English in the Commonwealth of Nations: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>OAbot
m Open access bot: url-access updated in citation with #oabot.
 
imported>SnowFire
m See also: prevent image from poking into references.
 
Line 13: Line 13:
[[Canadian English]] contains elements of [[British English]] and [[American English]], as well as many [[A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles|Canadianism]]s and some French influences. It is the product of several waves of immigration and settlement, from Britain, Ireland, France, the United States, and around the world, over a period of more than two centuries.<ref name="Dollinger 2008">Dollinger, Stefan (2008). "New-Dialect Formation in Canada". Benjamins, {{ISBN|9789027231086}}. p. 25.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boberg |first=Charles |title=The English language in Canada: status, history and comparative analysis |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-78981-6 |series=Studies in English language |location=Cambridge New York |pages=55-105}}</ref>
[[Canadian English]] contains elements of [[British English]] and [[American English]], as well as many [[A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles|Canadianism]]s and some French influences. It is the product of several waves of immigration and settlement, from Britain, Ireland, France, the United States, and around the world, over a period of more than two centuries.<ref name="Dollinger 2008">Dollinger, Stefan (2008). "New-Dialect Formation in Canada". Benjamins, {{ISBN|9789027231086}}. p. 25.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boberg |first=Charles |title=The English language in Canada: status, history and comparative analysis |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-78981-6 |series=Studies in English language |location=Cambridge New York |pages=55-105}}</ref>
[[File:Mother and daughter in India 1920.jpg|thumb|The mother tongue of [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indians]] is English, whilst most Indians speak it as a second language.]]
[[File:Mother and daughter in India 1920.jpg|thumb|The mother tongue of [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indians]] is English, whilst most Indians speak it as a second language.]]
In many Commonwealth countries, there exists a relatively small native Anglophone minority amongst a larger population who speak English as a second language; [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indians]] speak English as their mother tongue, but it is not the first language of most Indians.<ref name="Andrews2013">{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Robyn |title=Christmas in Calcutta: Anglo-Indian Stories and Essays |date=2013 |publisher=SAGE Publishing India |isbn=978-81-321-1814-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Indian English |url=https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-indian-english/?tl=true |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240918001422/https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-indian-english/?tl=true |archive-date=2024-09-18 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref>
In many Commonwealth countries, there exists a relatively small native Anglophone minority amongst a larger population who speak English as a second language; [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indians]] speak English as their mother tongue, but it is not the first language of most Indians.<ref name="Andrews2013">{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Robyn |title=Christmas in Calcutta: Anglo-Indian Stories and Essays |date=2013 |publisher=SAGE Publishing India |isbn=978-81-321-1814-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Indian English |url=https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-indian-english/?tl=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918001422/https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-indian-english/?tl=true |archive-date=2024-09-18 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref>


=== Africa ===
=== Africa ===
{{See also|British diaspora in Africa|Commonwealth diaspora}}
{{See also|British diaspora in Africa|Commonwealth diaspora}}
In addition to South Africa, a number of Commonwealth countries in Africa have native varieties of English. A community of native English speakers exists in [[Zimbabwean English|Zimbabwe]]; the country's dialect bears features of British English, South African English and other Southern Hemisphere varieties of Commonwealth English.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mlambo |first=Muzi |date=26 May 2009 |title=A survey of the language situation in Zimbabwe |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today/article/abs/survey-of-the-language-situation-in-zimbabwe/35D49686A4A0091ADED552C6A604AD02 |journal=English Today |language=en |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=18 |doi=10.1017/S0266078409000145 |issn=1474-0567|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>Tom McArthur (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to the English Language''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-19-214183-X}}. pp. 116, 352.</ref> Also in [[Southern Africa]] and with historical influence from South Africa, [[Namlish|Namibia]] and [[Botswana]] have their own dialects,<ref>{{Citation |last=Stell |first=Gerald |title=English in Namibia: A socio-historical account |date=2021-09-10 |work=Varieties of English Around the World |volume=G65 |pages=21–42 |editor-last=Schröder |editor-first=Anne |url=https://benjamins.com/catalog/veaw.g65.02ste |access-date=2025-03-01 |place=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |language=en |doi=10.1075/veaw.g65.02ste |isbn=978-90-272-0919-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alimi |first=Modupe |date=2011-07-01 |title=Botswana English: implications for English language teaching and assessment |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01434632.2011.574700 |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=309–324 |doi=10.1080/01434632.2011.574700 |issn=0143-4632|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with smaller native English-speaking populations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Namibian languages |url=https://biodiversity.org.na/NamLanguages.php |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241204023759/https://www.biodiversity.org.na/NamLanguages.php |archive-date=2024-12-04 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Namibia Biodiversity Database}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bolton |first1=Kingsley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3mydCcllYYC&dq=whites+in+botswana+british+portuguese+ancestry&pg=PA196 |title=World Englishes: Critical Concepts in Linguistics |last2=Kachru |first2=Braj B. |date=2006 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-31508-1 |pages=196 |language=en}}</ref> The same is true of [[Kenyan English|Kenya]] and [[Ugandan English|Uganda]] in [[East Africa]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Buregeya |first=Alfred |title=Kenyan English |date=2020 |work=The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English |url=https://ewave-atlas.org/languages/46 |access-date=2025-03-01}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Ssempuuma |first=Jude |title=Ugandan English |date=2020 |work=The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English |url=https://ewave-atlas.org/languages/47 |access-date=2025-03-08}}</ref>
In addition to South Africa, a number of Commonwealth countries in Africa have native varieties of English. A community of native English speakers exists in [[Zimbabwean English|Zimbabwe]]; the country's dialect bears features of British English, South African English and other Southern Hemisphere varieties of Commonwealth English.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mlambo |first=Muzi |date=26 May 2009 |title=A survey of the language situation in Zimbabwe |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today/article/abs/survey-of-the-language-situation-in-zimbabwe/35D49686A4A0091ADED552C6A604AD02 |journal=English Today |language=en |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=18 |doi=10.1017/S0266078409000145 |issn=1474-0567|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>Tom McArthur (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to the English Language''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-19-214183-X}}. pp. 116, 352.</ref> Also in [[Southern Africa]] and with historical influence from South Africa, [[Namlish|Namibia]] and [[Botswana]] have their own dialects,<ref>{{Citation |last=Stell |first=Gerald |title=English in Namibia: A socio-historical account |date=2021-09-10 |work=Varieties of English Around the World |volume=G65 |pages=21–42 |editor-last=Schröder |editor-first=Anne |url=https://benjamins.com/catalog/veaw.g65.02ste |access-date=2025-03-01 |place=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |language=en |doi=10.1075/veaw.g65.02ste |isbn=978-90-272-0919-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alimi |first=Modupe |date=2011-07-01 |title=Botswana English: implications for English language teaching and assessment |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01434632.2011.574700 |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=309–324 |doi=10.1080/01434632.2011.574700 |issn=0143-4632|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with smaller native English-speaking populations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Namibian languages |url=https://biodiversity.org.na/NamLanguages.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204023759/https://www.biodiversity.org.na/NamLanguages.php |archive-date=2024-12-04 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Namibia Biodiversity Database}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bolton |first1=Kingsley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3mydCcllYYC&dq=whites+in+botswana+british+portuguese+ancestry&pg=PA196 |title=World Englishes: Critical Concepts in Linguistics |last2=Kachru |first2=Braj B. |date=2006 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-31508-1 |pages=196 |language=en}}</ref> The same is true of [[Kenyan English|Kenya]] and [[Ugandan English|Uganda]] in [[East Africa]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Buregeya |first=Alfred |title=Kenyan English |date=2020 |work=The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English |url=https://ewave-atlas.org/languages/46 |access-date=2025-03-01}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Ssempuuma |first=Jude |title=Ugandan English |date=2020 |work=The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English |url=https://ewave-atlas.org/languages/47 |access-date=2025-03-08}}</ref>


=== Caribbean ===
=== Caribbean ===
[[File:No Politics nor Religion in Bar sign, Placencia Belize 2021.jpg|thumb|Sign in [[Belizean Creole]], an English-based creole language]]
[[File:No Politics nor Religion in Bar sign, Placencia Belize 2021.jpg|thumb|Sign in [[Belizean Creole]], an English-based creole language]]
[[File:Mackennal (1926) Shakespeare Memorial.jpg|thumb|[[William Shakespeare]] memorial in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]]. English is part of the common culture of the Commonwealth.]]
[[File:Mackennal (1926) Shakespeare Memorial.jpg|thumb|[[William Shakespeare]] memorial in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]]. English is part of the common culture of the Commonwealth.]]
[[Caribbean English]] is drawn from British English and West African languages. It is influenced by constant contact with English-based [[Creole language|Creoles]]. There is considerable influence from [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] and other South Asian languages in countries with language Indian populations, including [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and [[Guyana]]. [[Jamaican English]] and [[Bajan English|Barbadian English]] bear influences of [[Hiberno-English|Irish English]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Caribbean English |url=https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-caribbean-english/?tl=true#caribbean-english-caribbean-creoles |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240915180916/https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-caribbean-english/?tl=true |archive-date=2024-09-15 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref>
[[Caribbean English]] is drawn from British English and West African languages. It is influenced by constant contact with English-based [[Creole language|Creoles]]. There is considerable influence from [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] and other South Asian languages in countries with language Indian populations, including [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and [[Guyana]]. [[Jamaican English]] and [[Bajan English|Barbadian English]] bear influences of [[Hiberno-English|Irish English]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Caribbean English |url=https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-caribbean-english/?tl=true#caribbean-english-caribbean-creoles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915180916/https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-caribbean-english/?tl=true |archive-date=2024-09-15 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref>


== Non-native varieties ==
== Non-native varieties ==
Line 30: Line 30:
=== Africa ===
=== Africa ===
{{See also|West African Pidgin English}}
{{See also|West African Pidgin English}}
Several dialects of [[List of English dialects|West African English]] exist, with considerable regional variation, though there is a set of common tendencies of pronunciation. [[Nigerian English|Nigerian]] and [[Ghanaian English]] are the varieties with the largest number of speakers; English also holds official or national status in [[Sierra Leonean English|Sierra Leone]], [[Cameroonian English|Cameroon]]’s Anglophone provinces, [[Gambian English|the Gambia]], and [[Saint Helena]], a British territory. It also holds official status in [[Liberian English|Liberia]], which is not a Commonwealth country but rather has a history connected to the [[United States|United States of America]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=West African English |url=https://www.oed.com/information/understanding-entries/pronunciation/world-englishes/west-african-english/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250121033901/https://www.oed.com/information/understanding-entries/pronunciation/world-englishes/west-african-english/ |archive-date=2025-01-21 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/liberia |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Office of the Historian}}</ref>
Several dialects of [[List of English dialects|West African English]] exist, with considerable regional variation, though there is a set of common tendencies of pronunciation. [[Nigerian English|Nigerian]] and [[Ghanaian English]] are the varieties with the largest number of speakers; English also holds official or national status in [[Sierra Leonean English|Sierra Leone]], [[Cameroonian English|Cameroon]]’s Anglophone provinces, [[Gambian English|the Gambia]], and [[Saint Helena]], a British territory. It also holds official status in [[Liberian English|Liberia]], which is not a Commonwealth country but rather has a history connected to the [[United States|United States of America]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=West African English |url=https://www.oed.com/information/understanding-entries/pronunciation/world-englishes/west-african-english/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121033901/https://www.oed.com/information/understanding-entries/pronunciation/world-englishes/west-african-english/ |archive-date=2025-01-21 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/liberia |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Office of the Historian}}</ref>


National varieties of English are also spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and [[Tanzanian English|Tanzania]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmied |first=Josef |date=March 2025 |title=Tanzanian English |url=https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/ling/download/000_Schmied120816.pdf |access-date=28 March 2025 |publisher=Chemnitz University of Technology}}</ref>
National varieties of English are also spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and [[Tanzanian English|Tanzania]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmied |first=Josef |date=March 2025 |title=Tanzanian English |url=https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/ling/download/000_Schmied120816.pdf |access-date=28 March 2025 |publisher=Chemnitz University of Technology}}</ref>
Line 43: Line 43:
==== Indian subcontinent ====
==== Indian subcontinent ====
{{See also|Englishisation#South Asia}}
{{See also|Englishisation#South Asia}}
English was introduced to [[the subcontinent]] by the [[British Raj]]. [[India]] has the largest English-speaking population in the Commonwealth, although comparatively very few speakers of [[Indian English]] are first-language speakers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-11-11 |title=India is the 2nd largest English-speaking nation |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/india-is-the-2nd-largest-english-speaking-nation/articleshow/1292536.cms |access-date=2025-03-01 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Rukmini S |date=24 November 2014 |title=Sanskrit and English: there's no competition |url=https://www.thehindu.com/data/sanskrit-and-english-theres-no-competition/article6630269.ece |newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> The same is true of English spoken in other parts of [[South Asia]], including [[Pakistani English]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=People of Pakistan |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/People |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Britannica |language=en |quote=With the exception of this educated elite, English is spoken fluently by only a small percentage of the population.}}</ref> [[Sri Lankan English]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Sri Lankan English |url=https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-sri-lankan-english/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240915180917/https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-sri-lankan-english/ |archive-date=2024-09-15 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref> [[Bangladeshi English]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naym Pieal |first=Jannatul |date=2023-05-05 |title=Tracing roots: The emergence and disappearance of Dhaka's Anglo-Indians |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/tracing-roots-emergence-and-disappearance-dhakas-anglo-indians-626526 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref> and [[Myanmar English]]; though Myanmar is not a Commonwealth country, English is the mother tongue of the [[Anglo-Burmese people|Anglo-Burmese]] population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burnett |first=Dean |year=2003 |title=A history of the Anglo-Burmese community |url=https://www.international-journal-of-anglo-indian-studies.org/index.php/IJAIS/article/download/173/163 |journal=International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies |volume=7 |issue=1}}</ref> [[South Asian English]] is fairly homogeneous across the subcontinent, though there are some differences based on various regional factors.<ref>{{Citation |last=Schilk |first=Marco |title=Mapping unity and diversity in South Asian English lexicogrammar: Verb-complementational preferences across varieties |date=2012 |work=Varieties of English Around the World |volume=G43 |pages=140 |editor-last=Hundt |editor-first=Marianne |url=https://benjamins.com/catalog/veaw.g43.06sch |access-date=2025-03-01 |place=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |language=en |doi=10.1075/veaw.g43.06sch |isbn=978-90-272-4903-6 |last2=Bernaisch |first2=Tobias |last3=Mukherjee |first3=Joybrato |editor2-last=Gut |editor2-first=Ulrike|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
English was introduced to [[the subcontinent]] by the [[British Raj]]. [[India]] has the largest English-speaking population in the Commonwealth, although comparatively very few speakers of [[Indian English]] are first-language speakers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-11-11 |title=India is the 2nd largest English-speaking nation |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/india-is-the-2nd-largest-english-speaking-nation/articleshow/1292536.cms |access-date=2025-03-01 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Rukmini S |date=24 November 2014 |title=Sanskrit and English: there's no competition |url=https://www.thehindu.com/data/sanskrit-and-english-theres-no-competition/article6630269.ece |newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> The same is true of English spoken in other parts of [[South Asia]], including [[Pakistani English]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=People of Pakistan |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/People |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Britannica |language=en |quote=With the exception of this educated elite, English is spoken fluently by only a small percentage of the population.}}</ref> [[Sri Lankan English]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Sri Lankan English |url=https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-sri-lankan-english/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915180917/https://www.oed.com/discover/introduction-to-sri-lankan-english/ |archive-date=2024-09-15 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref> [[Bangladeshi English]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naym Pieal |first=Jannatul |date=2023-05-05 |title=Tracing roots: The emergence and disappearance of Dhaka's Anglo-Indians |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/tracing-roots-emergence-and-disappearance-dhakas-anglo-indians-626526 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref> and [[Myanmar English]]; though Myanmar is not a Commonwealth country, English is the mother tongue of the [[Anglo-Burmese people|Anglo-Burmese]] population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burnett |first=Dean |year=2003 |title=A history of the Anglo-Burmese community |url=https://www.international-journal-of-anglo-indian-studies.org/index.php/IJAIS/article/download/173/163 |journal=International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies |volume=7 |issue=1}}</ref> [[South Asian English]] is fairly homogeneous across the subcontinent, though there are some differences based on various regional factors.<ref>{{Citation |last=Schilk |first=Marco |title=Mapping unity and diversity in South Asian English lexicogrammar: Verb-complementational preferences across varieties |date=2012 |work=Varieties of English Around the World |volume=G43 |pages=140 |editor-last=Hundt |editor-first=Marianne |url=https://benjamins.com/catalog/veaw.g43.06sch |access-date=2025-03-01 |place=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |language=en |doi=10.1075/veaw.g43.06sch |isbn=978-90-272-4903-6 |last2=Bernaisch |first2=Tobias |last3=Mukherjee |first3=Joybrato |editor2-last=Gut |editor2-first=Ulrike|url-access=subscription }}</ref>


==== Malay Archipelago ====
==== Malay Archipelago ====
Line 59: Line 59:
* {{lang|fr|[[Francophonie]]}}
* {{lang|fr|[[Francophonie]]}}
* [[Latin Union]]
* [[Latin Union]]
{{clear}}


== References ==
== References ==

Latest revision as of 17:52, 5 November 2025

Template:Short description

Template:Use British English

Template:Use dmy dates

File:Please Do Not Step or Sit on Graves - Genocide Memorial Center - Kigali - Rwanda.jpg
English and Kinyarwanda text in Kigali, Rwanda. Rwanda, a Commonwealth country, was never associated with the British Empire.

The use of the English language in current and former countries of the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British colonisation, with some exceptions. English forms part of the Commonwealth's common culture and serves as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations.[1][2]

Commonwealth English refers to English as practised in the Commonwealth; the term is most often interchangeable with British English, but is also used to distinguish between British English and that in the rest of the Commonwealth.[3] English in the Commonwealth is diverse, and many regions have developed their own local varieties of the language. The official status of English varies; in Bangladesh, it lacks any but is widely used, and likewise in Cyprus, it is not official but is used as the Script error: No such module "Lang"..[4][5]

Written English in current and former Commonwealth countries generally favours British English spelling as opposed to that of American English,[6] with some exceptions, particularly in Canada, where there are strong influences from neighbouring American English.[7]

Native varieties

File:Abenaki stop sign odanak.jpg
Multilingual stop sign in a First Nations reserve in Canada, featuring the Abenaki, French and English languages

Southern Hemisphere native varieties of English began to develop during the 18th century, with the colonisation of Australasia and South Africa. Australian English and New Zealand English are closely related to each other and share some similarities with South African English. Nonetheless, South African English has unique influences from indigenous African languages, and Dutch influences inherited alongside the evolution of Afrikaans, while New Zealand English has a lot of influences from the Māori language.[8][9]

Canadian English contains elements of British English and American English, as well as many Canadianisms and some French influences. It is the product of several waves of immigration and settlement, from Britain, Ireland, France, the United States, and around the world, over a period of more than two centuries.[10][11]

File:Mother and daughter in India 1920.jpg
The mother tongue of Anglo-Indians is English, whilst most Indians speak it as a second language.

In many Commonwealth countries, there exists a relatively small native Anglophone minority amongst a larger population who speak English as a second language; Anglo-Indians speak English as their mother tongue, but it is not the first language of most Indians.[12][13]

Africa

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In addition to South Africa, a number of Commonwealth countries in Africa have native varieties of English. A community of native English speakers exists in Zimbabwe; the country's dialect bears features of British English, South African English and other Southern Hemisphere varieties of Commonwealth English.[14][15] Also in Southern Africa and with historical influence from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana have their own dialects,[16][17] with smaller native English-speaking populations.[18][19] The same is true of Kenya and Uganda in East Africa.[20][21]

Caribbean

File:No Politics nor Religion in Bar sign, Placencia Belize 2021.jpg
Sign in Belizean Creole, an English-based creole language
File:Mackennal (1926) Shakespeare Memorial.jpg
William Shakespeare memorial in Sydney, Australia. English is part of the common culture of the Commonwealth.

Caribbean English is drawn from British English and West African languages. It is influenced by constant contact with English-based Creoles. There is considerable influence from Hindustani and other South Asian languages in countries with language Indian populations, including Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Jamaican English and Barbadian English bear influences of Irish English.[22]

Non-native varieties

Second-language varieties of English in Africa and Asia have often undergone "indigenisation"; that is, each English-speaking community has developed (or is in the process of developing) its own standards of usage, often under the influence of local languages. These dialects are sometimes referred to as New Englishes (McArthur, p. 36); most of them inherited non-rhoticity from Southern British English.

Africa

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Several dialects of West African English exist, with considerable regional variation, though there is a set of common tendencies of pronunciation. Nigerian and Ghanaian English are the varieties with the largest number of speakers; English also holds official or national status in Sierra Leone, Cameroon’s Anglophone provinces, the Gambia, and Saint Helena, a British territory. It also holds official status in Liberia, which is not a Commonwealth country but rather has a history connected to the United States of America.[23][24]

National varieties of English are also spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.[20][21][25]

Prior to Togo's admission at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said that he expected Commonwealth membership to provide opportunities for Togolese citizens to learn English, and remarked that the country sought closer ties with the Anglophone world.[26]

Asia

Hong Kong

Hong Kong ceased to be part of the Commonwealth by virtue of being a British territory in 1997. Nonetheless, the English language there still enjoys official status.[27]

Indian subcontinent

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". English was introduced to the subcontinent by the British Raj. India has the largest English-speaking population in the Commonwealth, although comparatively very few speakers of Indian English are first-language speakers.[28][29] The same is true of English spoken in other parts of South Asia, including Pakistani English,[30] Sri Lankan English,[31] Bangladeshi English[32] and Myanmar English; though Myanmar is not a Commonwealth country, English is the mother tongue of the Anglo-Burmese population.[33] South Asian English is fairly homogeneous across the subcontinent, though there are some differences based on various regional factors.[34]

Malay Archipelago

Southeast Asian English includes Singapore English, Malaysian English, and Brunei English as well as other varieties in non-Commonwealth countries; it is not only the result of British colonisation but also American colonisation (as in the case of the Philippines) and globalisation. It has interacted with diverse local ecologies, shaping its form, function and status in the region.[35]

See also

Other languages:

References

Template:Reflist Template:Refbegin

  • McArthur, Tom (2002). The Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN.
  • Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Template:ISBN.
  • Trudgill, Peter & Hannah, Jean (2002). International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English; 4th ed. London: Arnold. Template:ISBN.

Template:Refend

Template:Commonwealth of Nations topics

  1. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  5. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. Boberg, Charles (2004) Standard Canadian English Template:Webarchive." In Raymond Hickey. Standards of English: Codified Varieties Around the World. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
  8. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  9. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. Dollinger, Stefan (2008). "New-Dialect Formation in Canada". Benjamins, Template:ISBN. p. 25.
  11. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  15. Tom McArthur (ed.), Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Template:ISBN. pp. 116, 352.
  16. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  18. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  28. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  34. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".