Editing List of dialects of English

{{Short description|none}}  <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
[[Dialect]]s are [[variety (linguistics)|linguistic varieties]] that may differ in [[pronunciation]], [[vocabulary]], [[spelling]], and other aspects of [[grammar]]. For the classification of varieties of [[English language|English]] only in of pronunciation, see [[regional accents of English]].

== Overview ==
Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, [[mutual intelligibility|mutually comprehensible]]."<ref name=Wakelin2008/> English speakers from different countries and regions use a variety of different [[accent (sociolinguistics)|accents]] (systems of pronunciation) as well as various localized words and grammatical constructions. Many different dialects can be identified based on these factors. Dialects can be classified at broader or narrower levels: within a broad national or regional dialect, various more localised sub-dialects can be identified, and so on. 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]].<ref>Crystal, David. ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language'', Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> 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 [[education|educated]] layers of society as well as more formal [[register (sociolinguistics)|registers]].

British and 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]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], and [[New Zealand]]. 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]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2013-12-16 |editor-last=Filppula |editor-first=Markku |editor2-last=Klemola |editor2-first=Juhani |editor3-last=Sharma |editor3-first=Devyani |title=The Oxford Handbook of World Englishes |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199777716.001.0001 |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199777716.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-977771-6 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> 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 [[English language#Geographical distribution|number of native speakers]].<ref>{{Cite book |date=1999-01-28 |title=The Cambridge History of the English Language |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521264778.011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/chol9780521264778.011|isbn=978-1-139-05365-5 }}</ref>  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.<ref>Trudgill and Hannah, 2002</ref> Australian English, likewise, shares many American and 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]]
[[File:Dialects of English in UK and Ireland.svg|thumb|350px|[[Dialect]]s and [[accent (sociolinguistics)|accent]]s of English spoken in the [[British Isles]]]]
<!--This section linked from [[British English]]-->

=== Great Britain ===
* '''[[British English]]'''

==== England ====
[[English language in England]]:
* [[Standard English]] (Not to be confused with the accent [[Received Pronunciation]])
* [[Northern England English|Northern]]
** [[Lancashire dialect and accent|Lancastrian]] ([[Lancashire]]) and [[Cheshire dialect|Cheshire]]
*** [[A Grammar of the Dialect of the Bolton Area|Bolton]]
*** [[Manchester dialect|Mancunian]] ([[Manchester]])
*** [[Scouse]] ([[Merseyside]])
** [[Cumbrian dialect|Cumbrian]] ([[Cumbria]]) 
*** [[Barrovian]] ([[Barrow-in-Furness]])
** [[Northumbrian dialect|Northumbrian]] ([[Northumberland]] and [[County Durham]])
*** [[Geordie]] ([[Tyneside]]) 
*** [[Mackem]] ([[City of Sunderland|Sunderland]])
*** [[Pitmatic]] ([[Great Northern Coalfield]])
** [[Smoggie]] ([[Teesside]])
** [[Yorkshire dialect|Yorkshire]] 
* [[East Midlands English|East Midlands]]
** [[East Midlands English#Lincolnshire and East Lincolnshire|Lincolnshire]]
* [[West Midlands English|West Midlands]]
** [[Black Country dialect|Black Country]]
** [[Brummie dialect|Brummie]] ([[Birmingham]])
** [[Potteries dialect|Potteries]] (north [[Staffordshire]])
** [[Coventry#Accent|Coventry]]
* [[East Anglian English|East Anglian]]
** [[Norfolk dialect|Norfolk]]
** [[Suffolk dialect|Suffolk]]
** [[Essex dialect|Essex]]
* [[Southern English English|Southern]]
** [[Cockney]] (working-class [[London]] and surrounding areas)
** [[Estuary English|Estuary]] 
** [[Received Pronunciation]] (middle-class [[London]], [[Home Counties]] and [[Hampshire]])
** [[Multicultural London English|Multicultural London]] ([[London]])
** [[Sussex dialect|Sussex]]
* [[West Country English|West Country]]
** [[Cornish dialect|Cornwall]]
** [[Culture of Bristol#Dialect|Bristolian]]
** [[Dorset dialect|Dorset]]
** [[Janner]] (Plymouth)

==== Scotland ====
* [[Scottish English]] comprising varieties based on the Standard English of England.
** [[Glasgow dialect|Glasgow]]
** [[Highland English]]

==== Wales ====
* [[Welsh English]]
** [[Abercraf English|Abercraf]]
** [[Cardiff English|Cardiff]]
** [[Gower dialect|Gower]]
** [[Port Talbot English|Port Talbot]]

==== Non-geographic based English ====
* [[Angloromani language|Angloromani]]

=== British dependencies and territories ===
* Channel Islands: [[Channel Island English]]
* Isle of Man: [[Manx English]]
* Gibraltar: [[Gibraltarian English]]

=== Ireland ===
* [[Hiberno-English]] (Irish English)
** [[Ulster English|Ulster]]
*** [[Ulster Scots dialect]] ([[Scots language#Decline in status|contested]])
** [[Leinster]]
*** [[Dublin English|Dublin]] 
**** [[Dublin 4#Accent|Dublin 4]] (D4)
** [[South-West Irish English|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]]<ref name= Hickey2005>{{cite book| last= Hickey| first= Raymond| title= Dublin English: Evolution and Change|year= 2005| publisher= John Benjamins Publishing| isbn= 90-272-4895-8 | pages= 196–198}}</ref><ref name= Hickey2002>{{cite book| last= Hickey| first= Raymond| title= A Source Book for Irish English| year= 2002| publisher= John Benjamins Publishing| location= Amsterdam| isbn= 90-272-3753-0| quote= {{ISBN|1-58811-209-8}} (US)| pages= 28–29| url= http://www.uni-due.de/~lan300/Flyer_Source_Book_for_Irish_English.pdf}}</ref>
** [[Fingallian]], another presumed descendant of Middle English, spoken in [[Fingal]]<ref name= Hickey2005 />

=== Continental Europe ===
* [[Euro English]]
** [[Minority languages of Denmark#English|English in Denmark]]
** [[Languages of Finland#English|English in Finland]]
** [[Languages of Germany|English in Germany]]
** [[English in the Netherlands]]
** [[Languages in Norway#Foreign languages|English in Norway]]
** [[Languages in Spain|English in Spain]]
** [[English in Sweden]]

=== Eastern Europe ===
* [[Runglish]]

=== Mediterranean ===
* [[Languages_of_Cyprus#Foreign_languages|English in Cyprus]]
* [[Maltese English]]

== North America ==
=== United States ===
<div style="margin:1px .5em;float:right;margin-right:0;background:#F7F8FF;color:#222;border:1px solid #CCC;padding:4px">{{Map of American English}}<small>Interactive map of American English</small></div>
'''[[American English]]''':
* '''Cultural and ethnic American English'''
** [[African American English]] 
*** [[African-American Vernacular English]] 
** [[Cajun English|Cajun Vernacular English]]
** [[General American]]: the "standard" or "mainstream" spectrum of American English
** Latino (Hispanic) Vernacular Englishes
*** [[Chicano English]] (Mexican-American English)
*** [[Miami accent|Miami English]]
*** [[New York Latino English]]
** [[Pennsylvania Dutch English]]
** [[Yeshivish|Yeshiva English]]
** [[American Indian English]]
*** [[Lumbee#Language|Lumbee English]]
* '''Regional and local American English'''
** [[Northern American English]]
*** [[Inland North|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 English|Boston]] and [[Maine accent|Maine English]])
***** [[Eastern New England English#Rhode Island English|Rhode Island English]]
**** [[Western New England English]]: Connecticut, Hudson Valley, western Massachusetts, and Vermont
*** [[Upper Midwest American English|North-Central (Upper Midwestern) English]]: northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana 
** [[New York City English|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|"Hoi Toider" English]]: traditional dialect of the Chesapeake Bay, Tangier, Ocracoke, the Outer Banks, Virginia Barrier Islands, etc.
*** [[New Orleans English]]
*** [[Philadelphia English]]
**** [[Baltimore accent|Baltimore English]]
*** [[Southern American English]]
**** [[Appalachian 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]]
** [[Pittsburghese|Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) English]]
* '''Extinct or near-extinct American English'''
** [[Boontling]]
** "[[Good American Speech]]": Mid-Atlantic or Transatlantic English
** [[Northeastern elite accent|Elite Northeastern American English]]
** [[Older Southern American English]]
* '''American English-based hybrid languages (creoles or [[pidgin]]s)'''
** [[Afro-Seminole Creole]]
** [[Gullah language]]/Sea Island Creole English, South-East US related to Bahamian creole
** [[Hawaiian Pidgin]]

=== Canada ===
<div style="margin:1px .5em;float:right;margin-right:0;background:#F7F8FF;color:#222;border:1px solid #CCC;padding:4px">{{Map of Canadian English}}<small>Interactive map of Canadian English</small></div>
'''[[Canadian English]]''':
* [[Aboriginal English in Canada]]
** [[Bungi dialect|Bungi]] of the Canadian [[Métis#Métis_people_in_Canada|Metis]] people of British descent
* [[Atlantic Canadian English]]
** [[Lunenburg English]]
** [[Newfoundland English]]
* [[Greater Toronto English]]
* [[Ottawa Valley English]]
* [[Quebec English]]
* [[Standard Canadian English]]
** [[Pacific Northwest 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 ===
* [[English in 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 ===
* [[English language in 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'')

=== Brunei ===
* [[Brunei English]]

===Cambodia===
* [[Cambodian English]]

=== China and Taiwan ===
* [[Chinese Pidgin English]] (Extinct{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}})
* [[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.
**[[Hinglish]]: a growing macaronic hybrid use of English and Indian languages. 
*'''[[Regional differences and dialects in Indian English|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, Delhi/Punjabi English, Rajasthani English etc.
** South Region: Telugu English, Kannada English, [[Kanglish]], [[Tenglish]], [[Tanglish]], Tamil English, Malayali English etc.

=== Japan ===
* [[English in Japan]]
* [[Engrish]]

=== Myanmar (Burma) ===
* [[Myanmar English|Burmese/Myanmar English]]

===  South Korea  ===
* [[Korean English]]

=== Malaysia ===
* [[Malaysian English]]
* [[Manglish]]

=== Middle East ===
* [[Arablish]]

=== Nepal ===
* [[Nepali English]]

=== Pakistan ===
* [[Pakistani English]]
* [[Urdish]]

=== Philippines ===
* [[Philippine English]]
* [[Taglish]]
* [[Bislish]]

=== Singapore ===
* [[Singapore English]]
* [[Singlish]]

=== Sri Lanka ===
* [[Sri Lankan English]]

== Africa ==

=== Cameroon ===
* [[Cameroonian English]]

=== The Gambia ===
* [[Gambian English]]

=== Ghana ===
* [[Ghanaian English]]

=== Kenya ===
* [[Kenyan English]]

=== Liberia ===
* [[Liberian English]]
* [[Merico language]]

=== Malawi ===
* [[Malawian English]]

=== Namibia ===
* [[Namlish]]

=== Nigeria ===
* [[Nigerian 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]]

=== South Atlantic ===
* [[South Atlantic English]] spoken on [[Tristan da Cunha]] and [[Saint Helena]]<ref>Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. ''The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction.'' Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10</ref>

=== Uganda ===
* [[Ugandan English]]

=== Zambia ===
* [[Zambian English]]

=== Zimbabwe===
* [[Zimbabwean English]]

== Oceania ==

=== Australia ===
* [[Australian English]]
* [[Variation in Australian English|General Australian]]: Broad Australian, Cultivated Australian, 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]]

== South Atlantic ==
* [[South Atlantic English]]

== World Global English ==
These dialects are used in everyday conversation almost all over the world, and are used as [[lingua franca]]s and to determine grammar rules and guidelines. 
* [[Standard English]]
* [[Learning English (version of English)|Learning English]]
* [[International English]]
* [[English as a lingua franca]]
* [[Simplified Technical English]]

== Antarctica ==
* [[Antarctic English]]

== See also ==
* [[American English regional vocabulary]]
** [[North American English regional phonology]]
* [[English-based creole languages]]
* [[History of the English language]]
** [[Old English language|Old English]]
** [[Middle English]]
** [[Early Modern English]]
** [[Modern English]]
* [[Linguistic purism in English]]
* [[List of English-based pidgins]]
* [[Macaronic language]]
* [[Regional accents of English]]
* [[Schneider's dynamic model]]
* [[Survey of English Dialects]]
* [[World Englishes]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Wakelin2008">{{cite book | last = Wakelin | first = Martyn Francis | title = Discovering English Dialects | year = 2008 | publisher = Shire Publications | location = Oxford | page = 4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_V9jb1rq4EC&q=English+Accents+OR+Dialects| isbn = 978-0-7478-0176-4}}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Hickey |first=Raymond |title=A Dictionary of Varieties of English |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |date= 2014 |location=Malden, MA |isbn=978-0-470-65641-9 }}
* {{Citation |last=Nunan |first=David |title=What Is This Thing Called Language? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BY4dBQAAQBAJ |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-137-28499-0 }}.
* {{Citation |last=Okrent |first=A. |title=In the Land of Invented Languages: A Celebration of Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius |publisher=Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-8129-8089-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3anWeY0G2moC }}.
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Hickey |editor-first=Raymond  |title=Varieties of English in Writing. The Written Word as Linguistic Evidence |publisher=John Benjamins |date= 2010 |location=Amsterdam |isbn=978-90-272-4901-2 }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Hickey |editor-first=Raymond |title=Legacies of Colonial English. Studies in Transported Dialects|publisher=Cambridge University Press |date= 2004 |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-17507-4 }}
* {{Citation |last=Fischer |first=Steven Roger |title=History of Language | publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86189-594-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSptsIJwsasC }}.
* {{Cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |author-link=David Crystal |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language |year=2003 |edition=Second |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0-521-53033-0 |page=109 }}
* {{Citation |last=Bolton |first=K. |title=Hong Kong English: Autonomy and Creativity |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f40eySFpK-0C&pg=PA2 |access-date=2015-10-22 |series=Asian Englishes Today |year=2002 |isbn=978-962-209-553-3 }}.
* {{Citation |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |year=1974 |edition=Fifth |volume=6 (''Earth–Everglades'') |title=English Language § Varieties of English|pages=883–886 |ref={{harvid|Brittanica|1974}} }}.

== External links ==
{{Sisterlinks|voy=English language varieties|d=Q2631145|c=Category:English_dialects|m=no|q=no|n=no|mw=no|wikt=no|b=no|v=no|s=no|species=no}}
* [http://www.bl.uk/soundsfamiliar Sounds Familiar?] Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar?' website
* [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html A national map of the regional dialects of American English]
* [http://www.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/northamerica.htm IDEA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901063852/http://www.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/northamerica.htm |date=2006-09-01 }} – International Dialects of English Archive
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171229232104/https://www.lingostan.com/en/articles/dialects-of-the-english-language.php English Dialects]}} – English Dialects around the world
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310173638/http://www.freewebs.com/englishdialects/ Dialect poetry from the English regions]
* [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/AmerLangs American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices] - An online audio resource presenting interviews with speakers of German-American and American English dialects from across the United States
* [https://ewave-atlas.org/  electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English (eWAVE)]
* [https://archive.org/details/dialects-english-scots Internet Archive collection on dialects of English and Scots]

{{Germanic languages}}
{{English dialects by continent}}
{{Description of English}}
{{Language varieties}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Dialects Of The English Language}}
[[Category:Dialects of English| ]]
[[Category:Lists of Indo-European languages|English Dialects]]
[[Category:English as a global language]]