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English Language
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Dialects and Non-Standard Varieties
Standard English is sometimes seen as the most important dialect of English and indeed The Standard English Dialect has the greatest prestige worldwide, but we must not forget the fact that SE is only prestigious by a twist of historical fate and that it has no innate superiority in linguistic terms over any other dialect.
Regional dialects in Britain have enormous local support and cultural significance and are often much more important to individuals than a standard variety without a regional base.
Regional dialects are best found in spoken language but there is a range of popular texts written "as she is spoke."
Moses and the Children of Israel - a piece of Geordie dialect writing by Scott Dobson
James Beattie's Theory of Language
Prejudice against dialect - Phil Tufnell
Tea, Dinner or Supper? Vocabulary and social class
"This is the six o'clock news" - Tom Leonard. Scots dialect poem about RP news announcers on the BBC. | Text | Sound Clip |
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