Variation on different levels of language system

Variation is observed on all levels of language communication: starting from using the means of different languages to the conscious choice between different phonetic norms and accent variants. Below there are examples of how the same aspect of the language system can vary across the UK – in this way the geographical variants of the English language are touched upon.

PHONETIC VARIATION

MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION

There is a remarkable diversity in the use of the verb to be in English dialects, especially in its negative forms. Among the interesting features are: the use of is/’s in the North; ain't is widespread in the East Midlands and South- East, with variant forms (en’t, yun’t) further west; and forms based on be dominate in the South-West. For comparison, the range of forms recorded in other persons is given below (minor variants in parentheses):

I am: am, are, be, bin, is

you are (sing.):you are, ye are, thou are, thou art, thee art, thou is, you be, you bin, thee bist, (thee be, thoubist, you am)

she is: is, be, bin, (am, bist)

we are: are,am, be,bin, (aren)

they are:are,am, is,be, bin, (aren, at, bist)

she isn’t: isn’t, ‘snot, isno’, ain’t, en’t, yun’t, idn’, inno, bain’t, ben’t (idn’t, binno’, byent, ’s none, yen’t)

they aren’t: aren’t, ’re not, ain’t, en’t, yun’t, anno’, bain’t, baan’t, ben’t, byen’t, byun’t, binno’, (amno’, inno’, in’t, isn’t, ’mnot, ’re none).

SYNTACTIC VARIATION

The word order give me it is usual in the North, most of the East, and in a narrow band across the South Midlands; give it me dominates in the lower North-West, West Midlands. and South-East, with the prepositional form, give it to me, the norm in the South-West, and also occurring in enclaves around the Thames estuary and in East Anglia. The pronounless form give me is recorded once, in Surrey. This is doubtless one of the forms which would be much more widely represented in an urban dialect survey.

LEXICAL VARIATION

There are nine chief variants noted for threshold, for example, and a further 35 alternatives. In the case of headache, there is a fairly clear picture. The standard form is used throughout most of the country, but in the North and parts of East Anglia there is a competing regional form, skullache. The variant form head-wark is found in the far North, with a further variant, headwarch, mainly in Southern Lancashire. Northumberland opts for the more prosaic sore head, with bad head used in adjacent localities to the south.