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Russia flagElena
Why does the English language has so many styles? Please explain.

It seems according to my research that the English language in the UK has various different styles, ranging from: Conservative Received Pronunciation, apparently reserved for the Queen only, Received Pronunciation, Standard British English, Estuary English, colloquial English and slang.

Then I believe there are hundreds of dialects and accents to contend with once a foreigner actually arrives in the country.

On top of this, the UK nowadays is a multicultural society, which confuses matters even more, so for the novice language learner how should they begin to choose?

What style of English would you advise foreigners to learn when there are so many to choose from, and why?

My question is, in the 21 century, are these styles strictly adhered to, and do you think that the time has come to make the English language more modern?

What do you think?

 

Comments · 16

7

English is a rich language with lots of history and is still continuing to grow and change daily.  I love opening up an old novel or play like Wuthering Heights by Bronte or Hamlet by Shakespeare and trying to understand the old fashioned language.  I also love listening to different dialects as I travel around the country on my narrowboat.  I find it fascinating that as a Native English speaker there are still words and phrases (particularly in parts of the country that I don't live or visit) that I need explaining.  As a teacher I enjoy my students teaching me the latest slang terms in school.  Now I am an italki teacher I get really enthused about teaching my language students practical everyday English, phrases that Native English speakers understand but that text book English learners do not.  

I think the best way to learn English is from a Native English speaker.  You can then decide where you want your Native English speaker to originate from.  You can do this by listening to their videos and deciding what accent you would like to learn.  Probably the London or southern accent is the most obvious and 'classic' however, there are many other regional accents that are more fun to pronounce and learn.  Have some fun and book lessons with different Native English speakers and learn some different dialects!

5

Pauline Snowdon........

Thank you very much for your comments.

The problem that we have here in Russia, in Siberia actually, is that most of the foreign language schools and certainly the state system has very little understanding of the wide diversity in the language that you so beautifully described, I dream of the day that we will be able to open affordable textbooks written not solely by linguists obsessed, quite rightly so in my opinion, with perfection in the language but by real human beings in touch with the soul of the reader, filling him with enthusiasm, and love, and respect for such a rich ancient language.

I feel that if a person learning a language never really feels a tug on the heart strings of his emotion, then he truly doesn't understand the language that he is learning.

May be we will get that book one day!


5

Regarding British English, you can choose between many accents and as long as your diction is clear you will be understood. RP is in fashion with the British establishment* at the moment, with language schools and elocution parlours, actors, and de rigueur for higher jobs in the government, the BBC and the chattering class. However, if you do choose a "regional  accent" (or non RP) and your diction is good, everyone will understand you.

*And has been ever since the courtiers aped the king or queen; a long time ago with no signs of abating.

Edited for a typo.

4

This is a problem that’s encountered in most languages, it’s not unique to British English. Generally you will learn the ‘clean’ central London accent that as the other poster said is mainly heard on news and radio.

 It’s impossible to make a standard dialect of British English that is a faithful representation of all the varieties that you can find in the UK. Therefore I don’t see what you really mean by modern - people in the UK speak generally according to their region, with some being ‘clearer’ than others but still generally having an accent representative of that area. Every country has this. Think of peninsular Spanish, which also has many varieties and yet the standard is of Madrid despite is being totally different to that of Granada or Cádiz.

3
Great Britain has thousands of years of pre-broadcast media history, so there are many regional and class divisions in terms of the pronunciation. Standard RP will be well-received both in Commonwealth countries and the USA. Another option would be General American — which you can easily hear on TV and radio (especially serious news programs). The pronunciation used in American movies is also fairly standard, except for character actors whose part may require something a little more colorful (but even then, American / Canadian pronunciation is much more homogeneous than that of the UK, despite America’s vastly greater population).

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