Sociolinguistic Variation of the English Language

Central Lancashire	veri	few	carrs	mehd	oop	longg
ill
Humberside	veree	few	cahs	mehd	oop	long	ill
Merseyside	veree	few	cahs	mayd	oop	longg	ill
Northwest Midlands	veri	few	cahs	mayd	oop	longg	ill
West Midlands	veree	few	cahs	mayd	oop	longg	ill
Central Midlands	veri	fe	cahs	mayd	oop	long	ill
Northeast Midlands	veree	few	cahs	mayd	oop	long	ill
East Midlands	veree	foo	cahs	mayd	oop	long	ill
Upper Southwest	veree	few	carrs	mayd	up	long	ill
Central.Southwest	veree	few	carrs	mayd	up	long	iooll
Lower Southwest	veree	few	carrs	mehd	up	long	ill
South Midlands	veree	foo	cahs	mayd	up	long	iooll
East Anglia	veree	foo	cahs	mayd	up	long	(h)ill
Home Counties	veree	few	cahs	mayd	up	long	iooll

PHONETIC VARIATION

1.3.1. Variation on different levels of language system

• Morphological variation
• There is a remarkable diversity in the use of the verb to be in English dialects, especially in its negative forms. Among the interesting features are: the use of is/’s in the North; ain't is widespread in the East Midlands and South- East, with variant forms (en’t, yun’t) further west; and forms based on be dominate in the South-West. For comparison, the range of forms recorded in other persons is given below (minor variants in parentheses):
• I am: am, are, be, bin, is
• you are (sing.):you are, ye are, thou are, thou art, thee art, thou is, you be, you bin, thee bist, (thee be, thoubist, you am)
• she is: is, be, bin, (am, bist)
• we are: are,am, be,bin, (aren)
• they are: are,am, is, be, bin, (aren, at, bist)
• she isn’t: isn’t, ‘snot, isno’, ain’t, en’t, yun’t, idn’, inno, bain’t, ben’t (idn’t, binno’, byent, ’s none, yen’t)
• they aren’t: aren’t, ’re not, ain’t, en’t, yun’t, anno’, bain’t, baan’t, ben’t, byen’t, byun’t, binno’, (amno’, inno’, in’t, isn’t, ’mnot, ’re none).

1.3.1. Variation on different levels of language system

• SYNTACTIC VARIATION
• The word order give me it is usual in the North, most of the East, and in a narrow band across the South Midlands; give it me dominates in the lower North-West, West Midlands. and South-East, with the prepositional form, give it to me, the norm in the South-West, and also occurring in enclaves around the Thames estuary and in East Anglia. The pronounless form give me is recorded once, in Surrey. This is doubtless one of the forms which would be much more widely represented in an urban dialect survey.

1.3.1. Variation on different levels of language system

• LEXICAL VARIATION
• There are nine chief variants noted for threshold, for example, and a further 35 alternatives. In the case of headache, there is a fairly clear picture. The standard form is used throughout most of the country, but in the North and parts of East Anglia there is a competing regional form, skullache. The variant form head-wark is found in the far North, with a further variant, headwarch, mainly in Southern Lancashire. Northumberland opts for the more prosaic sore head, with bad head used in adjacent localities to the south.

1.3.2. Types of variation : temporal

• Long term: English has changed throughout the centuries, as can be seen from such clearly distinguishable linguistic periods as Old English, Middle English, and Elizabethan English. Language change is an inevitable and continuing process, whose study is chiefly carried on by philologists and historical linguists.

1.3.2. Types of variation: temporal

• Short term: English changes within the history of a single person. This is most noticeable while children are acquiring their mother tongue, but it is also seen when people learn a foreign language, develop their style as adult speakers or writers. and, sometimes, find that their linguistic abilities are lost or seriously impaired through injury or disease. Psycholinguists study language learning and loss, as do several other professionals, notably speech therapists and language teachers.

1.3.2.2. Regional variation

• Intranational regional varieties have been observed within English from its earliest days, as seen in such labels as ‘Northern’, ‘London’ and ‘Scottish”.
• International varieties are more recent in origin, as seen in such labels as ‘American”, ‘Australian’ and ‘Indian’.

1.3.2.2. Regional variation

• A variety of language peculiar to some district and having no normalized literary form is known as dialect. However, in cases when a regional variety is characterized by statehood and possesses a literary form (usually codified in grammars and dictionaries) the term variant is preferred.