English Variants

The course introduces the main differences between the standard British and the standard American English dialect (including the standard accents – RP and GA) on the one hand, and regional accents and dialects, especially on the territory of the United Kingdom. The terms ‘dialect’ and ‘accent’ are explained, followed by a detailed description of various accents in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Individual accents and dialects are illustrated through authentic audio recordings which enable students to become familiar not only with the phonological and phonetic, but also prosodic, lexical and grammatical characteristics of each regional accent or dialect.
Accents in other countries where English is an official language (including regional variation in the U.S.A., Australia and New Zealand, India and South Africa) are also briefly described.
In view of the role of English as the global language of communication also pronunciation features of EFL speakers are included, with authentic illustrations from European countries, Africa, South America and Asia. Special attention is dedicated to the contact between English and Slovene and the analysis of the most typical pronunciation features of Slovene speakers of English.