VarietiesofEnglish

Tousealanguageproperly,weofcoursehavetoknowthegrammaticalstructuresof thelanguageandtheirmeanings.Butwealsohavetoknowwhatformsoflanguage areappropriateforgivensituations.Thereissomethingcalledvarietylabelssuchas <AmE>(forAmericanEnglish),<BrE>(forBritishEnglish),<RP>oReceived Pronunciation),<GA>(forGeneral American),<formal>,<informal>,<polite>,<familiar>.Theselabelsareremindersthat theEnglishlanguageisnotasinglelanguagebutmanylanguages,eachofwhich belngstoaparticulargeographicalareaortoaparticularkindofsituation.

Thecommoncore:
LuckilymanyofthefeaturesofEnglisharefoundinall,ornearlyallvarieties. Generalfeaturesofthiskindbelongtothecommoncoreofthelanguage. E.g.

(A)words:

1offspring.formal 2Childrencommoncore 3Kidsinformal Itissafest,whenindoubttousethecommoncoreterm;thuschildrenistheword youwouldwanttousemostoften.ButpartofknowingEnglishisknowinginwhat circumstancesitwouldbepossibletouseoffspringorkidsinsteadofchildren.

(B)grammar:

1Feelingtired,Johnwenttobedearly.Formal(forwritten exposition) 2Johnwenttobedearlybecausehefelttired.Commoncore 3Johnfelttired,sohewenttobedearly.Informal(inrelaxed conversation)

1)Geographicalandnationalvarieties<BrE><AmE>
TherearemanyvarietiesofEnglishbutwewillonlydistinguishbetweenAmerican andBritishEnglish.Thegrammaticaldifferencesbetweenthetwovarieties(in comparisonwiththedifferencesofpronunciationandvocabulary)arenotverygreat. E.g.(ofhow<BrE>and<AmE>candiffer) A) 1<AmE>:Haveyougotten/gottheticketsforthematch? 2<BrE>:Haveyougottheticketsforthematch? <AmE>hastwopastparticipleformsofget:gottenandgot,whereas<BrE>hasonly one:got.

B) 1<AmE>:Onecannotsucceedunlesshetrieshard. 2<BrE>:Onecannotsucceedunlessonetrieshard. Therepeatedsubjectafteroneisdifferentinbothvarieties. C) 1<AmE>:Theirhouseisdifferentthanours. 2<BrE>:Theirhouseisdifferentfromours. Thenormalcomplementafterdifferentisthanin<AmE>butfrom(orsometimesto) in<BrE>. D) 1<AmE>:TheysuggestedthatSmithbedroppedfromtheteam. <chieflyAmE> 2<BrE>and<AmE>:TheysuggestedthatSmithshouldbedroppedfromtheteam. Theuseofthesubjunctiveafterverbslikedemand,require,insist,suggest,etc,is morecommonin<AmE>than<BrE>.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Written and spoken English

The English of speech tends to be different from the English of writing in some obvious ways.

Written English:
In writing we usually have time to plan our message and revise it. Written English is often formal. The grammar of written English is more complex than of spoken. Passive voice is often used in written English. Sentences must be complete. No short forms are used e.g. (don't )should be (do not ). Punctuation is used to make the relations between sentences clearer.

Spoken English:
In our conversations we don't have time for thinking or revising. Informal language is often used in spoken English. We may fail to complete our sentences. The grammar of spoken English is simple. Incomplete sentences are used. Short forms like I'll or wouldn't can be used. Intonation is used in spoken English instead of punctuation in written English . Hesitation fillers like er and um are used while thinking of what next to say. Words and phrases like well, you see, and kind of are used . An example of spoken English: Well I've just come back from New York where it was pretty clear that. this was

a general trend with young people there. and er I um I'm worried though because you see. it seems that. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Formal and informal English Formal language: is the type of language we use publicly for some serious purpose, .for example, in official reports, business letters and regulations Formal English is almost always used in written language and formal public .speeches Informal language i.e. colloquial language is the language of private conversation, .of personal letters, etc Public communication of a popular kind like advertisements and popular news papers mainly employ an informal style because it is generally easier to under stand .than formal English :there are various degrees of formality * Formal (1 Common core (2 Informal (3 Examples When his dad died, Peter had to change his job. informal After his father's death, Peter had to change his job. common core On the decease of his father, Mr. Brown was obliged to seek alternative employment. formal :There are many differences between formal and informal English * Grammatical differences-1 For example, the use of who and whom, and the placing of a preposition at the beginning :or at the end of a clause She longed for a friend in whom she could confine. formal She longed for a friend who she could confine in. informal Vocabulary -2 Much of the vocabulary of formal English is of French, Latin and Greek origin .e.g Formal Informal Commence Begin Continue Keep conclude End - Many phrasal and prepositional verbs are characteristic of informal style Formal or common core Discover Explode Encounter Invent Enter tolerate Informal Find out Blow up Come across Make up Go in (to) Put up with

There is not always a direct translation between formal and informal English. This may be because an informal term has emotive qualities not present in formal language, or because formal language often insists on greater preciseness. The informal word job, for example, has no formal equivalent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------: Impersonal style Inthisstyle:speakerdoesn'treferdirectlytohimselforhisreaders,butavoidthe . ( pronouns(I,you,we . Itoftengoeswiththeformalwrittenlanguage Someofthecommonfeaturesofimpersonallanguagearepassivessentences .beginningwithintroductoryit,andabstractnouns -: e.g.theimpersonalstyle Ithasbeennotedwithconcernthatthestockofbooksinthelibraryhasbeen decliningalarmingly.Studentsareaskedtoremindthemselvesoftherulesforthe borrowingandreturnofbooks,andtobearinmindtheneedsofotherstudents. .Penaltiesforoverduebookswillinthefuturebestrictlyenforced -: e.g.theinformalandlessimpersonalstyle Thenumberofbooksinthelibraryhasbeengoingdown.pleasemakesureyou knowtherulesforborrowinganddontforgetthatthelibraryisforeveryone's convenience.Sofromnowon,we'regoingtoenforcetherulesstrictly.Youhave !! beenwarned -----------------------------------------------------------------

: polite and familiar language WeuseitwhenwearetalkingtoAapersonwedontknowwell,or .Bapersonseniortoourselvesintermofageorsocialposition . (( Theoppositeof(polite)is((familiar e.g.Mr.Brown((polite)),butfirstname(peter)orashortname(Pete)orevena . ((nickname(Shortie),allofthemare((familiar Englishhasnospecialfamiliarpronounslikesomeotherlanguages,butfamiliarity . canbeshowninotherways .e.g ((shutthedoor,willyou?((familiar ((wouldyoupleaseshutthedoor?((polite .((Iwonderifyouwouldmindshuttingthedoor?((morepolite wecanbemorepolitebyusingwordslike(pleasekindly)andcanbemore : familiarbyreferringtoathirdperson,forexample

APete'soldwomanhittheroofwhenhecamehomewiththatdollfromthedisco. ((((veryfamiliar BPeter'swifewasveryangrywhenhecamehomewiththegirlfromthe .(( discotheque.((commoncore slangis:alanguagewhichisveryfamiliarinstyle,andisusuallyrestrictedto -5 themembersofaparticularsocialgroup.Anditsnotusuallyfullyunderstoodby peopleoutsideaparticularsocialgroup,andsohasavalueofshowingthe intimacyandsolidarityofitsmembers.Becauseofitsrestricteduse,andshortlife, .weshallnotbeconcernedwithslang.E.g . Teenageslangarmyslangtheatreslang -: IMPORTANT -_ Impoliteness:isnormallyaquestionofbeingfamiliarinthewrong circumstances.Intheexample(A)above;peoplesometimesthinkitsanimpolite waybecauseitdoesn'trespectthewomenandthegirl,,butitsnot,itsjustaslang . language

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TactfulandTentativeLanguage
a.tactfullanguage
.tobetactfulistoavoidcausingoffensetosomeone :Sometimestactmeanscoveringupthetruth..forexample.Peter'sfatherhaspassedaway-1 Inthisexampleweusedtheverb(passedaway)insteadof(gone)tocoverupthetruth .(whichis(death ?wouldyouliketotypethisletterforme-2 Inthisexamplewecoveredthetruthwhichisimperative(typethisletterforme)in .theformofquestion Important:politenessisconnectedwithtactaswehaveseenabove#

b.tentativelanguage
Arequest,suggestioncanbemademoretactfulbymakingitmoretentative.for :example mayIsuggesttocancelthemeeting?>tactful-1 couldIsuggesttocancelthemeeting?>tentative,moretactful -2 Important:tentativenessisanindicationofthespeaker'sreluctancetocommit# .himselfonagivenquestion

.Forexample:mightismoretentativewayofexpressingpossibilitythanmay --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Literary,ElevatedandRhetoricalLanguage
a.literaryorelevatedlanguage
Theybelongtotheliterarylanguageofthepastandtheyinclude(archaicorold :fashionedwords)forexample Let,goforth,torchandfoe

b.rhetoricallanguage
itcanbeusedinspeechorwriting .1 :ithasanemphaticeffectinotherwordsitdosenotneedananswerforexample .2 ?Isitanywonderthattherearestars wecancallthisquestion(rhetoricalquestion)becauseitdoesnotneedanansweritis .justforemph

: By
AmalAlBadr AbeerAlwheeb AlJoharahAlRashid MaramAlMohimeed
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