Commonwealth English

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Commonwealth English is a recently-coined collective term for the perceived standard dialects of the English language used in the Commonwealth of Nations¹ and many ex-Commonwealth countries Former British Nations where English is at least a common second language. The term therefore applies to those English dialects which are linguistically close to standard English as it is spoken in the British Isles, in contrast with American English. Formerly, the term British English was often taken also to include many of these dialects.

The term 'Commonwealth English' can therefore be applied to:

• Australian English;
• British English;
• Caribbean English;
• Canadian English (but see below);
• Hiberno-English (Irish English)²;
• Hong Kong English³;
• Indian English (including Pakistani English);
• formal Malaysian English;
• New Zealand English;
• formal Singapore English (but not colloquial Singlish);
• South African English.

Canadian English in particular does not fit well with the others in this category, as the dialect has been heavily influenced by US culture, specifically news media, advertising and broadcasts. This pervasive cultural influence is particularly strong since a very large percentage of Canada's population lives and works within fifty miles of the US border. There is no settled answer to question of whether Canadian English should be included among the dialects collectively labelled 'Commonwealth English'.

The term 'Commonwealth English' has been used as a deliberate attempt to recognise that the “Standard English” of the British Isles, as distinguished from American English, is just as much owned by those who use it elsewhere in the Commonwealth as by those who use it in Britain. As well as illustrating a general trend towards political correctness, this distinction is politically important particularly in those Former British Nations which are no longer member states of the Commonwealth, though their cultural links continue.

The term 'Commonwealth English' is rarely used colloquially. Its main application is when drawing a cultural (and somewhat technical) distinction between American English and English as it is spoken elsewhere.

British or Commonwealth English is also frequently referred to colloquially as the Queen's (or King's) (own) English by speakers worldwide, often in a disparaging comment on an Americanism.

Contents 1 Canadian English's unique position 1.1 Words and idioms 1.2 Canadian spelling 2 Australian English 3 South African English 4 Internal spelling differences 5 Independent standards within "Commonwealth English" 6 Limited use 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

Canadian English's unique position

Words and idioms

Canada, the Commonwealth country with the largest native-born native-English-speaking population outside of Britain, occupies a unique position. Its standard vocabulary, idiom, and accent tend to coincide with that of neighbouring speakers in the United States more than with those of Britain; most of the distinctive terms Britons identify as "American English" are used by Canadians as well, such as diaper, gasoline, elevator, and apartment. On the other hand, Canadians regularly use many terms regarded by Americans as "British English," as well as uniquely Canadian words. There are also significant regional differences that come in to play; see also North American English.

Canadian spelling

There is no universally accepted standard of Canadian spelling, and standards differ from one English-speaking area of Canada to another.

Historical ties with Britain tend to pull Canadian spelling in that direction; physical proximity with the United States has tended to pull it towards the American standard. As a result, Canadian spelling has tended to waver between the two, taking some of each.

Most authorities, such as the Canadian Government's style manual, The Canadian Style, the Canadian Press style guide, the Gage Canadian Dictionary and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, propose certain standards:

• the use of the "-our" ending in words such as neighbour and colour;
• the use of the "-re" ending in words such as centre and theatre;
• the use of the "-ce" ending for nouns and the "-se" ending for the equivalent verbs, such as a licence (noun), to license (verb) and practice (noun), to practise (verb);
• the use of double letters in words such as travelled, leveller, etc.

Certain American spellings remain common. The spelling program is more usual than programme, airplane is universally favoured over aeroplane, tire is used rather than tyre, etc.

Australian English

Australian English also borrows from both British and American spellings. However, British English dominates most of the word spelling.

South African English

While South African English-speakers use British spellings for the majority of words, the vocabulary includes many words which would be considered American by British people, such as cell phone, apartment and mom (as opposed to mum). However, the difference in vocabulary stems mostly from words which have been absorbed into South African English from neighbouring languages, such as Zulu and Afrikaans.

Internal spelling differences

Within British English and its Commonwealth variants there is disagreement as to proper spelling of words such as organise / organize. Both "-ise" and "-ize" are generally accepted as correct. The "-ise" forms are very rarely used in Canada, but they are the choice of the majority in Britain (even though most British dictionaries prefer the "-ize" forms) and are strongly preferred in Australia and New Zealand; see American and British English spelling differences for more details. The English Academy of South Africa website uses "-ize" forms on some pages and "-ise" forms on other pages, recognising both. The Australian Journal of Linguistics, the official journal of the Australian Linguistics Society, insists on the "-ize" forms against the Australian dictionaries and the majority in Australia.

Independent standards within "Commonwealth English"

The more extensive forms of Commonwealth English and even some of those less used have their own separate, recognised dictionaries. The Dictionary of Canadian English: The Senior Dictionary was first published by the Canadian textbook publisher Gage Learning in 1967 and updated versions have appeared regularly, the most recent being the Gage Canadian Dictionary in 1997. For South Africa there was Charles Pettman's Africanderisms, a glossary of South African colloquial words and phrases published in 1913. Philip Branford's A Dictionary of South African English was published in 1978 and the most recent edition in 1991. Australian English has had the Macquarie Dictionary since 1981. In 1996 Oxford University Press published the Concise Ulster Dictionary. In 1998 they went farther afield by releasing A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles, The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, and The Dictionary of New Zealand English. In 2000 they published The Australian Oxford Dictionary and in 2002 released The South African Oxford Dictionary. All these use previous Oxford English dictionaries as a base, but modify or replace text according to research on other varieties of English. Caribbean English has Frederic G. Cassidy and Robert B. Le Page's Dictionary of Jamaican English and John A. Holm and Alison W. Shlling's Dictionary of Bahamian English.

Limited use

"Commonwealth English" is not a clear and distinctive dialect, although it becomes far closer to being one if Canadian English is not considered. Microsoft Encarta appears in four English versions, an American English version, a British English version, a Canadian English version, and an Australian English version, perhaps indicating that Microsoft did not feel that one Commonwealth English version would serve to balance the American English version, though there are likely to be few differences between the British English version and the Australian English version. A fifth version could be introduced as well: British English with Concise Oxford Dictionary spelling (IANA value en-GB-oed). Also, increasingly, spell checkers are supporting more finely grained systems of spelling, not attempting to make British English, renamed as Commonwealth English, do for all.

Notes

1. There are a number of other Commonwealth nations which are not listed here but also have English as either the primary language or an official language. Examples include Malta and Mozambique (Mozambique is a Commonwealth member, but uses Portuguese as its main language of communication).
2. Although Hiberno-English (Irish English) is listed as Commonwealth English, the Republic of Ireland is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, although Northern Ireland is a member, being part of the United Kingdom.
3. Although Hong Kong English is listed as Commonwealth English, since 1997 Hong Kong has not been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, but a Special Administrative Region of China.

References

• Peters, Pam (2004).The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052162181X.

External links

• English Academy of South Africa (Website).
• Taylor & Francies: Instructions for Authors for the Australian Journal of Linguistics ("The -ize suffix is used, for example, civilize, civilization rather than civilise, civilisation").