List of dialects of English

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." 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. 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. 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. 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

thumb|upright=1.5|[[Dialects and accents of English spoken in the British Isles]]

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
Fingallian, another presumed descendant of Middle English, spoken in Fingal
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"><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"><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)
Chinglish

Hong Kong

Hong Kong English

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

Heblish
Yeshivish

Japan

English in Japan
Engrish

Myanmar (Burma)

Burmese/Myanmar English

Korea

Korean English

Malaysia

Malaysian English
Manglish

Maldives

Maldivian English

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

Ethiopia

Ethiopian English

The Gambia

Gambian English

Ghana

Ghanaian English

Kenya

Kenyan English

Lesotho

Lesotho English

Liberia

Liberian English
Merico language

Malawi

Malawian English

Namibia

Namlish

Nigeria

Nigerian English

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

South Atlantic

South Atlantic English spoken on Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena

Tanzania

Tanzanian English

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

References

External links

Sounds Familiar? Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar?' website
A national map of the regional dialects of American English
IDEA – International Dialects of English Archive
– English Dialects around the world
Dialect poetry from the English regions
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
electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English (eWAVE)
Internet Archive collection on dialects of English and Scots