English and social background, and "Standard English"

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Grodan Boll

#434354 Wed, 24 Oct 07 08:25 PM

Hi!

I have some questions I hope someone could help me with. I really appreciate your help!

How can English vary according to the social background of the speaker? Does anyone have any examples of this?

What exacly is meant by the concept "Standard English"? How, and why can the standard vary from country to country?

How did English become a global language?

Grodan Boll

Joined on Wed, Oct 24 2007

New Member (03)

Kateness

#438613 Sun, 04 Nov 07 11:00 AM

1) The background of the speaker can effect pronunciation and also lexicon.

2) Standard English, or any standard language is one in which the norms of usage have been agreed on and have been codified, eg in dictionaries. Countries may have different varieties of English, for example, American English may have slightly different spelling in some words than Australian English. Words can also differ in meaning, as well as pronunciation between varieties.

3) Brittish colonisation was largely responsible for the spread of English in the early days, nowdays its spread can be attributed to the economic dominance of the US. Its also the main lingua franca of buisness, technology and academics, which helps its growth.

Kateness

Joined on Sun, Nov 4 2007

Australia

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Spelling, Pronunciation, American English

Kooyeen

#438780 Sun, 04 Nov 07 08:07 PM

Hi,

How can English vary according to the social background of the speaker? Does anyone have any examples of this?
English has a lot of dialects (most of them only differ in pronunciation though). So a Canadian doesn't talk the same way as a Texan does. Also, for example, teenagers usually don't talk the same way as adults do. Their vocabulary is often different. There are other factors too, like race and job.

What exacly is meant by the concept "Standard English"? How, and why can the standard vary from country to country?
Standard English doesn't really exist. When you hear the term "Standard English", people are referring to the variety you mostly find in news and press, which usually doesn't break any "rules" of "prescriptive grammar". Even though some call that variety "standard", it doesn't mean it's the best variety. Obviously, it is not always the most appropriate.

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (4,062)

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Grammar, Dialects, Vocabulary, Pronunciation

English Toolbox Co.

#440569 Fri, 09 Nov 07 02:20 PM

The other posters are correct when they say that different countries have different rules for English, so therefore there is no such thing as a "standard English." Just to give one example, the British would say that "the shop is in Market Street and is open at the weekend" and Americans would say that "the shop is on Market Street and is open on the weekend." Also, there are a huge number of different nouns for the same thing (e.g., petrol = UK, gasoline = USA) and spellings may be different (e.g., colour = UK, color = USA).

English Toolbox...

Joined on Thu, Aug 16 2007

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Nouns, Numbers

Forbes

#441110 Sun, 11 Nov 07 01:26 AM

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Forbes

Joined on Thu, Jun 16 2005

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Jon Salt

#442383 Wed, 14 Nov 07 05:34 AM

Since Wikipedia is the ideal place to send the OP packing off too, can I hijack this thread and say that I am fed up with the idea that accent and social background are inextricably linked?

I think that most people select the accent they want to use, to a great degree, depending on their attitudes towards the national elite and high culture, develop it over time, and vary it according to situation.

Jon Salt

Joined on Tue, Nov 13 2007

New Member (35)

Accents