ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 2° YEAR A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Annalisa Federici, Ph.D. Textbook: J. Culpeper, History of English, Routledge 1997. (unit 10)

DIALECTS IN BRITISH ENGLISH DIALECT (a variety of language characterised in terms of pronunciation, grammar and lexis) vs. ACCENT (a variety of language characterised in terms of pronunciation only). The presence of dialects in Britain can be explained by the presence and movement of various peoples, and with the fact that language changes at different speeds for different groups (e.g. not all dialects experienced the Great Vowel Shift).

DIALECTS IN BRITISH ENGLISH After the Anglo-Saxon invasions, the Angles settled in Northumbria (north of the river Humber and south-eastern Scotland), Mercia (the Midlands) and East Anglia; the Saxons settled in Sussex, Essex and Wessex; the Jutes remained in Kent. Some of the dialectal differences in today’s English may originate in the Germanic dialects spoken by these tribes.

DIALECTS IN BRITISH ENGLISH THERE WERE FOUR MAIN GERMANIC DIALECTS: Northumbrian (north of the Humber and south-eastern Scotland) Mercian or Midland (further to the south and containing two main subdialects: West Midland and East Midland) Kentish (the south-east, including modern Kent and Surrey) West Saxon (south of the Thames, but excluding the Cornish-speaking area)

OLD ENGLISH DIALECTS

DIALECTS IN BRITISH ENGLISH When the Vikings settled in the north and east of England, the Scandinavian language (Old Norse) sharpened the distinction between northern and southern varieties of English, despite its relative similarity with OE. The ME period was one of great regional variety and multlingualism (Latin for religion and culture, French for administration and the upper classes, and English, spoken by common people). There was no prevailing dialect and no generally accepted written standard.

DIALECTS IN BRITISH ENGLISH The main DIALECTS of the ME period, differing in pronunciation, vocabulary and inflection, were: Northern (north of the river Humber) East Midland (between the Humber and the Thames) West Midland (between the Humber and the Thames) Southern (south of the Thames) Kentish (actually a distinct variety of Southern English)

MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS