English language

== Dialects, accents and varieties ==
{{Main|List of dialects of English|World Englishes|Regional accents of English}}
Dialectologists identify many [[list of dialects of English|English dialects]], which usually refer to regional varieties that differ from each other in terms of patterns of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The pronunciation of particular areas distinguishes dialects as separate [[regional accents of English|regional accents]]. The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into the two extremely general categories of [[British English]] (BrE) and [[North American English]] (NAE).{{sfn|Crystal|2003b|p=107}} There also exists a third common major grouping of English varieties: Southern Hemisphere English, the most prominent being [[Australian English|Australian]] and [[New Zealand English]].

=== Britain and Ireland ===
{{See also|English language in England|Estuary English|English language in Northern England|Welsh English|Scottish English|Scots language|Ulster English|Hiberno-English}}
{| style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
| {{listen|filename=Alain de Botton on Fear of Failure at Cannes Lions 2012.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a contemporary [[Received Pronunciation accent]] ([[Alain de Botton]]).|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Danny Baker BBC Radio4 Desert Island Discs 31 Jul 2007 b012wcl4.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[Cockney accent]] ([[Danny Baker]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Russell brand bbc radio4 desert island discs 21 07 2013.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of an [[Essex]] man with a working-class [[Estuary English|Estuary English accent]] ([[Russell Brand]]).|help=no|image=none}}
|-
| {{listen|filename=Damien hirst bbc radio4 desert island discs 13 05 2013 b01sd0hy.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a ([[West Yorkshire|West]]) [[Yorkshire accent]] ([[Damien Hirst]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=John_bishop_bbc_radio4_desert_island_discs_24_06_2012.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a contemporary [[Liverpool accent]] ([[John Bishop]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Rob Brydon BBC Radio4 Front Row 18 Mar 2012 b01dhl11.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a ([[South Wales|South]]) [[Welsh English|Wales accent]] ([[Rob Brydon]]).|help=no|image=none}}
|-
| {{listen|filename=Alex Salmond BBC Radio4 Desert Island Discs 16 January 2011 b00xgs41.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with one of the many [[Scottish English|accents of Scotland]] ([[Alex Salmond]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=George Best - The New Elizabethans -20 Jul 2012 - b01kt7cs.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[Ulster English|Northern Irish accent]] ([[George Best]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Mary Robinson - Desert Island Discs - 28 July 2013.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a woman with one of the many [[Hiberno-English|accents of the Republic of Ireland]] ([[Mary Robinson]]).|help=no|image=none}}
|}
[[File:Dialects of English in UK and Ireland.svg|thumb|A map showing the main dialect regions in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]]]]

The fact that English has been spoken in England for 1,500 years explains why England has a great wealth of regional dialects.{{sfn|Trudgill|1999|p=10}} Within the United Kingdom, [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP), an educated accent associated originally with the [[South East of England]], has been traditionally used as a broadcast standard and is considered the most prestigious of British accents. The spread of RP (also known as BBC English) through the media has caused many traditional dialects of rural England to recede, as youths adopt the traits of the prestige variety instead of traits from local dialects. At the time of the 1950-61 [[Survey of English Dialects]], grammar and vocabulary differed across the country, but a process of lexical attrition has led most of this variation to disappear.{{sfn|Trudgill|1999|p=125}}

Nonetheless, this attrition has mostly affected dialectal variation in grammar and vocabulary. In fact, only 3% of the English population actually speak RP, the remainder speaking in regional accents and dialects with varying degrees of RP influence.{{sfn|Hughes|Trudgill|1996|page=3}} There is also variability within RP, particularly along class lines between Upper and Middle-class RP speakers and between native RP speakers and speakers who adopt RP later in life.{{sfn|Hughes|Trudgill|1996|page=37}} Within Britain, there is also considerable variation along lines of social class; some traits, though exceedingly common, are nonetheless considered "non-standard" and associated with lower-class speakers and identities. An example of this is [[h-dropping|''h''-dropping]], which was historically a feature of lower-class London English, particularly Cockney, and can now be heard in the local accents of most parts of England. However, it remains largely absent in broadcasting and among the upper crust of British society.{{sfn|Hughes|Trudgill|1996|page=40}}

[[English in England]] can be divided into four major dialect regions: South East English, South West English (also known as [[West Country English]]), Midlands English and [[English language in Northern England|Northern English]]. Within each of these regions, several local dialects exist: within the Northern region, there is a division between the [[Yorkshire dialect|Yorkshire]] dialects, the [[Geordie]] dialect (spoken around [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], in [[Northumbria (modern)|Northumbria]]) and the [[Lancashire dialect|Lancashire]] dialects, which include the urban subdialects of [[Manchester]] ([[Manchester dialect|Mancunian]]) and [[Liverpool]] ([[Scouse]]). Having been the centre of Danish occupation during the Viking invasions of England, Northern English dialects, particularly the Yorkshire dialect, retain Norse features not found in other English varieties.{{sfn|Hughes|Trudgill|1996|p=31}}

Since the 15th century, South East England varieties have centred on London, which has been the centre from which dialectal innovations have spread to other dialects. In London, the [[Cockney]] dialect was traditionally used by the lower classes, and it was long a socially stigmatised variety. The spread of Cockney features across the South East led the media to talk of Estuary English as a new dialect, but the notion was criticised by many linguists on the grounds that London had been influencing neighbouring regions throughout history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/ee-faqs-jcw.htm |title=Estuary English Q and A – JCW |publisher=Phon.ucl.ac.uk |access-date=16 August 2010 |archive-date=11 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111062912/http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/ee-faqs-jcw.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Roach|2009|p=4}}{{sfn|Trudgill|1999|p=80}} Traits that have spread from London in recent decades include the use of [[Linking and intrusive R|intrusive R]] (''drawing'' is pronounced ''drawring'' {{IPA|/ˈdrɔːrɪŋ/}}), [[T-glottalization|''t''-glottalisation]] (''Potter'' is pronounced with a glottal stop as ''Po'er'' {{IPA|/ˈpɒʔə/}}) and [[Th-fronting|''th''-fronting]], or the pronunciation of ''th-'' as {{IPA|/f/}} (''thanks'' pronounced ''fanks'') or {{IPA|/v/}} (''bother'' pronounced ''bover'').{{sfn|Trudgill|1999|pages=80–81}}

[[Scots language|Scots]] is today considered a separate language from English, but it has [[history of the Scots language|its origins]] in early Northern Middle English{{sfn|Aitken|McArthur|1979|page=81}} and developed and changed during its history with influence from other sources, particularly [[Scottish Gaelic|Scots Gaelic]] and Old Norse. Scots itself has a number of regional dialects. In addition to Scots, [[Scottish English]] comprises the varieties of Standard English spoken in Scotland; most varieties are Northern English accents, with some influence from Scots.{{sfn|Romaine|1982}}

In [[Ireland]], various forms of English have been spoken since the [[Norman invasion of Ireland|Norman invasions]] of the 11th century. In [[County Wexford]] and in the area surrounding [[Dublin]], two extinct dialects known as [[Forth and Bargy dialect|Forth and Bargy]] and [[Fingallian]] developed as offshoots from Early Middle English and were spoken until the 19th century. Modern [[Hiberno-English|Irish English]], however, has its roots in English colonisation in the 17th century. Today Irish English is divided into [[Ulster English]], the Northern Ireland dialect with strong influence from Scots, and various dialects of the Republic of Ireland. Like Scottish and most North American accents, almost all Irish accents preserve the [[rhoticity in English|rhoticity]] which has been lost in the dialects influenced by RP.{{sfn|Barry|1982|pp=86–87}}{{sfn|Hickey|2007}}

=== North America ===
{{Main|American English|General American English|Southern American English|African-American Vernacular English|Canadian English|Atlantic Canadian English}}
{| style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
| {{listen|filename=Emery Emery Voice.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a [[Midwestern America]]n man with a [[General American accent]] ([[Emery Emery]]).|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Rep. Martha Roby's "Roller Coaster" Speech Sound Bite.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of an [[Alabamian]] woman with a contemporary [[Southern American accent]] ([[Martha Roby]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Chuck Zito on Becoming a Hells Angel.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[New York City accent]] ([[Chuck Zito]]).|help=no|image=none}}
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| {{listen|filename=Sec. Walsh on Construction Jobs in Infrastructure Bill v2.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[Boston accent]] ([[Marty Walsh]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=On the phone- Russell Gage.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of two men with [[AAVE accents]], the interviewer from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] ([[D. J. Shockley]]) and the interviewee from [[Louisiana]] ([[Russell Gage]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Margaret atwood bbc radio4 front row 27 07 2007 b007tjpb.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of an [[Ontarian]] woman with a [[Standard Canadian accent]] ([[Margaret Atwood]]).|help=no|image=none}}
|}

[[File:Population speaking English at home by PUMA.png|thumb|Percentage of Americans aged 5+ speaking English at home in each public usage microdata area (PUMA) of the 50 states, [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[Puerto Rico]]. according to the 2016–2021 five-year [[American Community Survey]]]]
[[File:Non-RhoticityUSA.png|thumb|[[Rhoticity in English|Rhoticity]] dominates in [[North American English]], but ''[[The Atlas of North American English]]'' found over 50% non-rhoticity with at least one local speaker in each US metropolitan area (designated with a red dot) and non-rhotic [[African-American Vernacular English]] pronunciations found primarily among [[African Americans]] regardless of location.]]

[[North American English]] is generally homogeneous compared to [[British English]], but this has been disputed.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Handbook of World Englishes |date=2020 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-119-16421-0 |page=45 |chapter=3 |quote=American English has traditionally been perceived as relatively homogeneous, at least in comparison with British dialects... However... others strongly opposed this notion}}</ref> American accent variation is increasing at the regional level and decreasing at the very local level,{{sfn|Labov|2012}} though most Americans still speak within a phonological continuum of similar accents,{{sfn|Wells|1982|page=34}} known collectively as [[General American English]] (GA), with differences hardly noticed even among Americans themselves, including [[Midland American English|Midland]] and [[Western American English]].{{sfn|Rowicka|2006}}{{sfn|Toon|1982}}{{sfn|Cassidy|1982}} In most American and Canadian English dialects, [[rhoticity in English|rhoticity]] (or ''r''-fulness) is dominant, with non-rhoticity (or ''r''-dropping) being associated with lower prestige and social class, especially since the end of [[World War II]]. This contrasts with the situation in England, where non-rhoticity has become the standard.{{sfn|Labov|1972}}

The English language is far and away the most widely used in the [[United States]]. Its roots trace back to the [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonial era]], which began with the settlement in present-day [[Jamestown, Virginia]] in 1607. While [[German language|German]] was the predominant language among [[Germans|German]] immigrants, who arrived primarily in eastern [[Pennsylvania]], English was ultimately widely adopted throughout the [[Thirteen Colonies]] that ultimately launched both the [[American Revolution]] and [[American Revolutionary War]] against the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], then ruled by [[King George III]] and establishing the United States as an independent sovereign nation in September 1783.

Separate from General American English are American dialects with clearly distinct sound systems that have developed over time, including [[Southern American English]], the English of the coastal [[Northeastern United States]]—including [[New York City English]] and [[Eastern New England English]]—and [[African-American Vernacular English]]; all of these, aside from certain subdialects of the American South, were historically non-rhotic. [[Canadian English]] varieties, except for those of the [[Atlantic provinces]] and perhaps [[Quebec]], are generally considered to fall under the General American English continuum, although they often show [[Canadian raising|raising]] of the vowels {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} and {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} before [[voiceless consonants]] and have distinct norms for writing and pronunciation as well.{{sfn|Boberg|2010}}

In [[Southern American English]], the most populous American "accent group" outside of General American English,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/|title=Do You Speak American: What Lies Ahead|access-date=15 August 2007|publisher=[[PBS]]|archive-date=14 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914172319/http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/|url-status=live}}</ref> rhoticity now strongly prevails, replacing the region's [[older Southern American English|historical non-rhotic prestige]].<ref>{{citation|title=Rural White Southern Accents|first=Erik R.|last=Thomas|publisher=[[Mouton de Gruyter]]|work=Atlas of North American English (online)|year=2003|url=http://www.atlas.mouton-content.com/secure/generalmodules/varieties/unit0000/virtualsession/vslessons/thomas.pdf|page=16|access-date=11 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222004531/http://www.atlas.mouton-content.com/secure/generalmodules/varieties/unit0000/virtualsession/vslessons/thomas.pdf|archive-date=22 December 2014|url-status=dead}} [Later published as a chapter in: Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider (eds) (2004). ''A Handbook of Varieties of English: A Multimedia Reference Tool.'' New York: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 300–324.]</ref>{{sfn|Levine|Crockett|1966}}{{sfn|Schönweitz|2001}} Southern accents are colloquially described as a "drawl" or "twang",{{sfn|Montgomery|1993}} being recognised most readily by the Southern Vowel Shift initiated by [[monophthong|glide-deleting]] in the {{IPA|/aɪ/}} vowel (e.g. pronouncing ''spy'' almost like ''spa''), the "Southern breaking" of several front pure vowels into a gliding vowel or even two syllables (e.g. pronouncing the word "press" almost like "pray-us"),{{sfn|Thomas|2008|page=95–96}} the [[pin–pen merger]], and other distinctive phonological, grammatical, and lexical features, many of which are actually recent developments of the 19th century or later.{{sfn|Bailey|1997}}

Spoken primarily by working- and middle-class [[African Americans]], [[African-American Vernacular English]] (AAVE) is also largely non-rhotic and likely originated among enslaved Africans and African Americans influenced primarily by the non-rhotic, non-standard [[older Southern American English|older Southern dialects]]. A minority of linguists,<ref name="Word on the Street">{{cite book|title=Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of a "Pure" Standard English|last=McWhorter|first=John H.|author-link=John McWhorter|publisher=Basic Books|year=2001|url={{GBurl|id=Edt7yUD6PkMC}}|page=162|isbn=978-0-7382-0446-8|access-date=22 November 2015}}</ref> contrarily, propose that AAVE mostly traces back to African languages spoken by the slaves who had to develop a [[pidgin]] or [[Creole English]] to communicate with slaves of other ethnic and linguistic origins.{{sfn|Bailey|2001}} AAVE's important commonalities with Southern accents suggest it developed into a highly coherent and homogeneous variety in the 19th or early 20th century. AAVE is commonly stigmatised in North America as a form of "broken" or "uneducated" English, as are white Southern accents, but linguists today recognise both as fully developed varieties of English with their own norms shared by large speech communities.{{sfn|Green|2002}}{{sfn|Patrick|2006b}}

=== Australia and New Zealand ===
{{Main|Australian English|New Zealand English}}
{| style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
| {{listen|filename=AustraliaPart2.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[Australian English phonology|general Australian accent]].|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Prime Minister Gillard of Australia at News Conference with President Obama.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a [[South Australia]]n woman with a [[broad Australian accent]] ([[Julia Gillard]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Geoffrey Rush bbc radio4 front row 01 05 2013.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a [[Queensland]] man with a cultivated Australian accent ([[Geoffrey Rush]]).|help=no|image=none}}
|-
| {{listen|filename=Eleanor_catton_bbc_radio4_womans_hour_09_09_2013.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a woman with a [[New Zealand accent]] ([[Eleanor Catton]]).|help=no|image=none}}
|
{{listen|filename=H.E. Mr. John Key Prime Minister, New Zealand - speech at Connect Asia-Pacific 2013 Summit.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[New Zealand accent]] ([[John Key]]).|help=no|image=none}}
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Since 1788, English has been spoken in [[Oceania]], and [[Australian English]] has developed as the first language of the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Australian continent, its standard accent being [[General Australian]]. The [[New Zealand English|English of neighbouring New Zealand]] has to a lesser degree become an influential standard variety of the language.{{sfn|Eagleson|1982}} Australian and New Zealand English are each other's closest relatives with few differentiating characteristics, followed by [[South African English]] and the English of South East England, all of which have similarly non-rhotic accents, aside from some accents in the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. Australian and New Zealand English stand out for their innovative vowels: many short vowels are fronted or raised, whereas many long vowels have diphthongised. Australian English also has a contrast between long and short vowels, not found in most other varieties. Australian English grammar aligns closely with British and American English; like American English, collective plural subjects take on a singular verb (as in ''the government is'' rather than ''are'').{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=16–21}}{{sfn|Burridge|2010}} New Zealand English uses front vowels that are often even higher than in Australian English.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=24–26}}{{sfn|Maclagan|2010}}{{sfn|Gordon|Campbell|Hay et al.|2004}}

=== Southeast Asia ===
{{Main|Southeast Asian English|Singapore English|Philippine English|Malaysian English|Brunei English}}
{| style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
| {{listen|filename=Declaration of Independence Part 1.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a male teenager with a [[Singaporean English|Singaporean accent]].|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Dr. Villaverde on Conflicts of Interest in Medicine and Dr. Dans on Evidence-Based Medicine in INCLEN.flac|title=Speech examples|description=Examples of a man and woman with [[Philippine English|Filipino accents]].|help=no|image=none}}
|}
The first significant exposure of the [[Philippines]] to the English language occurred in 1762 when the [[British occupation of Manila|British occupied Manila]] during the [[Seven Years' War]], but this was a brief episode that had no lasting influence. English later became more important and widespread during American rule between 1898 and 1946 and remains an official language of the Philippines. Today, the use of English is ubiquitous in the Philippines, being found on [[road signs in the Philippines|street signs]] and marquees, in government documents and forms, in courtrooms, in the media and entertainment industries, in the business sector, and in various other aspects of daily life.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dayag |first1=Danilo |date=2008 |chapter=English-language media in the Philippines: Description and research |title=Philippine English: Linguistic and Literary Perspectives |pages=49–66 |editor-last1=Bautista |editor-first=Ma. Lourdes |editor-last2=Bolton |editor-first2=Kingsley |location=Hong Kong |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |doi=10.5790/hongkong/9789622099470.003.0004 |isbn=978-962-209-947-0 }}</ref> One particularly prominent form of English usage in the country is found in everyday speech: most [[Filipinos]] from [[Manila]] use or, at the very least, have been exposed to [[Taglish]], a form of code-switching between [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and English.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bautista |first1=Maria Lourdes S. |title=Tagalog-English Code-switching as a Mode of Discourse |journal=Asia Pacific Education Review |date=2004 |volume=5|pages=226–233|issue=2|doi=10.1007/BF03024960|s2cid=145684166|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ720543.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515012035/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ720543.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> A similar code-switching method is used by urban native speakers of [[Bisayan languages]] under the name of [[Bislish]].

=== Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia ===
{{See also|South African English|Nigerian English|Caribbean English|Indian English|Pakistani English|Bangladeshi English}}
{| style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
| {{listen|filename=South African English.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a man with a [[White South African English phonology|South African accent]].|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie bbc radio4 front row 03 05 2013.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a woman with an educated [[Nigerian English|Nigerian accent]] ([[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Sylbourne Sydial with Nordia Teape on Integrated Diaspora Services.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a woman and man with [[Jamaican English|Jamaican accents]].|help=no|image=none}}
|-
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| {{listen|filename=Arundhati Roy BBC Radio4 Bookclub 2 Oct 2011 b015brn8.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a [[Northeast India]]n woman with an [[Indian English|Indian accent]] ([[Arundhati Roy]]).|help=no|image=none}}
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English is spoken widely in southern Africa and is an official or co-official language in several of the region's countries. In [[South Africa]], English has been spoken since 1820, co-existing with [[Afrikaans]] and various African languages such as the [[Khoe languages|Khoe]] and [[Bantu languages]]. Today, about nine percent of the South African population speaks [[South African English]] (SAE) as a first language. SAE is a non-rhotic variety that tends to follow RP as a norm. It is one of the few non-rhotic English varieties that lack intrusive R. The second-language varieties of South Africa differ based on the native languages of their speakers.{{sfn|Lanham|1982}} Most phonological differences from RP are in the vowels.{{sfn|Lass|2002}} Consonant differences include the tendency to pronounce {{IPA|/p, t, t͡ʃ, k/}} without aspiration (e.g. ''pin'' pronounced {{IPA|[pɪn]}} rather than as {{IPA|[pʰɪn]}} as in most other varieties), while r is often pronounced as a flap {{IPA|[ɾ]}} instead of as the more common fricative.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=30–31}}

Nigerian English is a variety of English spoken in [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861683342/Nigerian_English.html|title=Nigerian English|encyclopedia=Encarta|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=17 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909162439/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861683342/Nigerian_English.html|archive-date=9 September 2010}}</ref> It has traditionally been based on British English, but in recent years, because of influence from the United States, some words of American English origin have made it into Nigerian English. Additionally, some new words and collocations have emerged from the variety out of a need to express concepts specific to the culture of the nation (e.g. ''senior wife''). Over 150&nbsp;million Nigerians speak English.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adegbija |first1=Efurosibina |title=Lexico-semantic variation in Nigerian English |journal=World Englishes |date=1989 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=165–177 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-971X.1989.tb00652.x}}</ref>

Several varieties of English are also spoken in the Caribbean islands that were colonial possessions of Britain, including Jamaica, the [[Leeward Islands|Leeward]] and [[Windward Islands]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Barbados]], the [[Cayman Islands]] and [[Belize]]. Each of these areas is home both to a local variety of English and a local English-based creole, combining English and African languages. The most prominent varieties are [[Jamaican English]] and [[Jamaican English Creole|Jamaican Creole]]. In Central America, English-based creoles are spoken on the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Panama.{{sfn|Lawton|1982}} Locals are often fluent in both the local English variety and the local creole languages, and [[code-switching]] between them is frequent. Indeed, a way to conceptualise the relationship between such creole and standard varieties is to view them as a spectrum of language registers in which the most creole-like forms serve as the "basilect" and the most RP-like forms serve as the "acrolect", the most formal register.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|page=115}}

Most Caribbean varieties are based on British English and consequently, most are non-rhotic, except for formal styles of Jamaican English which are often rhotic. Jamaican English differs from RP in its vowel inventory, which has a distinction between long and short vowels rather than tense and lax vowels as in Standard English. The diphthongs {{IPA|/ei/}} and {{IPA|/ou/}} are monophthongs {{IPA|[eː]}} and {{IPA|[oː]}} or even the reverse diphthongs {{IPA|[ie]}} and {{IPA|[uo]}} (e.g. ''bay'' and ''boat'' pronounced {{IPA|[bʲeː]}} and {{IPA|[bʷoːt]}}). Often word-final consonant clusters are simplified so that "child" is pronounced {{IPA|[t͡ʃail]}} and "wind" {{IPA|[win]}}.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=117–18}}{{sfn|Lawton|1982|page=256–60}}{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=115–16}}

As a historical legacy, [[Indian English]] tends to take RP as its ideal, and how well this ideal is realised in an individual's speech reflects class distinctions among Indian English speakers. Indian English accents are marked by the pronunciation of phonemes such as {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}} (often pronounced with retroflex articulation as {{IPA|[ʈ]}} and {{IPA|[ɖ]}}) and the replacement of {{IPA|/θ/}} and {{IPA|/ð/}} with dentals {{IPA|[t̪]}} and {{IPA|[d̪]}}. Sometimes Indian English speakers may also use spelling-based pronunciations where the silent {{angbr|h}} found in words such as ''ghost'' is pronounced as an Indian [[breathy voice|voiced aspirated]] stop {{IPA|[ɡʱ]}}.{{sfn|Sailaja|2009|pages=19–24}}

=== Non-native varieties ===
{{Main|Non-native pronunciations of English}}
{| style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
| {{listen|filename=Non-native English reading by Spanish native speaker 001.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a [[Hispanophone]] man speaking English.|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Japan PM Shinzo Abe addressing US Congress 2015.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a Japanese man speaking English ([[Shinzo Abe]]).|help=no|image=none}}
| {{listen|filename=Werner Herzog BBC Radio4 Start the Week 26 March 2012 b01dtjcj.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a German man speaking English ([[Werner Herzog]]).|help=no|image=none}}
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[[English as a second or foreign language|Non-native English speakers]] may pronounce words differently due to having not fully mastered [[English phonology|English pronunciation]]. This can happen either because they apply the [[Phonology|speech rules]] of their mother tongue to English ("interference") or through implementing strategies similar to those used in [[first language acquisition]].<ref name="ReferenceA">MacDonald, Marguerite (1989), "The influence of Spanish phonology on the English spoken by United States Hispanics", in Bjarkman, Peter; Hammond, Robert (eds.), American Spanish pronunciation: Theoretical and applied perspectives, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, {{ISBN|9780878400997}} p. 224</ref> They may create innovative pronunciations for English sounds, not found in the speaker's first language.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>