Varieties of English: Pronunciation, Vocabulary, and Grammar Differences

Australian and New Zealand English

Australian English

• Pronunciation:
  • Non-rhotic, similar to Southeast of England.
  • Long vowel /aː/ in half, as in Received Pronunciation (RP).
  • Intervocalic /t/ as a flap /d/ in city, as in US English.
  • Speech rhythms are slow.
  • Use of schwa rather than short /ɪ/ in naked, acid, etc.
  • No significant regional differences.
• Vocabulary:
  • Aussie: Australian slang.
  • Larrikin: Hooligan.
  • Sheila: Girl.
  • Aboriginal words: boomerang, corroboree (dance).

New Zealand English

• Pronunciation:
  • Non-rhotic, similar to RP (in the South Island, some rhotic speakers of Scottish origin exist).
  • Vowels in ham and pen perceived like 'hem', 'pin'.
  • Centralization of short /ɪ/ to schwa.
  • Schwa preferred in unstressed syllables.
  • Use of /iː/ in very, many, etc.
• Vocabulary:
  • Tramping: Hiking.
  • To uplift: To pick up.
  • From Māori: aroha (love), waka (canoe).
  • From Samoan: fale (house), talofa (a ceremonial greeting), etc.

African English Varieties

West African English

• Pronunciation:
  • Reduced vowel system.
  • Non-rhotic.
  • Final -mb with a /b/: climb, bomb.
  • Tendency to reduce final clusters: last /las/, passed /pas/.
  • Different stress patterns: congratuláte, investigáte, succéss.
  • Syllable-timed rhythm.
• Grammar:
  • Depends on the area.
  • Omission of articles: "I’m going to cinema."
  • No distinction between reflexive/reciprocal: "They like themselves" (meaning each other).
  • Universal tag question: "is it?"
• Vocabulary:
  • Balance: Money change.
  • Hear: Understand.
  • To take in: Become pregnant.
  • Epistle: Letter.
  • Purchase: Buy.

East African English

• Pronunciation:
  • Fewer vowels than in West African English.
  • Many speakers do not distinguish /l/ and /r/.
• Vocabulary:
  • Many words from indigenous languages: askari (policeman), duka (shop), kibanda (black market), chai (tea), matatu (bus).
• South African English:
  • White South African English sounds similar to Australian and British English.
  • Afrikaans: Spoken in South Africa and Namibia, derived from Dutch and English (e.g., Agt / eight).
  • The English pidgin spoken by Bantu mother-tongue South Africans is influenced by intonation and pronunciation of Bantu languages, such as Zulu.
  • Vocabulary includes words from Afrikaans and Bantu languages: trek, veldt, apartheid, oop (open), maak (make).

Indian English Characteristics

Indian English

• Pronunciation:
  • Varies depending on the speaker’s native language.
  • Reduced vowel system.
  • Diphthongs /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ tend to /eː/ and /oː/.
  • Southern India: Word-initial front vowels have /j/ and back vowels /w/: eight /jeːt/.
  • Northern India: Word-initial /sk/, /st/, /sp/ have /ɪ/: speak /ɪspiːk/.
  • Different stress and rhythm patterns.
• Grammar:
  • Pluralization of mass nouns: fruits, furnitures.
  • Different use of prepositions: "to accompany with," "to fear of," "pay attention on."
  • Different use of present tense: "When you will arrive, call me."
  • No inversion in questions: "What this is made from?"
  • Universal tag question: "isn’t it?"
• Vocabulary:
  • Crore: 10 million.
  • Sahib: Sir, master.
  • Lakh: 100 thousand.
  • Swadeshi: Indigenous.
  • Words now standard in English: Bungalow, Pajamas.