Englishes Abound

In the late 1500s, a globetrotting earl returned to England and declared, “English is of no use beyond our shores.”¹ Clearly, this is no longer the case. Initially restricted to a European archipelago, English has become the language of global business, the Internet, diplomacy, science, aviation, and more. This Language Matters article looks at how English came to be a global language, and takes stock of the many varieties of English that exist today.

From the Language of an Island to the Language of the World

Some historical context is helpful in understanding today’s linguistic landscape.

Latin was once Europe’s lingua franca—that is, a language that people with different mother tongues use to communicate with each other. Latin lost its primacy, though, in the early modern period, a time marked by the rise of modern nation-states and linguistic patriotism—with, for example, translations of the Bible into German (Martin Luther’s Bible, 1534) and English (King James Bible, 1611). In the centuries that followed, different European languages played important roles, with French taking up a place in diplomacy and culture, and German, French and English vying to be the language of science and technology.

Britain’s success as a maritime power fuelled the spread of English as the British Empire colonized large swathes of the world during the age of imperialism. English became a “native” language in places that saw large-scale migrations of native-English speakers: Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. No discussion of this history should leave out the painful legacy of colonization: the subjugation of Indigenous populations and linguicide (the devastation or extinction of other languages).

British English was soon rivalled by the dialect of the empire’s biggest offshoot, the United States. American English’s influence expanded over the 20th century, especially following the Second World War, as the United States promoted English as the language of diplomacy and sought to spread American values far and wide, both militarily and through cultural exports like TV shows and Hollywood films.

Pop music became another major source of English mass culture, as the United States and Britain dominated the international pop charts and international stars responded by singing in English.²

Another major contributor to English’s success in the past few decades is the Internet, which began purely in English, and remains around 50% English.

English, English Everywhere

In the years after the Second World War, and especially by the end of the Cold War, English settled in as the world’s lingua franca, offering a link between speakers of other major languages like Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, French, Chinese and Swahili. It is the most widely spoken language by number of non-native speakers—over a billion—and falls only behind Chinese and Spanish in the number of native speakers—close to 400 million. It is also the most widely taught foreign language: there are over 140 countries where English is a mandatory subject in school. It is an official language in over 40 nations and a de facto major language in many others.

English Adaptations

As English has made its way around the world, it has been altered by local customs, flora, fauna and landforms. At times, outdated terms are preserved in a New English, like the use of robot for “traffic light” in South African English. Other words can retain the same meaning, but vary in usage frequency. For example, Jamaican English uses the verb bawl (“to cry”) more frequently than does Standard English, and the verb delve is said to be more frequent in Nigerian English.³⁴ To make sense of all these dialects, English can be divided into three groups, based on how it functions in society.⁵ First, there is the inner circle: English spoken as a native language. Second is the outer circle: English spoken as a second language for communication within and between countries—it may be an official language of governance or the language of higher education. Thirdly, we have the expanding circle: English spoken primarily for communication with other countries. These last two groups are sometimes described as the New Englishes.

Around the World in Eighty Englishes

Let’s now take stock of English’s place around the world, and its many varieties. Whole books could be written on the English of any of these regions!

English in Europe

Inner Circle

The inner circle includes British English (also called “English English”), Welsh English, and so forth.

The socially prestigious form of English in the United Kingdom is colloquially known as the Queen’s English, the King’s English or BBC English. This last moniker came about because for a long time the BBC would only hire presenters with a Received Pronunciation accent on its airwaves. This changed in the 1990s, when the broadcaster’s policy shifted to embracing all forms of English found in Britain, and even American accents.⁶

Scottish English is an example of a variant within the inner circle. The category is a bit nebulous, existing on a continuum from Scottish Standard English to Scots, which descends from a Northumbrian dialect of Old English and is influenced by Scottish Gaelic. (Scots famously gave English the phrase auld lang syne meaning “times long ago”, popularized in the Robbie Burns poem traditionally sung on New Year’s Eve.)

Irish English is the predominant language of Ireland today, but this is a relatively recent development. English entered Ireland in the 12th century with the Anglo-Norman invasion, and only in the 19th century did it supplant Irish as the majority language.

Outer Circle

In the European Union, British English is traditionally taught. American English influence is growing in the EU, though—especially among young people who are accessing American content on the Internet.

Runglish is one example of a variant in the European outer circle. It’s a mixture of Russian and English (or English vocabulary adapted to the grammar of Russian) spoken in Russian immigrant communities and post-Soviet states.

English in the Americas

Inner Circle

The emergence of American English is covered in our Language Matters Article Spelling Across the Atlantic. Some notable varieties in North America include Black English, Chicano English (spoken by Mexican Americans), and Canadian English.

Outer Circle

Most Caribbean countries use Standard British English in writing and formal contexts, and speak an English-based creole at home.⁷ The creoles and Englishes of the Anglophone Caribbean are influenced to varying degrees by West African languages as a result of the Atlantic Slave Trade. In Jamaica, for example, there is a continuum from Jamaican Patois to Standard Jamaican English, as seen in this example:⁸

English in Australasia

Inner Circle

Australian English and New Zealand English were once maligned as twangy, improper forms, but today, many take pride in these varieties. Both of these generally follow British English spellings, but they are distinct in many ways. Australia has its own dictionary, the Macquarie Dictionary, first published in 1981, with entries like a few roos loose in the top paddock (meaning “a bit daft, strange or loopy”).⁹ New Zealand English is influenced by the Indigenous Māori language, with words such as haka for “a traditional ancestral Māori war cry or dance” and kai for “food”.

English in Africa

Inner Circle

Speakers of South African English largely consider it to be the same as British English in terms of spelling and usage, even though its vocabulary has been influenced by Dutch and later Afrikaans (in words like veld for “a flat landscape”), and by local African languages such as Zulu (in words like indaba for “a type of conference or discussion” or “a personal issue”).

Outer Circle

East African English is a relatively homogeneous variety used in the “heartland” of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, where Britain had settlements, and where English and Swahili are official languages.

In West Africa, English was introduced as a language of commerce, notably during the slave trade, and later in the British settlements and in Liberia, which was colonized by African Americans freed from slavery. Nigeria, one of the world’s largest countries, has one of the largest English-speaking populations in the world, with roughly fifty percent of the country speaking Nigerian English as a second language. While English is the main language in Nigeria for all official capacities, the government is working to change the language of instruction in primary schools to local African languages.¹⁰

English in Asia

Outer Circle

Hinglish and Indian English are separate concepts; the former is a blend of Hindi and English, used in informal contexts. Indian English, by contrast, refers to all dialects of English spoken in India, and notably the formal variety. It is used in regions where Hindi (India’s official language alongside English) is not spoken, like the south of India, where you will find hybrid forms colloquially known as Tenglish (Telugu and English), Tanglish (Tamil and English) and Kanglish (Kannada and English). Particularities of Indian English include the verb prepone (the antonym of postpone), reduplication for emphasis (as in I worked worked for that promotion, meaning “I worked very hard for that promotion”), and the question tag isn’t it (as in, You’re going to the store, isn’t it?).

Philippine English is based on American English, a consequence of America’s colonization of the Philippines. This country is recognized as having a high degree of English-as-a-second-language proficiency, and it is a popular destination for English-language learners in Asia. It is a major player along with India in the English voice outsourcing industry, including for call centres. Also spoken are the informal varieties Taglish, a mixture of Tagalog and English, and Bislish, a mixture of Bisaya and English.

Other notable varieties in Asia include Singapore English, Malaysian English, Pakistani English and Hong Kong English.

Which Variety of English Should You Use?

Most teachers of English as a second or foreign language use British English, American English, or a mixture of the two in their classroom. Regardless of the variety chosen, what is stressed is the importance of consistently employing one or the other within a text, consulting dictionaries for British or American spellings and usage, and referring to style guides for variety-dependent conventions like date formats and punctuation.

British English is the traditional standard in Great Britain and the European Union, as well as in countries of the Commonwealth, with a few exceptions. Canadian English, for example, uses a mixture of British norms (colour, defence, centre) and American norms (realize).

American English is the standard of choice for the United States and large parts of Latin America, East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is also gaining ground as the variety spoken by young Europeans.

Since there are more non-native English speakers than native ones in the world, there is a growing focus on communicative competence rather than adherence to a British or American accent and way of speaking. As such, teachers are increasingly working to expose their students to a variety of accents, both native and non-native, and to make them aware that English is anything but monolithic.

In this context, Plain English has emerged as an important variety for intercultural communication, and many countries have introduced Plain English guidelines for communication with the public. One important form of this is Aviation English: all international pilots must pass an Aviation English proficiency exam. Even native speakers must learn Aviation English, as otherwise they risk using nonstandard terms, or speaking too quickly or too verbosely.¹¹

While standard forms of English are the norm in formal and official communication, nonstandard forms are prized in literature. For instance, Alice Walker’s acclaimed 1982 novel The Color Purple uses “folk speech” to illuminate the identity and experience of her Black protagonist Celie:

No matter what happen, Nettie steady try to teach me what go on in the world.

(Nonstandard features are in bold here: a third-person singular -s deletion in happen and go, and steady as a marker of habitual action.)

The English of the Future

The future of any language is bound up in the future of society. Will English lose its dominance the way Latin did, if the world tends toward deglobalization? The surge in niche entertainment markets might topple Hollywood, for example, or dim the stars of English-language pop music. Advances in translation software might curb the need for a lingua franca. On the other hand, English might consolidate its market share in new ways, possibly spurred on by a growing global middle class who want to participate in the English-speaking world. No one can know the future for certain, but for the time being, English shows no signs of quieting down.

This article was concocted by

Antidote’s linguists