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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.
218:, 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 195:, 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 324:"; 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 984: 41: 699:. Handbooks of linguistics and communication science / Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 1888. 264: 696:
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
150:. Rwanda, a Commonwealth country, was never part of the 253:
influences it inherited along with the development of
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Sweden: Linnaeus University: 8–14. 312:Second-language varieties of English in 57:"English in the Commonwealth of Nations" 603: 352:inventory is much simpler than that of 292:, plus localised influences from other 1411:Symbols of the Commonwealth of Nations 1141:Commonwealth Parliamentary Association 748:. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. 7: 930:The Cambridge Guide to English Usage 46:adding citations to reliable sources 917:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 279:is influenced by the English-based 130:and Crown Dependencies (light blue) 1146:Commonwealth War Graves Commission 524:; it features some influence from 14: 915:The Oxford Guide to World English 622:from the original on 7 March 2022 372:, is spoken in countries such as 723:. Oxford University Press. 2016. 456:Englishisation § South Asia 22: 332:from Southern British English. 33:needs additional citations for 858:Lawson, Alice (24 June 2022). 1: 1324:Commonwealth Youth Parliament 1136:Commonwealth Games Federation 1126:Commonwealth Business Council 1385:Visits by Queen Elizabeth II 1070:Commonwealth Youth Programme 884:Eoyang, Eugene Chen (2000). 829:10.1017/cbo9780511611766.006 556:EF English Proficiency Index 460:English was introduced into 414:, Togolese Foreign Minister 128:British Overseas Territories 1319:Commonwealth Writers' Prize 946:& Hannah, Jean (2002). 166:was largely inherited from 1429: 1060:Deputy Secretaries-General 950:; 4th ed. London: Arnold. 815:Wells, J. C., ed. (1982), 612:"Joining the Commonwealth" 453: 444:the English language there 817:"The southern hemisphere" 735:Standard Canadian English 672:Oxford English Dictionary 356:; this sometimes affects 1342:Commonwealth citizenship 1103:Ministerial Action Group 1035:Head of the Commonwealth 779:10.58221/mosp.v94i1.9625 203:but is widely used as a 1131:Commonwealth Foundation 994:Commonwealth of Nations 733:Boberg, Charles (2004) 721:New Oxford Style Manual 510:Southeast Asian English 744:." In Raymond Hickey. 667:"Commonwealth English" 583: 561:English-speaking world 532:languages, as well as 358:mutual intelligibility 354:Received Pronunciation 320:have often undergone " 205: 164:Commonwealth countries 162:in current and former 155: 131: 1347:Commonwealth diaspora 1273:Commonwealth republic 758:Bayard, Donn (2000). 740:11 April 2023 at the 401:South African English 362:North African English 247:South African English 137: 125: 1329:Round Table movement 928:Peters, Pam (2004). 578:Dutch Language Union 410:'s admission at the 342:West African English 340:Several dialects of 308:Non-native varieties 183:Commonwealth English 168:British colonisation 42:improve this article 1406:Dialects of English 1253:Membership criteria 1113:Commonwealth Family 1080:Heads of government 498:South Asian English 490:Bangladeshi English 450:Indian subcontinent 243:New Zealand English 235:Southern Hemisphere 199:, it does not have 1357:King's Baton Relay 1299:Commonwealth Games 1268:Commonwealth realm 1258:Special membership 642:"The Commonwealth" 486:Sri Lankan English 380:, particularly in 239:Australian English 156: 132: 1393: 1392: 1309:Commonwealth Flag 1278:High Commissioner 1065:Marlborough House 1054:Patricia Scotland 1050:Secretary-General 838:978-0-521-28541-4 518:Malaysian English 514:Singapore English 505:Malay Archipelago 482:Pakistani English 290:African languages 277:Caribbean English 118: 117: 110: 92: 1418: 1314:Commonwealth Day 1294:English language 987: 980: 973: 964: 902: 901: 881: 875: 874: 872: 870: 855: 849: 848: 847: 845: 812: 806: 805: 803: 801: 764: 755: 749: 731: 725: 724: 717: 711: 710: 690: 684: 683: 681: 679: 663: 657: 656: 654: 652: 638: 632: 631: 629: 627: 608: 588: 567:Other languages: 551:American English 462:the subcontinent 424:Anglophone world 261:Canadian English 230:Native varieties 216:American English 210: 176:the Commonwealth 160:English language 113: 106: 102: 99: 93: 91: 50: 26: 18: 1428: 1427: 1421: 1420: 1419: 1417: 1416: 1415: 1396: 1395: 1394: 1389: 1380:Prime ministers 1361: 1335:The Round Table 1282: 1239: 1148: 1107: 1093:Chair-in-Office 1074: 1023: 997: 991: 961: 944:Trudgill, Peter 906: 905: 883: 882: 878: 868: 866: 857: 856: 852: 843: 841: 839: 814: 813: 809: 799: 797: 762: 757: 756: 752: 742:Wayback Machine 732: 728: 719: 718: 714: 707: 692: 691: 687: 677: 675: 665: 664: 660: 650: 648: 640: 639: 635: 625: 623: 610: 609: 605: 600: 546:British English 542: 507: 494:Myanmar English 458: 452: 437: 432: 366:Bantu languages 338: 310: 274: 232: 201:official status 192:British English 158:The use of the 114: 103: 97: 94: 51: 49: 39: 27: 12: 11: 5: 1426: 1425: 1422: 1414: 1413: 1408: 1398: 1397: 1391: 1390: 1388: 1387: 1382: 1377: 1375:Extreme points 1371: 1369: 1363: 1362: 1360: 1359: 1354: 1349: 1344: 1339: 1331: 1326: 1321: 1316: 1311: 1306: 1301: 1296: 1290: 1288: 1284: 1283: 1281: 1280: 1275: 1270: 1265: 1260: 1255: 1249: 1247: 1241: 1240: 1238: 1237: 1232: 1227: 1222: 1217: 1212: 1207: 1202: 1197: 1192: 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Retrieved 863: 853: 842:, retrieved 820: 810: 798:. Retrieved 770: 766: 753: 745: 729: 720: 715: 695: 688: 676:. Retrieved 670: 661: 649:. Retrieved 645: 636: 624:. 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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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