British English
In the eighth and ninth centuries, speakers of Scandinavian Germanic dialects settled in parts of Britain. This migration introduced a significant grammatical simplification to the Anglo-Frisian core of English. The resident population at that time spoke Common Brittonic, an insular variety of Continental Celtic influenced by Roman occupation. While Welsh, Cornish, and Cumbric cohabited with English into the modern period, their influence on the language remained notably limited due to remoteness from Germanic tongues. Some scholars argue this contact accounts for substantial innovations distinguishing English from other West Germanic languages. J.R.R. Tolkien noted references to these influences in his 1955 work English and Welsh.
The Norman invasion of the eleventh century brought Old Norman speakers who developed a variety called Anglo-Norman. These two invasions caused English to become mixed to some degree, though never truly mixed in the strictest sense. The more idiomatic and concrete words in English stem from Anglo-Saxon origins. Words like swine describe animals bred by occupied Anglo-Saxons. In contrast, intellectual and abstract terms often contain Latin and French influences derived from the Normans. Pork describes the animal eaten by occupying Normans at the table. Beef similarly reflects the French term for cow owned by the invaders. The later Norman occupation led to grafting a more elaborate layer of Romance words onto the Germanic core.
Around the middle of the fifteenth century, points existed where within five major dialects there were almost five hundred ways to spell a single word. Dialects and accents vary amongst the four countries of the United Kingdom as well as within them individually. Major divisions include English English, Northern Irish English, Welsh English, and Scottish English. Each group includes a range of dialects, some markedly different from others. The adjective wee is almost exclusively used in parts of Scotland, north-east England, and Northern Ireland. Elsewhere, the adjective little remains predominant.
In the South East, Cockney accents spoken by some East Londoners differ strikingly from Received Pronunciation. Estuary English has gained prominence in recent decades with features of both RP and Cockney. Surveys started in 1979 by the Inner London Education Authority discovered over one hundred twenty-five languages being spoken domestically by families of inner city schoolchildren. Multicultural London English emerged in the late twentieth century among young working-class people in multicultural parts of London. Since mass internal migration to Northamptonshire in the 1940s, that county became a source for various accent developments. In Corby, located north of Kettering, locals speak Corbyite which differs significantly from the Kettering accent.
Once regarded as a Cockney feature, T-glottalisation has become commonly realised when the letter T appears in intervocalic positions. National media based in London have seen this glottal stop spread more widely than it once did. Word endings like no or bottle of water are heard as bole of waer. Other consonants subject to this usage include P as in paer and K as in baer. It remains stigmatised when used in word-medial positions such as later.
In most areas of England and Wales outside the West Country, the consonant R is not pronounced if not followed by a vowel. This phenomenon is known as non-rhoticity. Lengthening the preceding vowel occurs instead. A tendency exists to insert an R between words ending in vowels and next words beginning with vowels. This process is called intrusive R. Examples of R-dropping appear in car and sugar where the R is not pronounced. British dialects differ on the extent of diphthongisation of long vowels. Southern varieties extensively turn them into diphthongs while northern dialects normally preserve many of them.
Countries that are former British colonies or members of the Commonwealth tend to follow British English conventions globally. The United Nations uses British English with Oxford spelling while European Union institutions adopt similar standards. In China both British English and American English are taught to students. The UK government actively promotes English around the world operating in over one hundred countries. British English serves as the basis for Commonwealth English spoken in Australia, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Canadian English is based on British English but has more influence from American English due to close proximity. Indian English represents another variety closely related to British English though it possesses extra vocabulary. Words assigned different meanings appear frequently within these regional variations. Dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary record actual usage rather than attempting to prescribe it. Vocabulary and usage change with time as words are freely borrowed from other languages. Neologisms remain frequent across all varieties of English today.
Following its last major survey of English Dialects conducted between 1949 and 1950, the University of Leeds started work on a new project. In May 2007 the Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded a grant to Leeds to study British regional dialects. The team sifted through a large collection of examples of regional slang words and phrases turned up by the Voices project run by the BBC. This initiative invited the public to send in examples of English still spoken throughout the country.
The BBC Voices project also collected hundreds of news articles about how the British speak English ranging from swearing to items on language schools. Professor Sally Johnson's team collated this information both for content and where it was reported. Perhaps the most remarkable finding in the Voices study is that the English language remains diverse despite increased mobility. Constant exposure to other accents and dialects occurs daily through television and radio. Surveys starting in 1979 revealed over one hundred twenty-five languages being spoken domestically by families of inner city schoolchildren. Modern linguistic research continues mapping current dialect usage and slang evolution within the United Kingdom.
Common questions
When did Scandinavian Germanic dialects settle in Britain and what grammatical change did they introduce?
Speakers of Scandinavian Germanic dialects settled in parts of Britain during the eighth and ninth centuries. This migration introduced a significant grammatical simplification to the Anglo-Frisian core of English.
What is the origin of words like pork and beef in British English compared to swine?
Words such as pork and beef stem from Old Norman speakers who developed Anglo-Norman after the eleventh-century invasion. In contrast, words like swine describe animals bred by occupied Anglo-Saxons while intellectual terms often contain Latin and French influences derived from the Normans.
Which specific regions use the adjective wee instead of little in British English?
The adjective wee is almost exclusively used in parts of Scotland, north-east England, and Northern Ireland. Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, the adjective little remains predominant.
How did the printing press influence spelling standardization in mid-fifteenth century England?
The printing press introduced to England in the middle of the fifteenth century enabled William Caxton to disperse common spelling at a much faster rate. This development helped establish Standard dialect usage which created class distinctions among those who did not speak it.
When was Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language published and what role does it play in spelling reform?
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755 and marked a large step in spelling reform. By the early twentieth century, British authors produced numerous books intended as guides to grammar and usage including Fowler's Modern English Usage.
What grant did the University of Leeds receive in May 2007 regarding British regional dialects?
In May 2007 the Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded a grant to Leeds to study British regional dialects. The team sifted through examples of regional slang words and phrases turned up by the Voices project run by the BBC.