Commonwealth English: Difference between revisions
imported>John Stephenson (...but there are aspects of CEng that are distinct (e.g. diphthong raising in some accents), and some evidence of divergence from GA) |
imported>Ro Thorpe (needs a trained ear) |
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'''Commonwealth English''' is a blanket term for the [[English language|English]] that developed during the [[British Empire]] after the independence of the [[United States of America]]. Thus it is the [[British English|English]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and that variety's development in the [[Commonwealth]] nations, such as [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Nepal]], [[Sri Lanka]] and the [[Caribbean English|Caribbean]]. Those places use standard [[British English]] as their ancestral model - in contrast to [[Canada]], whose English has similarities to [[American English|American]] (sharing | '''Commonwealth English''' is a blanket term for the [[English language|English]] that developed during the [[British Empire]] after the independence of the [[United States of America]]. Thus it is the [[British English|English]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and that variety's development in the [[Commonwealth]] nations, such as [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Nepal]], [[Sri Lanka]] and the [[Caribbean English|Caribbean]]. Those places use standard [[British English]] as their ancestral model - in contrast to [[Canada]], whose English has similarities to [[American English|American]] (sharing much of its [[General American|characteristic pronunciation]]) as well as British English. Also to be considered outside the definition are all regional variants within the British Isles, including [[Irish English]] (the [[Ireland (state)|Republic of Ireland]] is not a member of the Commonwealth) and [[Mozambican English]]. [[Mozambique]] does not have English as the colonial language: it was part of the [[Portuguese Empire]], and only joined the Commonwealth in 1996. | ||
Revision as of 07:48, 20 June 2009
Commonwealth English is a blanket term for the English that developed during the British Empire after the independence of the United States of America. Thus it is the English of the United Kingdom and that variety's development in the Commonwealth nations, such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. Those places use standard British English as their ancestral model - in contrast to Canada, whose English has similarities to American (sharing much of its characteristic pronunciation) as well as British English. Also to be considered outside the definition are all regional variants within the British Isles, including Irish English (the Republic of Ireland is not a member of the Commonwealth) and Mozambican English. Mozambique does not have English as the colonial language: it was part of the Portuguese Empire, and only joined the Commonwealth in 1996.