An introduction for 10th grade pupils in Norway

How come we can travel around the world and use English almost everywhere? They speak differently in Australia than in Canada, yet we understand and can be understood! We need some background information to understand how we can speak English all around the world. Here comes a small history lesson

It all began in what we call the Victorian England. Once upon a time there was a princess. Her name was Victoria. She lived in England. Her father was the King. She was born in When she grew up, she became the Queen of England. She married a chap from Germany called Albert and they had nine children. She died in During her reign, England conquered countries all over the world and this made her close to being the ruler of the world. They called these countries colonies. Britain was the biggest empire in the history of the world and a superpower back then.

The years 1815 to 1914 are referred to as Britain's imperial century, and at this time, the Empire included over 450 million people. This was the time of the Industrial Revolution. The empire was vital for trade and during the reign of Queen Victoria, at the height of the British Empire, British ports were full with ships arriving from far with goods that were sold making Britain a wealthy nation. A Scottish writer once said the famous words: “The sun never sets on the British Empire” This had an end, like most stories have but because of this, the English language had spread around the world.

The British managed to spread their culture and language all around the world. They did not always do it in a nice way and they certainly did not ask first! Bad story – good for us! English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. If you combine native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world.

All languages change over time. We have different kinds of English all around the world! American English Australian English Canadian English South African English

Local words and expressions found their way into the language. The British were not there to keep an eye on things. The countries developed their own kind of English: Pronunciation Spelling New words And with time new ways of speaking English developed.

This «original» English is called «Standard English» – a bit like Bokmål here in Norway. In England this is often called RP – Received Pronunciation and is what they use in both written and spoken «correct» English in England. It is also called «Queens English» or «Proper English» Like Norwegian, the English language is spoken in many varities in England. Scotland Wales Ireland

These are the some of the things which will decide how you speak: - Gender (boy or girl) - Time of the day (are you tired or wide awake!) - Where you are - How old you are - Where you come from - Formal situation (with the headmaster) - Informal situation (with your friends after school) - Who you talk to (parents, grandparents, your siblings or friends)

The black box indicates where the language came from. The yellow boxes are countries that used to be colonies and have their own English now. The white boxes are varities or dialects of the respective countries. British English America Australia South Africa Canada Scotland Ireland Wales Texas Boston Adelaide Brisbane Durban Cape Town Quebec Montreal

Because there are so many varieties of the same language, the concept of English has changed over time. It has become World English. We can no longer say that British English is the only correct English. They are all equally correct and are languages in their own right! Which one do you choose?