East Anglian English
Encyclopedia
East Anglian English is a dialect of English spoken in East Anglia
. This easternmost area of England
was probably home to the first-ever form of language which can be called English
. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into the formation of Standard English
, and contributed importantly to the development of American English
; it has also experienced multilingualism
on a remarkable scale. However, it has received little attention from the media and is not easily recognised by people from other parts of the UK. The UEA
linguist Peter Trudgill
has written at length about the Norfolk dialect in his work, and is a member of the Friends of Norfolk Dialect group.
East Anglian English contains
and borders the East Midlands.
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. This easternmost area of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was probably home to the first-ever form of language which can be called English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into the formation of Standard English
Standard English
Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...
, and contributed importantly to the development of American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
; it has also experienced multilingualism
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
on a remarkable scale. However, it has received little attention from the media and is not easily recognised by people from other parts of the UK. The UEA
UEA
UEA may stand for:Universities:* University of East Africa, which in 1970 was split into University of Nairobi, Makerere University and University of Dar es Salaam*University of East Anglia, the university in Norwich, England...
linguist Peter Trudgill
Peter Trudgill
Professor Peter Trudgill FBA is a sociolinguist, academic and author.He was born in 1943 in Norwich, England, where he attended the City of Norwich School from 1955....
has written at length about the Norfolk dialect in his work, and is a member of the Friends of Norfolk Dialect group.
East Anglian English contains
- Norfolk dialectNorfolk dialectThe Norfolk dialect, also known as Broad Norfolk, is a dialect that was once, and to a great extent, still is spoken by those living in the county of Norfolk in England...
(Broad Norfolk) - Suffolk dialectSuffolk dialectSuffolk dialect is an English dialect. Like many English dialects it is rapidly disappearing, with the advent of increasing social and geographical mobility and the influence of the media...
- Essex dialectEssex dialectThe Essex dialect is rapidly disappearing variation of East Anglian English and is now mainly confined to the middle, north and the east of Essex. It shares vast similarities with both Suffolk and Norfolk dialects, with its own peculiarities...
(Predominates in Mid and Northern Essex) - CambridgeshireCambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
dialect
and borders the East Midlands.
External links
- Sounds Familiar? Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website