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English in the Commonwealth of Nations

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and some French influences. It is the product of several waves of immigration and settlement, from Britain, Ireland, France, the United States, and around the world, over a period of more than two centuries. Modern Canadian English has taken significant vocabulary and spelling from the shared
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varieties spoken, but they are not one and the same. There is a great deal of variation in the way English is spoken, with a "Standard English" at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum and Creole languages at the other. These dialects have roots in 17th-century British and
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phonology is highly variable; stress, rhythm and intonation are generally different from those of native varieties. There are also several peculiarities at the levels of morphology, syntax and usage, some of which can also be found among educated speakers.
229:, with some exceptions, particularly in Canada, where there are strong influences from neighbouring American English. Few Commonwealth countries besides Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom have produced their own English 206:, but is also used to distinguish between British English and that in the rest of the Commonwealth. English in the Commonwealth is diverse, and many regions have developed their own local varieties of the language. In 335:"; that is, each English-speaking community has developed (or is in the process of developing) its own standards of usage, often under the influence of local languages. These dialects are sometimes referred to as 1165: 710:. Handbooks of linguistics and communication science / Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 1888. 707:
Sociolinguistics: an international handbook of the science of language and society / Soziolinguistik: ein internationales Handbuch zur Wissenschaft von Sprache und Gesellschaft
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and other cities where there is an expanding middle class, for whom English is increasingly being used in the home as the first language.
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languages including French, Spanish, and Dutch; unlike most native varieties of English, West Indian dialects often tend to be
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native varieties of English began to develop during the 18th century, with the colonisation of Australasia and South Africa.
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exist, with a lot of regional variation and some influence from indigenous languages. West African English tends to be
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Written English in the current and former Commonwealth generally favours British English spelling as opposed to
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has the largest English-speaking population in the Commonwealth, although comparatively very few speakers of
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Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J.; Trudgill, Peter, eds. (2006). "Greece and Cyprus".
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said that he expected Commonwealth membership to provide opportunities for Togolese citizens to learn
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ceased to be part of the Commonwealth (by virtue of being a British territory) in 1997. Nonetheless,
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to English as practised in the Commonwealth; the term is most often interchangeable with
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are first-language speakers. The same is true of English spoken in other parts of
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contains elements of British English and American English, as well as many
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Current Commonwealth members (dark blue), former members (orange), and
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are closely related to each other, and share some similarities with
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International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English
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Small communities of native English speakers can be found in
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political and social institutions of Commonwealth countries.
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Standards of English: Codified Varieties Around the World
161:. Rwanda, a Commonwealth country, was never part of the 264:
influences it inherited along with the development of
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Sweden: Linnaeus University: 8–14. 323:Second-language varieties of English in 144: 132: 68:"English in the Commonwealth of Nations" 363:inventory is much simpler than that of 318: 303:, plus localised influences from other 14: 1422:Symbols of the Commonwealth of Nations 1409: 1152:Commonwealth Parliamentary Association 894: 888: 868: 768: 460: 977: 825: 759:. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. 941:The Cambridge Guide to English Usage 515: 57:adding citations to reliable sources 28: 928:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 290:is influenced by the English-based 240: 141:and Crown Dependencies (light blue) 24: 1157:Commonwealth War Graves Commission 535:; it features some influence from 25: 1433: 926:The Oxford Guide to World English 862: 633:from the original on 7 March 2022 383:, is spoken in countries such as 734:. Oxford University Press. 2016. 467:Englishisation § South Asia 33: 343:from Southern British English. 44:needs additional citations for 869:Lawson, Alice (24 June 2022). 819: 738: 724: 670: 645: 615: 13: 1: 1335:Commonwealth Youth Parliament 1147:Commonwealth Games Federation 1137:Commonwealth Business Council 608: 1396:Visits by Queen Elizabeth II 1081:Commonwealth Youth Programme 895:Eoyang, Eugene Chen (2000). 840:10.1017/cbo9780511611766.006 567:EF English Proficiency Index 471:English was introduced into 445: 425:, Togolese Foreign Minister 282: 139:British Overseas Territories 7: 1330:Commonwealth Writers' Prize 957:& Hannah, Jean (2002). 550: 177:was largely inherited from 10: 1438: 1071:Deputy Secretaries-General 961:; 4th ed. London: Arnold. 826:Wells, J. C., ed. (1982), 623:"Joining the Commonwealth" 464: 455:the English language there 1376: 1297: 1254: 1122: 1089: 1038: 1012: 828:"The southern hemisphere" 746:Standard Canadian English 683:Oxford English Dictionary 367:; this sometimes affects 346: 1353:Commonwealth citizenship 1114:Ministerial Action Group 1046:Head of the Commonwealth 790:10.58221/mosp.v94i1.9625 214:but is widely used as a 1142:Commonwealth Foundation 1005:Commonwealth of Nations 744:Boberg, Charles (2004) 732:New Oxford Style Manual 521:Southeast Asian English 440: 755:." In Raymond Hickey. 678:"Commonwealth English" 594: 572:English-speaking world 543:languages, as well as 369:mutual intelligibility 365:Received Pronunciation 331:have often undergone " 216: 175:Commonwealth countries 173:in current and former 166: 142: 1358:Commonwealth diaspora 1284:Commonwealth republic 769:Bayard, Donn (2000). 751:11 April 2023 at the 412:South African English 373:North African English 258:South African English 148: 136: 1340:Round Table movement 939:Peters, Pam (2004). 589:Dutch Language Union 421:'s admission at the 353:West African English 351:Several dialects of 319:Non-native varieties 194:Commonwealth English 179:British colonisation 53:improve this article 18:Commonwealth english 1417:Dialects of English 1264:Membership criteria 1124:Commonwealth Family 1091:Heads of government 509:South Asian English 501:Bangladeshi English 461:Indian subcontinent 254:New Zealand English 246:Southern Hemisphere 210:, it does not have 1368:King's Baton Relay 1310:Commonwealth Games 1279:Commonwealth realm 1269:Special membership 653:"The Commonwealth" 497:Sri Lankan English 391:, particularly in 250:Australian English 167: 143: 1404: 1403: 1320:Commonwealth Flag 1289:High Commissioner 1076:Marlborough House 1065:Patricia Scotland 1061:Secretary-General 849:978-0-521-28541-4 529:Malaysian English 525:Singapore English 516:Malay Archipelago 493:Pakistani English 301:African languages 288:Caribbean English 129: 128: 121: 103: 16:(Redirected from 1429: 1325:Commonwealth Day 1305:English language 998: 991: 984: 975: 974: 913: 912: 892: 886: 885: 883: 881: 866: 860: 859: 858: 856: 823: 817: 816: 814: 812: 775: 766: 760: 742: 736: 735: 728: 722: 721: 701: 695: 694: 692: 690: 674: 668: 667: 665: 663: 649: 643: 642: 640: 638: 619: 599: 578:Other languages: 562:American English 473:the subcontinent 435:Anglophone world 272:Canadian English 241:Native varieties 227:American English 221: 187:the Commonwealth 171:English language 124: 117: 113: 110: 104: 102: 61: 37: 29: 21: 1437: 1436: 1432: 1431: 1430: 1428: 1427: 1426: 1407: 1406: 1405: 1400: 1391:Prime ministers 1372: 1346:The Round Table 1293: 1250: 1159: 1118: 1104:Chair-in-Office 1085: 1034: 1008: 1002: 972: 955:Trudgill, Peter 917: 916: 893: 889: 879: 877: 867: 863: 854: 852: 850: 824: 820: 810: 808: 773: 767: 763: 753:Wayback Machine 743: 739: 730: 729: 725: 718: 702: 698: 688: 686: 676: 675: 671: 661: 659: 651: 650: 646: 636: 634: 621: 620: 616: 611: 557:British English 553: 518: 505:Myanmar English 469: 463: 448: 443: 377:Bantu languages 349: 321: 285: 243: 212:official status 203:British English 169:The use of the 125: 114: 108: 105: 62: 60: 50: 38: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1435: 1425: 1424: 1419: 1402: 1401: 1399: 1398: 1393: 1388: 1386:Extreme points 1382: 1380: 1374: 1373: 1371: 1370: 1365: 1360: 1355: 1350: 1342: 1337: 1332: 1327: 1322: 1317: 1312: 1307: 1301: 1299: 1295: 1294: 1292: 1291: 1286: 1281: 1276: 1271: 1266: 1260: 1258: 1252: 1251: 1249: 1248: 1243: 1238: 1233: 1228: 1223: 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783: 779: 778:Moderna Språk 772: 765: 758: 754: 750: 747: 741: 733: 727: 719: 717:9783110184181 713: 709: 708: 700: 685: 684: 679: 673: 658: 654: 648: 632: 628: 624: 618: 614: 604: 601: 598: 597: 592: 590: 587: 585: 582: 581: 580: 579: 573: 570: 568: 565: 563: 560: 558: 555: 554: 548: 546: 542: 538: 534: 530: 526: 522: 513: 510: 506: 502: 498: 494: 490: 486: 482: 478: 474: 468: 458: 456: 452: 438: 436: 432: 428: 427:Robert Dussey 424: 420: 415: 413: 409: 405: 401: 396: 394: 390: 386: 382: 378: 374: 370: 366: 362: 358: 354: 344: 342: 341:non-rhoticity 338: 337:New Englishes 334: 330: 326: 316: 314: 310: 306: 302: 298: 297:Irish English 293: 289: 280: 277: 273: 269: 268:from Dutch). 267: 263: 259: 255: 251: 247: 238: 236: 232: 228: 223: 220: 219: 218:lingua franca 213: 209: 205: 204: 199: 196: 195: 190: 188: 184: 180: 176: 172: 164: 160: 156: 152: 147: 140: 135: 131: 123: 120: 112: 101: 98: 94: 91: 87: 84: 80: 77: 73: 70: –  69: 65: 64:Find sources: 58: 54: 48: 47: 42:This article 40: 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Retrieved 874: 864: 853:, retrieved 831: 821: 809:. Retrieved 781: 777: 764: 756: 740: 731: 726: 706: 699: 687:. Retrieved 681: 672: 660:. Retrieved 656: 647: 635:. Retrieved 627:Commonwealth 626: 617: 596:Francophonie 577: 576: 519: 470: 449: 416: 397: 350: 336: 322: 313:stress-timed 311:rather than 286: 276:Canadianisms 270: 244: 235:style guides 231:dictionaries 224: 201: 193: 192: 191: 168: 149:English and 130: 115: 106: 96: 89: 82: 75: 63: 51:Please help 46:verification 43: 26: 1363:LGBT rights 1108:Paul Kagame 1056:Secretariat 1050:Charles III 603:Latin Union 477:British Raj 151:Kinyarwanda 1411:Categories 1274:Suspension 1039:Governance 901:Profession 609:References 523:comprises 489:South Asia 465:See also: 359:, and its 109:March 2019 79:newspapers 903:: 62–74. 806:254175799 798:2000-3560 662:8 January 451:Hong Kong 446:Hong Kong 417:Prior to 283:Caribbean 266:Afrikaans 1030:Timeline 924:(2002). 909:25595704 749:Archived 637:27 March 631:Archived 551:See also 404:Botswana 400:Zimbabwe 389:Tanzania 379:such as 305:colonial 153:text in 1348:Journal 1315:Symbols 1298:Culture 1256:Members 1013:History 875:Reuters 855:17 June 811:24 July 541:Chinese 491:, e.g. 475:by the 431:English 408:Namibia 393:Nairobi 381:Swahili 361:phoneme 93:scholar 1007:topics 965:  947:  932:  907:  880:1 July 846:  804:  796:  714:  531:, and 406:, and 347:Africa 325:Africa 299:, and 292:Creole 208:Cyprus 198:refers 159:Rwanda 155:Kigali 95:  88:  81:  74:  66:  1378:Lists 905:JSTOR 802:S2CID 774:(PDF) 689:7 May 537:Malay 481:India 385:Kenya 262:Dutch 100:JSTOR 86:books 1241:ROSL 1231:RCEL 1216:CSFP 1206:CPSU 1201:CLGF 1186:CJIA 1181:CHRI 1161:BECM 963:ISBN 945:ISBN 930:ISBN 882:2022 857:2024 844:ISBN 813:2010 794:ISSN 712:ISBN 691:2024 664:2024 639:2022 539:and 503:and 441:Asia 419:Togo 329:Asia 327:and 252:and 233:and 72:news 1246:SSI 1236:RCS 1226:ICS 1221:ESU 1211:CPU 1196:CLA 1191:CoL 1176:CET 1171:CBA 1166:CAP 836:doi 786:doi 387:or 185:of 55:by 1413:: 899:. 873:. 842:, 830:, 800:. 792:. 782:94 780:. 776:. 680:. 655:. 629:. 625:. 547:. 527:, 507:. 499:, 495:, 437:. 414:. 402:, 315:. 189:. 157:, 1110:) 1106:( 1067:) 1063:( 1052:) 1048:( 997:e 990:t 983:v 969:. 951:. 936:. 911:. 884:. 838:: 815:. 788:: 720:. 693:. 666:. 641:. 165:. 122:) 116:( 111:) 107:( 97:· 90:· 83:· 76:· 49:. 20:)

Index

Commonwealth english

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"English in the Commonwealth of Nations"
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British Overseas Territories

Kinyarwanda
Kigali
Rwanda
British Empire
English language
Commonwealth countries
British colonisation
common culture
the Commonwealth
refers
British English
Cyprus
official status
lingua franca
American English

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