English in the Commonwealth of Nations

Current Commonwealth members (dark blue), former members (orange), and British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies (light blue)

English and Kinyarwanda text in Kigali, Rwanda. Rwanda, a Commonwealth country, was never associated with the British Empire.

Multilingual stop sign in a First Nations reserve in Canada, featuring the Abenaki, English and French languages

The use of the English language in current and former countries of the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British colonisation, with some exceptions. English forms part of the Commonwealth's common culture and serves as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations. ^{[1] [2]}

Commonwealth English refers to English as practised in the Commonwealth; the term is most often interchangeable with British English , but is also used to distinguish between British English and that in the rest of the Commonwealth. ^[3] English in the Commonwealth is diverse, and many regions have developed their own local varieties of the language. The official status of English varies; in Bangaldesh, it lacks any but is widely used, and likewise in Cyprus, it is not official but is used as the lingua franca . ^{[4] [5]}

Written English in current and former Commonwealth countries generally favours British English spelling as opposed to that of American English, ^[6] with some exceptions, particularly in Canada, where there are strong influences from neighbouring American English. ^[7]

Native varieties

Southern Hemisphere native varieties of English began to develop during the 18th century, with the colonisation of Australasia and South Africa. Australian English and New Zealand English are closely related to each other and share some similarities with South African English. Nonetheless, South African English has unique influences from indigenous African languages, and Dutch influences inherited alongside the evolution of Afrikaans. ^{[8] [9]}

Canadian English contains elements of British English and American English, as well as many Canadianisms and some French influences. It is the product of several waves of immigration and settlement, from Britain, Ireland, France, the United States, and around the world, over a period of more than two centuries. ^{[10] [11]}

In many Commonwealth countries, a relatively small native English-speaking minority exists amongst a larger population who speak it as a second language; Anglo-Indians speak English as their mother tongue, but it is not the first language of most Indians. ^{[12] [13]}

Africa

See also: British diaspora in Africa and Commonwealth diaspora

In addition to South Africa, other African Commonwealth countries have native English varieties. A community of native English speakers exists in Zimbabwe; the country's dialect bears features of British English, South African English and other Southern Hemisphere Commonwealth English varieties. ^{[14] [15]} Also in Southern Africa with historical influence from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana have their own dialects, ^{[16] [17]} with smaller native English-speaking populations. ^{[18] [19]} The same is true of Kenya and Uganda in East Africa. ^{[20] [21]}

Caribbean

Caribbean English is drawn from British English and West African languages. It is influenced by constant contact with English-based Creoles. There is considerable influence from Hindustani and other South Asian languages in countries with language Indian populations, including Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Jamaican English and Barbadian English bear influences of Irish English. ^[22]

Non-native varieties

Second-language varieties of English in Africa and Asia have often undergone "indigenisation"; that is, each English-speaking community has developed (or is in the process of developing) its own standards of usage, often under the influence of local languages. These dialects are sometimes referred to as New Englishes (McArthur, p. 36); most of them inherited non-rhoticity from Southern British English.

Africa

See also: West African Pidgin English

Several dialects of West African English exist, with considerable regional variation, though there is a set of common tendencies of pronunciation. Nigerian and Ghanaian English are the varieties with the largest number of speakers; English also holds official or national status in Sierra Leone, Cameroon’s Anglophone provinces, the Gambia, and Saint Helena, a British territory. It also holds official status in Liberia, which is not a Commonwealth country but rather has a history connected to the United States of America. ^{[23] [24]}

English varieties are also spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Prior to Togo's admission at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said that he expected Commonwealth membership to provide opportunities for Togolese citizens to learn English, and remarked that the country sought closer ties with the Anglophone world. ^[25]

Asia

Hong Kong

Hong Kong ceased to be part of the Commonwealth by virtue of being a British territory in 1997. Nonetheless, the English language there still enjoys official status. ^[26]

Indian subcontinent

See also: Englishisation § South Asia

English was introduced to the subcontinent by the British Raj. India has the largest English-speaking population in the Commonwealth, although comparatively very few speakers of Indian English are first-language speakers. ^{[27] [28]} The same is true of English spoken in other parts of South Asia, including Pakistani English, ^[29] Sri Lankan English, ^[30] Bangladeshi English ^[31] and Myanmar English; though Myanmar is not a Commonwealth country, English is the mother tongue of the Anglo-Burmese population. ^[32] South Asian English is fairly homogeneous across the subcontinent, though there are some differences based on various regional factors. ^[33]

Malay Archipelago

Southeast Asian English includes Singapore English, Malaysian English, and Brunei English as well as other varieties in non-Commonwealth countries; it is not only the result of British colonisation but also American colonisation (as in the case of the Philippines) and globalisation. It has interacted with diverse local ecologies, shaping its form, function and status in the region. ^[34]

See also

• British English
• English-speaking world
• American English
• EF English Proficiency Index

Other languages:

• Community of Portuguese Language Countries
• Dutch Language Union
• Francophonie
• Latin Union

References

1. "The Commonwealth". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
2. "Joining the Commonwealth". Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
3. "Commonwealth English". Oxford English Dictionary . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
4. Ara, Rowshon (March 2020). "A Foreign Language or the Second Language: The Future of English in Bangladesh". International Journal of Language Education. 4 (1): 81–95. ISSN   2548-8457.
5. Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J.; Trudgill, Peter, eds. (2006). "Greece and Cyprus". Sociolinguistics: an international handbook of the science of language and society / Soziolinguistik: ein internationales Handbuch zur Wissenschaft von Sprache und Gesellschaft. Handbooks of linguistics and communication science / Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 1888. ISBN   9783110184181.
6. New Oxford Style Manual. Oxford University Press. 2016.
7. Boberg, Charles (2004) Standard Canadian English Archived 11 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine ." In Raymond Hickey. Standards of English: Codified Varieties Around the World. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
8. Bayard, Donn (2000). "New Zealand English: Origins, Relationships, and Prospects" (PDF). Moderna Språk. 94 (1). Sweden: Linnaeus University: 8–14. doi:10.58221/mosp.v94i1.9625. ISSN   2000-3560. S2CID   254175799 . Retrieved 24 July 2010.
9. Wells, J. C., ed. (1982), "The southern hemisphere", Accents of English: Beyond the British Isles, vol. 3, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 592–622, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511611766.006, ISBN   978-0-521-28541-4 , retrieved 17 June 2024
10. Dollinger, Stefan (2008). "New-Dialect Formation in Canada". Benjamins, ISBN   9789027231086. p. 25.
11. Boberg, Charles (2010). The English language in Canada: status, history and comparative analysis. Studies in English language. Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 55–105. ISBN   978-0-511-78981-6.
12. Andrews, Robyn (2013). Christmas in Calcutta: Anglo-Indian Stories and Essays. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN   978-81-321-1814-5.
13. "Introduction to Indian English". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
14. Mlambo, Muzi (26 May 2009). "A survey of the language situation in Zimbabwe". English Today. 25 (2): 18. doi:10.1017/S0266078409000145. ISSN   1474-0567.
15. Tom McArthur (ed.), Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN   0-19-214183-X. pp. 116, 352.
16. Stell, Gerald (10 September 2021), Schröder, Anne (ed.), "English in Namibia: A socio-historical account", Varieties of English Around the World, vol. G65, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 21–42, doi:10.1075/veaw.g65.02ste, ISBN   978-90-272-0919-1 , retrieved 1 March 2025
17. Alimi, Modupe (1 July 2011). "Botswana English: implications for English language teaching and assessment". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 32 (4): 309–324. doi:10.1080/01434632.2011.574700. ISSN   0143-4632.
18. "Namibian languages". Namibia Biodiversity Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
19. Bolton, Kingsley; Kachru, Braj B. (2006). World Englishes: Critical Concepts in Linguistics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-0-415-31508-1.
20. Buregeya, Alfred (2020), "Kenyan English", The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English, retrieved 1 March 2025
21. Ssempuuma, Jude (2020), "Ugandan English", The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English, retrieved 8 March 2025
22. "Introduction to Caribbean English". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
23. "West African English". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
24. "Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
25. Lawson, Alice (24 June 2022). "Togo sees Commonwealth entry as pivot to English-speaking world". Reuters. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
26. Eoyang, Eugene Chen (2000). "From the Imperial to the Empirical: Teaching English in Hong Kong". Profession: 62–74. JSTOR   25595704.
27. "India is the 2nd largest English-speaking nation". The Times of India. 11 November 2005. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 1 March 2025.
28. Rukmini S (24 November 2014). "Sanskrit and English: there's no competition". The Hindu .
29. "People of Pakistan". Britannica. Retrieved 13 April 2023. With the exception of this educated elite, English is spoken fluently by only a small percentage of the population.
30. "Introduction to Sri Lankan English". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
31. Naym Pieal, Jannatul (5 May 2023). "Tracing roots: The emergence and disappearance of Dhaka's Anglo-Indians". The Business Standard. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
32. Burnett, Dean (2003). "A history of the Anglo-Burmese community". International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies. 7 (1).
33. Schilk, Marco; Bernaisch, Tobias; Mukherjee, Joybrato (2012), Hundt, Marianne; Gut, Ulrike (eds.), "Mapping unity and diversity in South Asian English lexicogrammar: Verb-complementational preferences across varieties", Varieties of English Around the World, vol. G43, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, p. 140, doi:10.1075/veaw.g43.06sch, ISBN   978-90-272-4903-6 , retrieved 1 March 2025
34. Moody, Andrew J. (21 March 2024), Moody, Andrew J. (ed.), "Introduction: English in Southeast Asia", The Oxford Handbook of Southeast Asian Englishes, Oxford University Press, p. 0, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192855282.013.44, ISBN   978-0-19-285528-2 , retrieved 1 March 2025

• McArthur, Tom (2002). The Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-866248-3.
• Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-62181-X.
• Trudgill, Peter & Hannah, Jean (2002). International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English; 4th ed. London: Arnold. ISBN   0-340-80834-9.