THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS A

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.
The English language is spoken all over the world.
 English is used in more than 70 countries as an official or
semi-official language.
 Approximately 25 % of the population on Earth study or

have at least some knowledge in English.

 Two out of three scientists read books and articles in English.

 English is the most important language within many areas:

diplomacy, business, science, entertainment, advertising,
conferences, information technology, film and television.
This is how it sounds!

 Listen to different accents of English

 Listen to how English sounds in Britain
 Global Map of English
 The spread of the English
Language.

 A window out to the world.

 New knowledge.
 New cultures.
 A mutual understanding all over the world.
 Business and science language.
 Used in the air traffic all over the world.
 The Internet and the technical developement have
contributed to the development.
 The inner circle.
 Countries that have English as a mother tongue.
 English as a first language.
 The USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand.
 Three geographical blocs: North America, Europe
and the Pacific Ocean area.
 People in Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad that
have English as their first language.
 The outer circle.
 Countries that have English as a second language.
 A large number of countries.
 India, Malaysia, and Kenya among many others.
 Former British colonies in Africa, India, Malaysia
and Singapore etc.
 The expanding circle.

 A large number of countries that have English

as a foreign language.
 Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland.
 France, Germany, Japan and China among
others.
 Why English?
 Easy to understand.
 Political, cultural and economic reasons.
 The power and area of the British Empire contributed.
 USA’s technical, economic, scientific and military
influence and dominance.
 The globalization has created a need for a universal
language.
 It is the language of technology and IT-communication.
 It is the language of sports and glamour.
Australian English.
 In words like Australia or say the diphtongs are
pronounced like ”ai”.
 Certain differences in pronounciation.
 The Australian English is easy and informal.
 BYO means ’bring your own beverage’ to drink to
restuarants with no permission to serve alcohol.
Australia and New Zealand.
 The first British settlers came in the 18th century.
 The Commonwealth of Australia.
 Australian English – a lingustic unity.
 The dialects depend more on social circumstances
than geographical reasons.
 Influences from cockney.
Australian expressions.
 Bald as a ballicoot = helskallig
 Full as a goog = fullpackad (goog means egg)
 A beaut sheila = en snygg tjej
 A dinkum Aussie = en äkta australiensare
 Walzing matilda = gå på luffen
English words with an Australian
background.
 Bush = vildmark
 Bushman = nybyggare
 Foothpath = trottoar
 Good day = hej
 Lay-by = rastplats (I England = vid vägkanten)
 Outback = vildmark, obygd
 Walkabout = långvandring
 Weekender = fritidshus, weekendgäst
An example of Australian conversation.

 If you get a wriggle on with the painting we can have

a barbie this arvo, and get the neighbors round to
have a bite. We’ll have a bash at doing the garden
tomorrow.
 Om du skyndar på med målningen så kan vi ha en
grillfest i eftermiddag, och bjuda vännerna att äta en
bit mat. Vi försöker oss på att fixa trädgården
imorgon.
New Zealand.
 The country with 4 million inhabitants and 80 million
sheep.
 Influences from Maori – the indigenous population.
 Kiwi is a word from Maori.
 Maori have few plural forms – one Maori, two
Maori and so on.
English in New Zealand.
 Influences from four different directions: Great
Britain, USA, Australia and Maori.
 Strong historical connection to Great Britain – the
old country.
 The elderly stick to RP while the younger generation
groups have more local variations.
Expressions from New Zealand.
 Skiting = skryta
 Raferty’s rules = inga regler alls
 Postie = brevbärare
 Truckie = lastbilschafför
 Big bickies = storkovan
 Glide time = flextid
 Nappy valley = barnhem
 Trumping = fotvandring
British English.
 RP - which means Received Pronounciation – the
queen’s English or Oxford English.
 Different dialects in Great Britain.
 Cockney – dialect in London.
 Estatuary English – a mixture of RP and northern
English.
 Gentleman English – socially related.
 Many words constructed from Latin and Greek
roots.
 Rich vocabulary. Oxford English dictionary – more
than 500 000 words.
 Works as Lingua Franca.
American English.
 General American – which most Americans speak.
 Eastern – spoken in the north east parts.
 New England English – resembles RP.
 The sourthern drawl. (släpigt uttal)
 Ebonics – spoken by Afro-Americans.
 Valley English – teenagers in California.
 Pronounciation all over the USA is surprisingly united.
 R is always pronounced.
Differences in American and British
English.

 Small grammatical differences.

 Differences in spelling:
 Behaviour (Br) – behavior (US)
 Colour (Br) – color (US)
 Theatre (Br) – theater (US)
 Centre (Br) – center (US)
 Licence (Br) – license (US)
 Travelling (Br) – traveling (US)
 Catalogue (Br) – catalog (US)
More differences.
 Cheque (Br) – check (US)
 Cosy – cozy
 Disc – disk
 Grey – gray
 Kerb – curb
 Programme – program
 Pyjamas – pajamas
 Storey – story (våningsplan)
 Tyre - tire
Differences in choice of words.
 Engage a gear (Br) – put in a gear (US)
= lägga i en växel
 Occupied (Br)- engaged (US)= upptaget
 Autumn (Br)– fall (US) = höst
 Transport (Br) – transportation (US)
 Ground floor (Br) – first floor (main floor) (US) –
bottenvåningen
 Lift (Br) – elevator (US)
More interesting differences.

 Roundabout (Br) – traffic circle (US)

 Single ticket (Br) – one-way ticket (US)
 Torch (Br) – flashlight (US)
 Mark (Br) – grade (US)
 Sweets (Br) – candy (US)
 White coffee (Br) – coffee with milk (US)
 Queue (Br) – line (US)
 Chips (Br) – French fries (US)
 Holiday (Br) – vacation (US)
Differences in pronounciation.

 R is not always pronounced in RP.

 In General American, GA, R is always articulated.
 GA lacks the diphtongs ie e u.
 In words like after, chance, dance, tomato, potoato, last
Americans say ae while the British say a:
 T is articulated as d in American English, e.g. matter
 I is prounounced ai in American English e. g. vi:tamins (Br)
vaitamins.
 Vase – va:z ( Br) – veis
 Schedule – shedjul (Br) – skedjul
 Z – zed ( Br) - zi:
 This PowerPoint Presentation
was made by Bertil Juhlin at
Fenix Kunskapscentrum.
 Spring 2010.

 Hope you enjoyed it.