Talk:British English

Northern Irish English: British or Irish?

The section on Northern Irish English suggests "whether Northern Irish English is also British English is a matter of perspective."

I am uncomfortable with this statement. To me, it smacks of the old political debate with regard to labelling of things in Northern Ireland as Irish or British, which isn't really relevant. It also ignores the fact that English, as spoken in Northern Ireland, is both British AND Irish. English here is influenced heavily by Gaelic, by Victorian and pre-Victorian English, by modern English and modern American-English through culture media and contact, and by English as spoken in Scotland some centuries ago.

It should also be pointed out that, like Scots, Ullans or Ulster-Scots has a similar dispute with regard to its status as a language or a dialect. --Mal McKee 15:05, 9 January 2011 (UTC)