English Today

The Heathrow Experience

Received Pronunciation

• RP• The Queen’s English

• BBC accent

The decline of RP

“The number of people using a non-regionally tinged RP accent has fallen greatly. Estimates of usage in the 1980s were that between 3 and 5 per cent of the British population still used it - around 2 million. This must now be less than 2 per cent and falling.”

- David Crystal

“It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making another Englishman hate him or despise him.”

- George Bernard Shaw

Do you “talk posh”?

• Dinner or lunch?• Napkin or serviette?• Sweet or pudding?• Lounge or sitting

room?• Settee or sofa?• Loo or toilet?• Pardon or sorry?

• Lunch• Napkin• Pudding• Sitting room

• Sofa• Loo• Sorry

Six Nations Are We, Proud, Celtic & Free

• Scots• Irish• Welsh• Cornish• Bretons• Manx

Welsh

22% Welsh population speak Welsh (611,000)

A Conversation On The Streets Of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysi

liogogogoch

• Prynhawn da, Bronwen!• Prynhawn da, Dai! Sut

mae?• Da iawn, dioch. Mae

hi’n heulog heddiw, ond yw hi?

• Mae hi’n braf.• Da boch chi!• Hwyl!

Words of Welsh origin

bard, booth, corgi, crag, druid, flannel,flummery, penguin, pout, whelk

Scottish

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

The sweat wis lashing oafay Sick Boy; he wis trembling. Ah wis jist sitting thair focusing oan the telly, tryin no tae notice him. He wis bringing me doon. Ah tried tae keep my attention oan the Jean-Claude Van Damme video.

Estuary English

Dropped aitches

The glottal stop

‘v’ or ‘f’ for ‘th’

Estuary English

He had a bit of bread with a little bit of butter on it.

‘e ‘ad a bi’ uv bread wiv a li’le bi’ uv bu’er on i’.

Regional accents

• Mancunian• Scouse• Brummie• Cockney

• Manchester• Liverpool• Birmingham• London

Brummie

• My night-light is quite bright

• Moi noight-loight is quoite broight

Mancunian

• They haven’t been lucky; they’re very poor.

• They’ve not been lookeh; they’re very pooweh.

Scouse

• I started school in Liverpool. It was horrible.

• I staarted skyule in Liverpyule. It was haarible.

Which variety of English?

I parked my ute outside the bottle shop on my way to the barbie because I thought I’d better get some tinnies. You see, the host of the party was a Pommie, so I knew the tucker wouldn’t be much good.

Which variety of English?

I parked my ute outside the bottle shop on my way to the barbie because I thought I’d better get some tinnies. You see, the host of the party was a Pommie, so I knew the tucker wouldn’t be much good.

Which variety of English?

I parked my SUV outside the liquor store on my way to the barbecue because I thought I’d better get a six-pack. You see, the host of the party was a limey, so I knew the chow wouldn’t be much good.

Which variety of English?

I parked my four wheel drive outside the off licence on my way to the barbecue because I thought I’d better get some cans of beer. You see, the host of the party was a Brit, so I knew the nosh wouldn’t be much good.

Which variety of English?

I parked my bakkie outside the off licence on my way to the braai because I thought I’d better get some cans of beer. You see, the host of the party was a pommie, so I knew the food wouldn’t be much good.

What do these signs tell you about the world today?

Hinglish

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Life should be like this

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

Life should be like this

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

Life should be like this

Are you hungry?

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

What your bahana is?

(McDonalds)

Life should be like this

Are you hungry?

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

What your bahana is?

(McDonalds)

Life should be like this

Are you hungry?

What’s your excuse?

Pidgin

Singlish

Singlish: topic prominence

• Dis country weather very hot one.

• Dat person dere cannot trust.

• He play soccer also very good one leh.

Singlish: reduplication

• You want raise from boss? Wait long long ah.

• You go ting ting a little bit, maybe den you get answer.

• We two fren-fren one.

Singlish: discourse particles

• Dis ticket seriously ex leh.

• Dun have work to do, den go home lor.

• Dun know oreddy lah!

A Singlish dialogue

A Oi, de boss, he arrow me check his email, but dis computer, how I switch on?

B Don’t be so kayu, lah. Switch is round backside.

A What? Sorry but I no catch ball, man.

B You blur as sotong. Round backside!

A Wah, you so yah yah.

• The boss has told me to check his email but how do I switch this computer on?

• Don’t be so stupid. The switch is at the back.

• What? I don’t understand. • You are as confused as an

octopus! It’s at the back.• No need to be so bossy!

The Welsh puzzle

22% Welsh population speak Welsh (611,000)

Chinglish

Geordie

• The other night our son was going home late when he fell down a large hole.

• The other nee-ut wor lad were gannin hyem lee-ut when he fill doon a gree-ut hoo-ul.

What do you teach? And what do your students learn? Are they the

same thing?

Which of these statements do you think is most inaccurate?

• 85% of web pages on the Internet are in English.

• 1 in 10 schoolchildren in UK speak a language other than English at home.

• Only 1 out of every 4 users of English in the world is a native speaker.

Cockney rhyming slang

• 1 Choose your target word

• 2 Choose a phrase that rhymes with it

• 3 Drop the rhyming word

• “I like your new whistle.”

• Suit

• Whistle and flute

• Whistle (and flute)

Cockney rhyming slang

• Have you got any bread?

• Alright, my old China?

• Are you telling porkies?

• Let’s have a butchers

• Stop rabbiting

• Bread and honey (money)

• China plate (mate)

• Pork pies (lies)

• Butcher’s hook (look)

• Rabbit and pork (talk)

A Cockney rabbit

• Wotcher, me old China!• Awright, mate. ‘ow’s fings?• Can’ complain. • Oi! Whassat ven? Le’s ‘ave a butchers.• ’s an iPhone, vat is. • Are you tellin’ porkies? Where d’ya get ve

bread for vat ven?• I’m no’ tellin’ you! La’er!

Cockney rhyming slang

• I saw him walking down the frog.

• frog and toad• road