Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, and other aspects of grammar. For the classification of varieties of the language, English, in pronunciation only, see regional accents of English.
Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible." English speakers from different countries and regions use a variety of accents (systems of pronunciation), and local words and grammatical constructions, and from these factors various dialects can be differentiated. Dialects can be classified at broad or narrow levels: within a broad national or regional dialect, localised sub-dialects can be identified. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions without any prior exposure.
The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into three general categories: the British Isles dialects, those of North America, and those of Australasia.Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge University Press, 2003 Dialects can be associated not only with place but also with particular social groups. Within a given English-speaking country, there is a form of the language considered to be Standard English: the Standard Englishes of different countries differ and can themselves be considered dialects. Standard English is often associated with the more educated layers of society as well as more formal registers.
Standard British and Standard American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world, excluding countries in which English is spoken natively such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and Ireland. In many former British Empire countries in which English is not spoken natively, British English forms are closely followed, alongside numerous American English usages that have become widespread throughout the English-speaking world. Conversely, a number of countries with historical ties to the United States tend to follow American English conventions. Many of these countries, while retaining strong British English or American English influences, have developed their own unique dialects, which include Indian English and Philippine English.
Chief among other native English dialects are Canadian English and Australian English, which rank third and fourth in the number of native speakers. For the most part, Canadian English, while featuring numerous British forms, alongside indigenous Canadianisms, shares vocabulary, phonology and syntax with American English, which leads many to recognise North American English as an organic grouping of dialects.Trudgill and Hannah, 2002 Australian English, likewise, shares many British English usages, alongside plentiful features unique to Australia, and retains a significantly higher degree of distinctiveness from both larger varieties than does Canadian English. South African English, New Zealand English and Irish English are also distinctive and rank fifth, sixth, and seventh in the number of native speakers.
Europe English language in Europe
Great Britain British English
England English language in England: Standard English (Not to be confused with the accent Received Pronunciation) Northern Lancastrian (Lancashire) and Cheshire Bolton Mancunian (Manchester) Scouse (Merseyside) Cumbrian (Cumbria) Barrovian (Barrow-in-Furness) Northumbrian (Northumberland and County Durham) Geordie (Tyneside) Mackem (Sunderland) Pitmatic (Great Northern Coalfield) Smoggie (Teesside) Yorkshire East Midlands Lincolnshire West Midlands Black Country Brummie (Birmingham) Potteries (north Staffordshire) Coventry East Anglian Norfolk Suffolk Essex Southern Cockney (working-class London and surrounding areas) Estuary Received Pronunciation (middle-class London, Home Counties and Hampshire) Multicultural London (London) Sussex West Country Cornwall Bristolian Dorset Janner (Plymouth)
Scotland Scottish English comprising varieties based on the Standard English of England. Glasgow Highland English
Wales Welsh English Abercraf Cardiff Gower Port Talbot
Non-geographic based English Angloromani Brogue
British dependencies and territories Channel Islands: Channel Island English Isle of Man: Manx English Gibraltar: Gibraltarian English Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha: South Atlantic English
Ireland Hiberno-English (Irish English) Ulster Ulster Scots dialect (contested) Leinster Dublin Dublin 4 (D4) South-West Ireland Extinct Yola language (also known as Forth and Bargy dialect), thought to have been a descendant of Middle English, spoken in County Wexford Fingallian, another presumed descendant of Middle English, spoken in Fingal
Continental Europe Euro English English in Denmark English in Finland English in Germany English in the Netherlands English in Norway English in Spain English in Sweden
European interlanguages Czenglish Danglish Dunglish Finglish Franglais Denglisch Greekglish Hunglish Itanglese Ponglish Estonglish Porglish/Portuglish Siculish Spanglish Llanito Swenglish Runglish Solombala English
Mediterranean English in Cyprus Maltese English
North America United States Interactive map of American English American English: Cultural and ethnic American English African American English African-American Vernacular English Cajun Vernacular English General American: the "standard" or "mainstream" spectrum of American English Latino (Hispanic) Vernacular Englishes Chicano English (Mexican-American English) Miami English New York Latino English Pennsylvania Dutch English Yeshiva English American Indian English Lumbee English Regional and local American English Northern American English Inland Northern English: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Western New York, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and most of the U.S. Great Lakes region New England English Eastern New England English (including Boston and Maine English) Rhode Island English Western New England English: Connecticut, Hudson Valley, western Massachusetts, and Vermont North-Central (Upper Midwestern) English: northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana Metropolitan New York English Southeast Super-Regional English Midland American English North Midland English: Iowa City, Omaha, Lincoln, Columbia, Springfield, Muncie, Columbus, etc. South Midland English: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City, St. Louis (in transition), Decatur, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Dayton, etc. High Tider English: traditional dialect of the Chesapeake Bay, Tangier, Ocracoke, the Outer Banks, Virginia Barrier Islands, etc. New Orleans English Philadelphia English Baltimore English Southern American English Southern Appalachian English: Linden, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Asheville, and Greenville Texan English: Lubbock, Odessa, and Dallas Tennessean English: Nashville, Murfreesboro, Memphis Western American English California English Pacific Northwest English Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) English Extinct or near-extinct American English Boontling "Good American Speech": Mid-Atlantic or Transatlantic English Elite Northeastern American English Older Southern American English American English-based hybrid languages (creoles or pidgins) Afro-Seminole Creole Gullah language/Sea Island Creole English, South-East US related to Bahamian creole Hawaiian Pidgin
Canada Interactive map of Canadian English Canadian English: Aboriginal English in Canada Bungi of the Canadian Metis people of British descent Atlantic Canadian English Lunenburg English Newfoundland English Greater Toronto English Ottawa Valley English Quebec English Standard Canadian English Southern British Columbia English
Caribbean, Central, and South America
Caribbean Caribbean English
Antigua and Barbuda Antiguan and Barbudan English Antiguan and Barbudan Creole
The Bahamas Bahamian English Bahamian Creole
Barbados Bajan English Bajan Creole
Belize Belizean English Belizean Creole
Bermuda Bermudian English
Cayman Islands Cayman Islands English
Colombia San Andrés–Providencia English
Costa Rica Limonese Creole
Dominican Republic Samaná English
Falkland Islands Falkland Islands English
Guyana Guyanese English Guyanese Creole
Honduras Bay Islands English
Jamaica Jamaican English Jamaican Patois
Nicaragua Miskito Coast Creole Rama Cay Creole
Panama Bocas del Toro Creole
Puerto Rico Puerto Rican English Virgin Islands Creole
Saba Saban English
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Vincentian English Vincentian Creole Iyaric
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidadian and Tobagonian English Tobagonian Creole Trinidadian Creole
Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Creole
Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Creole
Asia
Bangladesh Bangladeshi English (Benglish or Banglish) Banglish
Brunei Brunei English
Cambodia Cambodian English
China and Taiwan Chinese Pidgin English (Extinct) Chinglish
Hong Kong Hong Kong English
India Indian English: Standard Indian English Indian English: the "standard" English used by government administration, it derives from the British Indian Empire. Butler English: (also Bearer English or Kitchen English), once an occupational dialect, now a social dialect. Regional and local Indian English East Region: Odia English, Bhojpuriya English, Assamese English, Bengali English, North-East Indian English etc. West Region: Gujarati English, Maharashtrian English etc. North Region: Hindustani English (Hinglish), Delhi/Punjabi English, Rajasthani English etc. South Region: Telugu English (Tenglish), Kannada English (Kanglish), Tamil English (Tanglish), Malayali English etc.
Israel
Heblish Yeshivish
Japan English in Japan Engrish
Myanmar (Burma) Burmese/Myanmar English
Korea Korean English
Malaysia Malaysian English Manglish
Maldives
Maldivian English
Middle East Arablish
Nepal Nepali English
Pakistan Pakistani English Urdish
Philippines Philippine English Taglish Bislish
Singapore Singapore English Singlish
Sri Lanka Sri Lankan English
Thailand Tinglish
Africa
Cameroon Cameroonian English
Eswatini
Swazi English
Ethiopia
Ethiopian English
The Gambia Gambian English
Ghana Ghanaian English
Kenya Kenyan English
Lesotho
Lesotho English
Liberia Liberian English Merico language
Malawi Malawian English
Namibia Namlish
Nigeria Nigerian English
Rwanda Rwandan English
Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean English
South Africa South African English: Black South African English, White South African English, Indian South African English etc. Cape Flats English Xhosa English
South Atlantic South Atlantic English spoken on Tristan da Cunha and Saint HelenaDaniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10
Tanzania
Tanzanian English
Uganda Ugandan English
Zambia Zambian English
Zimbabwe Zimbabwean English
Oceania
Australia Australian English General Australian: Broad Australian, Cultivated, Mediterranean accent etc. Australian Aboriginal English South Australian English Western Australian English Torres Strait English
Fiji Fiji English
New Zealand New Zealand English: Māori English, Pasifika English, Southland accent, West Coast Irish Catholic accent, Taranaki accent etc.
Palau Palauan English
Papua New Guinea Papuan Pidgin English
Others Learning English Simplified Technical English
Antarctica Antarctic English
See also American English regional vocabulary