{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE --> Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, and other aspects of grammar. For the classification of varieties of English in pronunciation only, see regional accents of English.
Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible."<ref name=Wakelin2008/> English speakers from different countries and regions use a variety of accents (systems of pronunciation), and local words and grammatical constructions, and from these factors various dialects can be differentiated. Dialects can be classified at broad or narrow levels: within a broad national or regional dialect, localised sub-dialects can be identified. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions without any prior exposure.
The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into three general categories: the British Isles dialects, those of North America, and those of Australasia.<ref>Crystal, David. ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language'', Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> Dialects can be associated not only with place but also with particular social groups. Within a given English-speaking country, there is a form of the language considered to be Standard English: the Standard Englishes of different countries differ and can themselves be considered dialects. Standard English is often associated with the more educated layers of society as well as more formal registers.
Standard British and Standard American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world, excluding countries in which English is spoken natively such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and Ireland. In many former British Empire countries in which English is not spoken natively, British English forms are closely followed, alongside numerous American English usages that have become widespread throughout the English-speaking world.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2013-12-16 |editor-last=Filppula |editor-first=Markku |editor2-last=Klemola |editor2-first=Juhani |editor3-last=Sharma |editor3-first=Devyani |title=The Oxford Handbook of World Englishes |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199777716.001.0001 |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199777716.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-977771-6 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Conversely, a number of countries with historical ties to the United States tend to follow American English conventions. Many of these countries, while retaining strong British English or American English influences, have developed their own unique dialects, which include Indian English and Philippine English.
Chief among other native English dialects are Canadian English and Australian English, which rank third and fourth in the number of native speakers.<ref>{{Cite book |date=1999-01-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521264778.011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/chol9780521264778.011|isbn=978-1-139-05365-5|title=The Cambridge History of the English Language}}</ref> For the most part, Canadian English, while featuring numerous British forms, alongside indigenous Canadianisms, shares vocabulary, phonology and syntax with American English, which leads many to recognise North American English as an organic grouping of dialects.<ref>Trudgill and Hannah, 2002</ref> Australian English, likewise, shares many British English usages, alongside plentiful features unique to Australia, and retains a significantly higher degree of distinctiveness from both larger varieties than does Canadian English. South African English, New Zealand English and Irish English are also distinctive and rank fifth, sixth, and seventh in the number of native speakers.
== Europe == English language in Europe [[File:Different dialects in the British Isles.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Dialects and accents of English spoken in the British Isles]] <!--This section linked from British English-->
=== Great Britain === * '''British English'''
==== England ==== English language in England: * Standard English (Not to be confused with the accent Received Pronunciation) * Northern ** Lancastrian (Lancashire) and Cheshire *** Bolton *** Mancunian (Manchester) *** Scouse (Merseyside) ** Cumbrian (Cumbria) *** Barrovian (Barrow-in-Furness) ** Northumbrian (Northumberland and County Durham) *** Geordie (Tyneside) *** Mackem (Sunderland) *** Pitmatic (Great Northern Coalfield) ** Smoggie (Teesside) ** Yorkshire * East Midlands ** Lincolnshire * West Midlands ** Black Country ** Brummie (Birmingham) ** Potteries (north Staffordshire) ** Coventry * East Anglian ** Norfolk ** Suffolk ** Essex * Southern ** Cockney (working-class London and surrounding areas) ** Estuary ** Received Pronunciation (middle-class London, Home Counties and Hampshire) ** Multicultural London (London) ** Sussex * West Country ** Cornwall ** Bristolian ** Dorset ** Janner (Plymouth)
==== Scotland ==== * Scottish English comprising varieties based on the Standard English of England. ** Glasgow ** Highland English
==== Wales ==== * Welsh English ** Abercraf ** Cardiff ** Gower ** Port Talbot
==== Non-geographic based English ==== * Angloromani * Brogue
=== British dependencies and territories === * Channel Islands: Channel Island English * Isle of Man: Manx English * Gibraltar: Gibraltarian English * Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha: South Atlantic English
=== Ireland === * Hiberno-English (Irish English) ** Ulster *** Ulster Scots dialect (contested) ** Leinster *** Dublin **** Dublin 4 (D4) ** South-West Ireland
* ''Extinct'' ** Yola language (also known as Forth and Bargy dialect), thought to have been a descendant of Middle English, spoken in County Wexford<ref name= Hickey2005>{{cite book| last= Hickey| first= Raymond| title= Dublin English: Evolution and Change|year= 2005| publisher= John Benjamins Publishing| isbn= 90-272-4895-8 | pages= 196–198}}</ref><ref name= Hickey2002>{{cite book| last= Hickey| first= Raymond| title= A Source Book for Irish English| year= 2002| publisher= John Benjamins Publishing| location= Amsterdam| isbn= 90-272-3753-0| quote= {{ISBN|1-58811-209-8}} (US)| pages= 28–29| url= http://www.uni-due.de/~lan300/Flyer_Source_Book_for_Irish_English.pdf| archive-date= 2021-11-24| access-date= 2013-08-27| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211124115543/https://www.uni-due.de/~lan300/Flyer_Source_Book_for_Irish_English.pdf| url-status= live}}</ref> ** Fingallian, another presumed descendant of Middle English, spoken in Fingal<ref name= Hickey2005 />
=== Continental Europe === * Euro English ** English in Denmark ** English in Finland ** English in Germany ** English in the Netherlands ** English in Norway ** English in Spain ** English in Sweden
==== European interlanguages ==== * Czenglish * Danglish * Dunglish * Finglish * Franglais * Denglisch * Greekglish * Hunglish * Itanglese * Ponglish * Estonglish<ref>{{Cite web |last=ERR |first=ERR {{!}} |date=2020-06-29 |title=Study: Why do we use 'Estonglish'? |url=https://news.err.ee/1107108/study-why-do-we-use-estonglish |access-date=2026-05-15 |website=ERR |language=en}}</ref> * Porglish/Portuglish * Siculish * Spanglish * Llanito * Swenglish * Runglish ** Solombala English
=== Mediterranean === * English in Cyprus * Maltese English
== North America == === United States === <div style="margin:1px .5em;float:right;margin-right:0;background:#F7F8FF;color:#222;border:1px solid #CCC;padding:4px">{{Map of American English}}<small>Interactive map of American English</small></div> '''American English''': * '''Cultural and ethnic American English''' ** African American English *** African-American Vernacular English ** Cajun Vernacular English ** General American: the "standard" or "mainstream" spectrum of American English ** Latino (Hispanic) Vernacular Englishes *** Chicano English (Mexican-American English) *** Miami English *** New York Latino English ** Pennsylvania Dutch English ** Yeshiva English ** American Indian English *** Lumbee English * '''Regional and local American English''' ** Northern American English *** Inland Northern English: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Western New York, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and most of the U.S. Great Lakes region *** New England English **** Eastern New England English (including Boston and Maine English) ***** Rhode Island English **** Western New England English: Connecticut, Hudson Valley, western Massachusetts, and Vermont *** North-Central (Upper Midwestern) English: northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana ** Metropolitan New York English ** Southeast Super-Regional English *** Midland American English **** North Midland English: Iowa City, Omaha, Lincoln, Columbia, Springfield, Muncie, Columbus, etc. **** South Midland English: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City, St. Louis (in transition), Decatur, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Dayton, etc. *** High Tider English: traditional dialect of the Chesapeake Bay, Tangier, Ocracoke, the Outer Banks, Virginia Barrier Islands, etc. *** New Orleans English *** Philadelphia English **** Baltimore English *** Southern American English **** Southern Appalachian English: Linden, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Asheville, and Greenville **** Texan English: Lubbock, Odessa, and Dallas **** Tennessean English: Nashville, Murfreesboro, Memphis ** Western American English *** California English *** Pacific Northwest English ** Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) English * '''Extinct or near-extinct American English''' ** Boontling ** "Good American Speech": Mid-Atlantic or Transatlantic English ** Elite Northeastern American English ** Older Southern American English * '''American English-based hybrid languages (creoles or pidgins)''' ** Afro-Seminole Creole ** Gullah language/Sea Island Creole English, South-East US related to Bahamian creole ** Hawaiian Pidgin
=== Canada === <div style="margin:1px .5em;float:right;margin-right:0;background:#F7F8FF;color:#222;border:1px solid #CCC;padding:4px">{{Map of Canadian English}}<small>Interactive map of Canadian English</small></div> '''Canadian English''': * Aboriginal English in Canada ** Bungi of the Canadian Metis people of British descent * Atlantic Canadian English ** Lunenburg English ** Newfoundland English * Greater Toronto English * Ottawa Valley English * Quebec English * Standard Canadian English * Pacific Northwest English
== Caribbean, Central, and South America ==
=== Caribbean === * Caribbean English
=== Antigua and Barbuda === * Antiguan and Barbudan English ** Antiguan and Barbudan Creole
=== The Bahamas === * Bahamian English ** Bahamian Creole
=== Barbados === * Bajan English ** Bajan Creole
=== Belize === * Belizean English ** Belizean Creole
=== Bermuda === * Bermudian English
=== Cayman Islands === * Cayman Islands English
=== Colombia === * San Andrés–Providencia English
=== Costa Rica === * Limonese Creole
=== Dominican Republic === * Samaná English
=== Falkland Islands === * Falkland Islands English
=== Guyana === * Guyanese English ** Guyanese Creole
=== Honduras === * Bay Islands English
=== Jamaica === * Jamaican English ** Jamaican Patois
=== Nicaragua === * Miskito Coast Creole ** Rama Cay Creole
=== Panama === * Bocas del Toro Creole
=== Puerto Rico === * Puerto Rican English * Virgin Islands Creole
===Saba=== * Saban English
=== Saint Vincent and the Grenadines === * Vincentian English ** Vincentian Creole ** Iyaric
=== Trinidad and Tobago === * Trinidadian and Tobagonian English ** Tobagonian Creole ** Trinidadian Creole
=== Turks and Caicos Islands === * Turks and Caicos Creole
=== Virgin Islands === * Virgin Islands Creole
== Asia ==
=== Bangladesh === * Bangladeshi English (''Benglish'' or ''Banglish'') * Banglish
=== Brunei === * Brunei English
===Cambodia=== * Cambodian English
=== China and Taiwan === * Chinese Pidgin English (Extinct<ref>{{Cite news|title=Chinese Pidgin English {{!}} Creole, Trade Lingo, Cantonese {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Pidgin-English|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2025-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251128235152/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Pidgin-English|archive-date=2025-11-28|language=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rise and Fall of Chinese Pidgin English|url=https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1017541|website=Sixth Tone|date=2025-08-28|access-date=2025-11-28|first=Hugo|last=Tseng|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251128232730/https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1017541|archive-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>) * Chinglish
=== Hong Kong === * Hong Kong English {{See also|Code-switching in Hong Kong}}
=== India === '''Indian English''': * '''Standard Indian English''' **Indian English: the "standard" English used by government administration, it derives from the British Indian Empire. **Butler English: (also Bearer English or Kitchen English), once an occupational dialect, now a social dialect. *'''Regional and local Indian English''' ** East Region: Odia English, Bhojpuriya English, Assamese English, Bengali English, North-East Indian English etc. ** West Region: Gujarati English, Maharashtrian English etc. ** North Region: Hindustani English (Hinglish), Delhi/Punjabi English, Rajasthani English etc. ** South Region: Telugu English (Tenglish), Kannada English (Kanglish), Tamil English (Tanglish), Malayali English etc.
=== Israel ===
=== Japan === * English in Japan * Engrish
=== Myanmar (Burma) === * Burmese/Myanmar English
=== Korea === * Korean English
=== Malaysia === * Malaysian English * Manglish
=== Maldives ===
=== Middle East === * Arablish
=== Nepal === * Nepali English
=== Pakistan === * Pakistani English * Urdish
=== Philippines === * Philippine English * Taglish * Bislish
=== Singapore === * Singapore English * Singlish
=== Sri Lanka === * Sri Lankan English
=== Thailand === * Tinglish
== Africa ==
=== Cameroon === * Cameroonian English
=== Eswatini ===
* Swazi English<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arua |first=Arua E. |date=1998 |title=Some syntactic features of Swazi English |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-971X.00088 |journal=World Englishes |language=en |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=139–151 |doi=10.1111/1467-971X.00088 |issn=1467-971X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
=== Ethiopia ===
* Ethiopian English<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gensler |first=Orin |title=The Oxford Handbook of Ethiopian Languages |year=2023 |editor-last=Meyer |editor-first=Ronnie |chapter=Ethiopian English |editor-last2=Wakjira |editor-first2=Bedilu |editor-last3=Leyew |editor-first3=Zelealem |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/46265/chapter-abstract/405511757?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false}}</ref>
=== The Gambia === * Gambian English
=== Ghana === * Ghanaian English
=== Kenya === * Kenyan English
=== Lesotho ===
* Lesotho English<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seepheephe |first=Ntšoeu |date=2025-01-02 |title=The influence of British and American Englishes on Lesotho English |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2989/16073614.2024.2336579 |journal=Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies |language=en |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=59–70 |doi=10.2989/16073614.2024.2336579 |issn=1607-3614|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seepheephe |first=Ntšoeu |date=2024 |title=Consonants of Lesotho English: Features and Comparison with South African Varieties |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10228195.2024.2435679 |journal=Language Matters |language=en |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=53–73 |doi=10.1080/10228195.2024.2435679 |issn=1022-8195|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kolobe |first=Lesole |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrqFEQAAQBAJ&dq=%22lesotho+english%22&pg=PT161 |title=African Englishes: Contemporary Trends and Sociolinguistic Shifts |date=2025 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-41123-0 |editor-last=Sabao |editor-first=Collen |language= |chapter=The Future is Bright: The Dominance of English and the Decline of Sesotho in a Changing Society, Lesotho |editor-last2=Mavengano |editor-first2=Esther}}</ref>
=== Liberia === * Liberian English * Merico language
=== Malawi === * Malawian English
=== Namibia === * Namlish
=== Nigeria === * Nigerian English<ref>{{Citation |title=Social lects: is Nigerian Pidgin really a 'pidgin'? |date=2002-09-11 |work=Nigerian Pidgin |pages=17 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203192801-6 |access-date=2025-09-04 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203192801-6 |isbn=978-0-203-19280-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
=== Rwanda === * Rwandan English
=== Sierra Leone === * Sierra Leonean English
=== South Africa === * South African English: Black South African English, White South African English, Indian South African English etc. ** Cape Flats English ** Xhosa English<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Klerk |first=Vivian De |date=2003 |title=Towards A Norm in South African Englishes: The Case for Xhosa English |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2003.00313.x |journal=World Englishes |language=en |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=463–481 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-971X.2003.00313.x |issn=1467-971X|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Klerk |first=Vivian de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFpusC25Z44C&dq=%22xhosa+english%22&pg=PR7 |title=Corpus Linguistics and World Englishes: An Analysis of Xhosa English |date=2006-01-01 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-8264-8841-1 |language=en}}</ref>
=== South Atlantic === * South Atlantic English spoken on Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena<ref>Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. ''The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction.'' Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10</ref>
=== Tanzania ===
* Tanzanian English<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kolobe |first=Lesole |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrqFEQAAQBAJ&dq=%22lesotho+english%22&pg=PT161 |title=African Englishes: Contemporary Trends and Sociolinguistic Shifts |date=2025 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-41123-0 |editor-last=Sabao |editor-first=Collen |language= |chapter=The Sociolinguistic Description of Tanzanian English: A Perspective on Nativisation |editor-last2=Mavengano |editor-first2=Esther}}</ref>
=== Uganda === * Ugandan English
=== Zambia === * Zambian English
=== Zimbabwe=== * Zimbabwean English
== Oceania ==
=== Australia === * Australian English * General Australian: Broad Australian, Cultivated, Mediterranean accent etc. ** Australian Aboriginal English ** South Australian English ** Western Australian English ** Torres Strait English
=== Fiji === * Fiji English
=== New Zealand === * New Zealand English: Māori English, Pasifika English, Southland accent, West Coast Irish Catholic accent, Taranaki accent etc.
=== Palau === * Palauan English
=== Papua New Guinea === * Papuan Pidgin English
== World Global English == These dialects are used in everyday conversation almost all over the world, and are used as lingua francas and to determine grammar rules and guidelines. * Standard English * Learning English * International English * English as a lingua franca * Simplified Technical English
== Antarctica == * Antarctic English
== See also == * American English regional vocabulary ** North American English regional phonology *Commonwealth English * English-based creole languages * History of the English language ** Old English ** Middle English ** Early Modern English ** Modern English * Linguistic purism in English * List of English-based pidgins * Macaronic language * Regional accents of English * Schneider's dynamic model * Survey of English Dialects * World Englishes
== References == {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="Wakelin2008">{{cite book | last = Wakelin | first = Martyn Francis | title = Discovering English Dialects | year = 2008 | publisher = Shire Publications | location = Oxford | page = 4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_V9jb1rq4EC&q=English+Accents+OR+Dialects| isbn = 978-0-7478-0176-4}}</ref> }}
== Further reading == * {{Cite book |last=Hickey |first=Raymond |title=A Dictionary of Varieties of English |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |date= 2014 |location=Malden, MA |isbn=978-0-470-65641-9 }} * {{Citation |last=Nunan |first=David |title=What Is This Thing Called Language? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BY4dBQAAQBAJ |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-137-28499-0 }}. * {{Citation |last=Okrent |first=A. |title=In the Land of Invented Languages: A Celebration of Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius |publisher=Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-8129-8089-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3anWeY0G2moC }}. * {{Cite book |editor-last=Hickey |editor-first=Raymond |title=Varieties of English in Writing. The Written Word as Linguistic Evidence |publisher=John Benjamins |date= 2010 |location=Amsterdam |isbn=978-90-272-4901-2 }} * {{Cite book |editor-last=Hickey |editor-first=Raymond |title=Legacies of Colonial English. Studies in Transported Dialects|publisher=Cambridge University Press |date= 2004 |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-17507-4 }} * {{Citation |last=Fischer |first=Steven Roger |title=History of Language | publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86189-594-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSptsIJwsasC }}. * {{Cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |author-link=David Crystal |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language |year=2003 |edition=Second |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0-521-53033-0 |page=109 }} * {{Citation |last=Bolton |first=K. |title=Hong Kong English: Autonomy and Creativity |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f40eySFpK-0C&pg=PA2 |access-date=2015-10-22 |series=Asian Englishes Today |year=2002 |isbn=978-962-209-553-3 }}. * {{Citation |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=1974 |edition=Fifth |volume=6 (''Earth–Everglades'') |title=English Language § Varieties of English|pages=883–886 |ref={{harvid|Brittanica|1974}} }}.
== External links == {{Sisterlinks|voy=English language varieties|d=Q2631145|c=Category:English_dialects|m=no|q=no|n=no|mw=no|wikt=no|b=no|v=no|s=no|species=no}} * [http://www.bl.uk/soundsfamiliar Sounds Familiar?] Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar?' website * [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html A national map of the regional dialects of American English] * [http://www.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/northamerica.htm IDEA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901063852/http://www.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/northamerica.htm |date=2006-09-01 }} – International Dialects of English Archive * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171229232104/https://www.lingostan.com/en/articles/dialects-of-the-english-language.php English Dialects]}} – English Dialects around the world * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310173638/http://www.freewebs.com/englishdialects/ Dialect poetry from the English regions] * [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/AmerLangs American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices] - An online audio resource presenting interviews with speakers of German-American and American English dialects from across the United States * [https://ewave-atlas.org/ electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English (eWAVE)] * [https://archive.org/details/dialects-english-scots Internet Archive collection on dialects of English and Scots]
{{Germanic languages}} {{English dialects by continent}} {{Description of English}} {{Language varieties}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Dialects Of The English Language}} Category:English-language dialects English Dialects Category:English as a global language