prepare a 2-minute presentation of the dialect. You may support it with a Power Point Presentation.
Present your findings to the class.
Listen to the presentations of your groupmates and complete the table below.
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Variant |
Region / Country |
Peculiarities of |
Notes | ||
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Pronunciation |
Grammar |
Vocabulary |
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Australian English |
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Useful links:
McAuthorm, Tom The Oxford Guide to World English. – OUP, 2002.
Crystal, David The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language .- CUP, 1995.
Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language
Sounds Familiar? Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website (http://www.bl.uk/soundsfamiliar)
English Accents and Dialects A browsable collection of recordings by the British Library. http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/dialects/
Accents of English from Around the World Hear and compare how the same 110 words are pronounced in 50 English accents from around the world - instantaneous playback online http://www.soundcomparisons.com/
American Dialects http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/ NationalMap.html
BBC sound archive of accents in the British Isles http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices /wil/
International Dialects of English Archive http://www.ku.edu/~idea/north america/northamerica.htm
Regional Accents for the Non-Expert http://students.csci.unt.edu/~kun
Speech Accent Archive http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php/|English
FUN WITH ENGLISH
In groups of four match the explanations (1-9) to the words, phrases and figures. Then answer Questions 10-17.
A word which reads the same backwards, forwards and upside-down.
Seven words with the same spelling but a different pronunciation (homograph, e.g. live (a verb) and live (adjective)).
Two words that consist of two words blended together, e.g. smog = smoke + fog.
Two acronyms, e.g. AIDS = acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Three eponyms, e.g. sandwich was named after the Earl of Sandwich.
A word with no vowels.
A word which is spelt the same backwards as forwards.
Two sentences that read the same backwards and forwards (palindrome), e.g. Madam I’m Adam.
Two words, each of which can have several meanings, but whose spelling and pronunciation are the same (homonym).
What is strange about this sentence (think about the letters used). The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
What do you think are the most commonly used written words in English? And the most commonly used letter?
What word is most commonly used in telephone conversations?
Which of the following words are spelt incorrectly? fourty, althought, misspelt, Wensday
What three things do three of these six words have in common? bet, get, jet, met, set, wet
How many words do you think there are in the English language?
How many words do you think the average English person knows?
Punctuate this sentence:
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In a Latin examination James where John had had had had had had had had had had had had the examiner’s approval. |
Help: James and John were doing a translation from Latin into English, and they had to translate the English equivalent of ‘had had’.
Who is the winner?
PART 2. GLOBALISATION OF ENGLISH
LEAD-IN