History

Origin of The English Language.

● British English is the English language as spoken and written in the United
Kingdom. Variations exist in formal, written English in the United
Kingdom(England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

● English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects
brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of what is now northwest
Germany and the northern Netherlands.
● Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical
simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English; the
later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more
elaborate layer of words from the Romance branch of the European languages.

● This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and
government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great
flexibility and with a huge vocabulary.
History of British English

● The need to distinguish British English from other forms of English that have
developed over the years was a product of colonial times.

● At the beginning of the 16th century, the British Empire started its process of
expansion, reaching its height between the 18th and 20th centuries.

● The British Empire’s immense size led to the meeting of English culture with those
of its colonies, leading to the adoption of words and expressions from those
countries.
● The first attested use of the phrase “British English”, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary, was in 1867, in an article in The Galaxy magazine.

● However, the phrase 'English English' was used in 1783, in contrast to 'Irish
English', in a comedy called 'The true-born Irishman' by the Dublin playwright
Charles Macklin. The expression 'American English' was used by Noah Webster
(first American dictionary published 1828) the introduction to his dictionary in
1806.
Features
 ● /r/

● /t/
Pronunciation
● -ILE

● -IZATION
 /r/
BE emphasizes /r/ less than AmE

● Chair
● Car
● Were

When it precedes a consonant, /r/ is pronounced

● Hairy
● Inquiry
 /t/
BE pronunciation of /t/ sounds like /t/ but AmE will sound like d

● better
● water
● hated
● writing
● bottom
● native
● artificial
● notice
 -IZATION

lə-ˈzā-sən lʌɪˈzeɪʃn
ˌrē-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən Realisation riːəlʌɪˈzeɪʃn
si-və-lə-ˈzā-shən Civilisation sɪvɪlʌɪˈzeɪʃn
ȯr-gə-nə-ˈzā-shən Organisation ɔːɡ(ə)nʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n
ȯ-th(ə-)rə-ˈzā-shən Authorization ɔːθərʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n
 -ILE
əl ʌɪl
a-jəl Agile adʒʌɪl
mō-bəl Mobile məʊbʌɪl
fər-təl Fertile fəːtʌɪl
hä-stəl Hostile hɒstʌɪl
vərsətəl Versatile vəːsətʌɪl
 ● -or vs -our

● -og vs -ogue
Spelling
● -m vs -mme

● -ll vs -l
 - or vs. -our
American British
color colour
honor honour
armor armour
 -og vs. -ogue
American British
catalog catalogue
dialog dialogue
analog analogue
 -m vs. -mme
American British
program programme
kilogram kilogramme
 -ll vs. -l
American British
skillful skilful
enrollment enrolment

However, in BE, words that end in -l preceded by a vowel usually double the -l when a suffix is added

American British
equaling equalling
modeling modelling
quarreling quarrelling
Definite Article ● The
 The
British American
The eleventh of July Date July eleventh
July the eleventh July eleven
In hospital Institutional Nouns In the hospital
In university In the university
Preposition ● On
 On
British American
She resigned on June She resigned June
I will be here on Friday I will be here Friday
Dialects & Accents in
British English
Cities with their own Dialects and Accents
Liverpool, Birmingham, New castle, Glasgow

Ex.Make up= Mycoop, I’ll=Oil, Fine=Foin.

Scottish/Welsh/Irish English
Location: Far north of England.

Ex.I don’t know=Ah dinnae ken, Cant=Cannae, Yes=Aye, Oh=Och!, Lake=Loch!

Different Up and down intonation then the rest of British english.

RP=RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION
English found in BBC television programmes and radio shows.

Has a estimated of 3% of english people speaking it.

Used as the standard english throughout the United Kingdom.

Social class: Tend to be people with power, responsibility, authority, and earn more
than the average person.(P.M, Oxford, and Cambridge)

Ex.Baath, Paath, and

Cockney/Estuary English
Location: Located in local London.

No pronouncing of the sound /T/ like matter,computer, and shatter

Ex. Thin=Fink, With=Wiv, Three=Free, Together=Togever, Milk=Miwk,

Mail=Maol, Have=Ave, Harry=Arry
Midlands/Northern
Location: located 100 miles north of london and sectioned into west and east
midlands.

Ex. Cup=Coop, Mug=Moog, Up=Owp, Love=Lowv

Spread of British
English
Factors
British Colonisation Industrial Revolution

1. Canada ● Technology advancement

2. The Caribbean ● Invention of telegraph
3. Australia ● Printing press

4. New Zealand
5. South Africa
6. South Asia
7. West Africa
8. East Africa
9. South East India and South
Pacific
Development towards
Standard English
 ● The midlands dialect was more popular
because it is compromises between the
north dialect and the south dialect

● It is also a district (East Midlands) that

Midlands Dialect is the largest and most populous

● The universities, Oxford and

Cambridge, affect the language
popularity in this region
 ● The capital of England

● Political and commercial centre

● The highest judicial tribunals

● Focus of social and intellectual

London English activities

● The East Midlands dialect became the

basis of the Standard British English
which is the variety spoken by the
merchant class in London
Differences Between British
English and American
English: Vocabulary (Lexis)
Guess the Phrase
“A few sandwiches
short of a picnic”
A person lacking
common sense
“Botch job”
A repair job done
hurriedly and
probably fall
apart soon
“Chinwag”
A good catching
up with someone
or gossiping - the
chin(jaw) like
dog’s tail
wagging
 Conclusion

● History – Brought by the Germanic settlers and influenced by the Scandinavians and
the colonised countries

● Features – Both British English and American English have differences but are
mutually intelligible

● Dialects and Accents – Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Westerns have their own
dialects and accents

● Spread of British English – Colonisation and Industrial Revolution

● Development towards Standard English – Midlands Eastern and London English

Reference
● Amador, J. (2013). The spread of English across the Globe: Social, Political and Cultural factors.
Historialenguainglesa.blogspot.my. Retrieved 10 March 2018, from http://historialenguainglesa.blogspot.my/2013/01/the-
spread-of-english-across-globe.html?m=1
● American English | For English Language Teachers Around the World. (2018). Americanenglish.state.gov. Retrieved 8
March 2018, from https://www.americanenglish.state.gov/
● Edsor, B. (2017). 88 very British phrases that will confuse anybody who didn't grow up in the UK. Business Insider.
Retrieved 10 March 2018, from http://uk.businessinsider.com/british-slang-that-will-confuse-anybody-who-didnt-grow-up-
in-the-uk-2017-11/?IR=T/#cack-handed-16
● Tan, P. (2018). The Standardisation of English. Courses.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 10 March 2018, from
https://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elltankw/history/Standardisation/C.htm