Presentation

English is a world language and is used all over the world. I looked into three different countries to hear how they speak English and what effect their first language has on their English. I choose to talk about Scottish English, Tinglish which is from Thailand and South African English.

Tinglish

-Tinglish or Thaiglish is the unfinished form of English produced by native Thai speakers translated from their first language. The difference from native English is different pronunciation and unusual word choices. Examples of this is that they say Open/close the lights instead of turn on/off the lights and they say I very like it instead of I really like it. They also have some different particles so they say Khun instead of Mr or miss, so they could say: ‘’Khun Gøran will have a meeting on Friday’’. They also have some different final particles in sentences, for example they say ‘’la’’ when they are giving a suggestion or informing the listener of something like: I am going to bed ‘’la’’, ore why don’t you ask her ‘’la’’?

Pronouncing some sounds in English simply do not exist in Thai language,this affects the way native Thai speakers pronounce English words, so it is notalways so easy to understand their English.

Scottish English

-Scottish English is a language used by the scots. Scottish English is more like a dialect for the scots and is mostly used in more formal situations or situations talking with individuals of a higher status. The dialect can be very hard to understand, even for English speakers. Scottish English has some special words and sentences where you almost have to be a scot to understand it. For example, they say ‘’what a dreich day!’’ Meaning ‘’what a miserable overcast day’’, but these are more likely to occur in a spoken conversations.

South African English

-South African English is the dialect spoken by South Africans and is very influenced by Afrikaans. It also have some similarities with the Dutch language. One of the most noticeable traits of South African English is the strong tendency to use the African word ‘’Ja’’ in almost every situation where a normal English speaker would say ‘’Yes’’ ore ‘’Yeah’’.

This is mostly understood and accepted, but is incorrect to be used in a formal situation like in a court or a job interview.

Comparing

- Comparing these three English dialects, I think that for many countries, Scottish English is probably the hardest to understand in a conversation because of their special dialect. I also think that Tinglish and South African English is more similar with a dialect that reminds me of Indian English. They also have a special way of formulating their sentences.