How English differs by place, group and situation — dialects, accents, standard English, and the attitudes attached to them.
Faglig kvalitetssikret av lærere og toppstudenter · Følger læreplanen (LK20) · Sist oppdatert 2026-07-16
Introduction
No language is spoken in exactly the same way by everyone who uses it. English changes from country to country, from region to region, and even from one social group to the next. These differences are not mistakes — they are varieties, and studying them tells us a great deal about identity, history, and power. This guide explains the main types of variation and why our reactions to them are often more about social attitudes than about language itself.
Tenk på norsk: Språket ditt endrer seg enten du snakker med bestemor, en venn eller en lærer. Du bruker kanskje andre ord og har en annen tone. Det samme gjelder for engelsk, men på en mye større skala, ettersom språket snakkes av nesten to milliarder mennesker verden over. Å forstå disse variasjonene er ikke bare en del av engelskfaget; det er en nøkkel til å forstå mennesker og kulturer, inkludert hvordan du selv bruker og oppfattes gjennom språket ditt. Dette emnet er tett knyttet til hvordan vi uttrykker vår identitet.
Learning objectives
- Explain the difference between a dialect and an accent
- Describe standard and non-standard varieties of English
- Understand how region, social group and situation shape the way we speak
- Reflect critically on attitudes to different ways of speaking
Dialect vs. Accent
People often use these words as if they mean the same thing, but they do not.
- An accent is only about pronunciation — how words sound. Everyone has an accent, including newsreaders.
- A dialect is wider. It includes accent, but also vocabulary and grammar. Two dialects might use different words for the same thing, or build sentences in slightly different ways.
So a person can share your dialect but have a different accent, or use the same words as you while sounding completely different. …