THE EMPLACEMENT OF BRITISH REGIONAL DIALECTS IN THE PROCESS OF STANDARD ENGLISH GLOBALIZATION (ID:236072)

It is undeniable that being such a small, densely populated land, the UK has a huge variety of distinct regional dialects, often existing very close to each other, for example: Brummie, Scouse, Cockney and Geordie. All of these dialects are defined geographically, but there is a dialect that seems to represent Brits internationally. Its name is Standard English or SE. In the course of time the English language has shown variation with numerous features on different linguistic levels. In those cases where the variation has been between dialects and the arising standard the features have become indicators of non-standardness. [5, p.25] At times regional dialects of Britain were often regarded as non-standard. Nevertheless they create variety in speech and form part of rich cultural heritage, like forms of history and diversity that can be heard. [4, p.136] In many cases regional dialects preserve far older lexis, meanings or grammar than the so-called standard. For example in some areas of Walse, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall ancient dialects of celtic origin are used. [2, p.175] Dominic Watt, a lecturer in forensic speech science at York University, told that British people want to protect their history and identity. According to his words one could be parachuted into any British city and the shops look the same, people dress the same. What still makes these places separate and distinct is the dialect and accent.