Functional Variation Within English Vocabulary A Vast Number

Functional Variation Within English Vocabulary “A Vast Number of Englishes”

Key words (1. 1. ): • diversity, diverse, user, use, dialectal differentiation, functional differentiation, native speaker, non-native speaker, English-speaking, English-using, non-English-using, Standard E (Standard BR E), RP, General American, points of variation, preferences, prestigious educational target, attitudes and perceptions, flexibility and ‘freedom’ in creating derivatives, phraseological differences, culture-specific (sports, brand-name consciousness), stylistic differences (understatement, irony)

What is diversity in terms of language? • The term diversity covers a wide range of types within one and the same language. It is commonly accepted that English is immensely diverse: there a vast number of Englishes. Varieties of English can be recognized both according to the user and according to use.

Why is English so immensely diverse? • English today is the major vehicle of international communication. It is actually used in every country of the world.

How many users of English are there in the world today? • According to some estimations, there about 1. 5 billion English users

Who makes up the majority of the users? Who makes up the minority? • its mother-tongue speakers make up a quarter or a fifth of the total

How are countries classified in accordance with their use of E? • English-using communities can be divided into 1) English-speaking countries (Britain, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada); 2) Englishusing countries (India, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Singapore) where E. is a “second language”, used by radio and television and partly in university education; 3) non-English-using countries (Japan, France, Russia and others) where E. is used as a “foreign language” by nonnative speakers.

What is diversity in terms of dialectal differentiation? • Differentiation according to the user is called dialectal.

What is the dialect preferred in EFL and why? • The dialect of English called Standard English has become universally accepted as the appropriate model for educational use. It is non-localised, that is not associated with any particular locality. It is spoken by both native and non-native speakers as a means of international communication. Standard English is regularly accompanied by RP (Received Pronunciation) accent.

What are the two diatopic variants of E? • Major dialectal varieties of English, or super varieties, are Br and Am English. They differ in pronunciation, spelling, punctuation and usage. Spelling: humour – humor, centre – center, travelled – traveled, generalise – generalize, programme – program. • Vocabulary: autumn – fall, pavement – sidewalk, luggage – baggage, flat - apartment, lift – elevator, candy – sweet, car – automobile, shop – store, house – building.

Which words are known as Americanisms? • Ranch, a very large farm in the western US and Canada where sheep, cattle, or horses are bred • trailer, Am. E a vehicle that can be pulled behind a car, used for living and sleeping in during a holiday [= caravan Br. E] • Barbecue, barbeque Am. E

Which of the differences are less obvious and hence more difficult? • Efficiency BE: the quality of doing smth well; AE: a studio; • A chapter BE: a part of a book; AE: a department or affiliation; • Homely BE: simple and ordinary in a way that makes you feel comfortable; AE: people or face that are unattractive or ugly; • The tube BE: the system of underground trains that run in London: AE: the television.

What is Standard Br E associated with? • Standard Br E is associated with the speech of educated native inhabitants of Southern England.

What is General American? • General American is the speech of educated native Americans. It differs from local forms associated with a particular region of the country: the Eastern coast (New England dialect) or Southern United States (southern dialect).

How can you justify the popularity of Am. E? • In spite of the fact that Br. E is universally regarded as a prestigious educational target, Am. E is more popular in international business, computing and science. Another important fact is that the majority of the world’s native speakers of English are Americans – about 240 million people as compared with 57 million speakers in Britain and 20 million people in Canada. This explains the heavy American influence on Br E, Australian and Canadian English.

What is the role of attitudes and perceptions in understanding diversity? • The notion of diversity also includes attitudes and perceptions which are part of people’s life-experience. By learning more about how things are perceived by another national or regional group of speakers we broaden our understanding of how a given language variety works. We may discover how reality is shaped differently by the two diatopic variants of English.

What is a marked feature of Am. E academic writing? • Thus we will see marked differences in style and usage. For example, Am English seems to have more “freedom” in creating derivative words which may become a problem for understanding; moreover the overuse of longish derivatives becomes a regular feature of academic writing.

What are the differences in phraseology? • Phraseological differences between the two super varieties reflect cultural preferences and stereotypes specific to each of them. • To jump the queue (Br E) – to break into line (Am) • To cut the long story short – to make a long story short • In top gear (at top speed) – in high gear • To have enough and to spare (to have everything) – to have enough to spare • Am. E: to beat the bushes (to search diligently in unlikely palces) • To go to bat for someone • To die on the vine • Br. E preferences: to set one’s teeth • To come to a sticky end • Third time lucky

In what ways are metaphors culture -specific? • Metaphors or metaphoric uses of words are often culture-specific. They usually refer to areas of people’s life experience thought to be important. The noun race, for example, has given rise to a number of phrases in BE (LDOCE): the races, the race-card, a race-course, a race -goer. These expressions suggest that horse racing is a kind of national sport favoured by Br people. The meaning of the word in Am. E is the same but is illustrated by specifically Am expressions: Presidential race or race for Presidency. Baseball metaphors seem to be more popular with Americans: to be way off base, to hit a home run.

What do we mean by this? • Americans seem to be brand-name conscious.

What are Br preferences in style? • Americans and the British also differ in the use of understatement, indirectness and irony. There is a marked tendency especially in spoken Br. E to prefer indirect expressions: it is not the easiest place to get to; I’m not at all impressed; she is not exactly beautiful. The expression not exactly is often used in Br. E to add ironic overtones to the utterance: I wasn’t exactly feeling communal about my Pepsi.