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CommonWealth English

English language comes in various flavors. One of them is Commonwealth English or English as spoken in countries that forma part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Commonwealth English is of the following kinds - Australian English, African English, British English, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Irish-English, Hong Kong English, Indian English (includes Pakistani English) and New Zealand English.

How the term Commonwealth English was coined

The term “Commonwealth English” was perhaps coined out of a desire to be recognized outside the “Standard English” culture of Britain or American English by those who use it in other nations such as India, South Africa or New Zealand. This desire may stem out of a feeling that their countries name should appear alongside the language since it is no longer British. However Canadian English stands out in these various varieties.

Canadian English

Canada, a commonwealth country consists of the largest English speaking population outside of Britain has its own unique vocabulary, accent and idioms which lean towards the neighboring American English than towards British or the rest of the Commonwealth.

Canadian spelling is a mix of the British and American spellings. Due to historic bonding with Britain, some areas of Canada prefer the British spelling and due to proximity of border, some areas prefer to use the American way of spelling. The spelling tends to waver between the two forms, integrating a percentage of each of these forms of English language. Different standards of spelling are defined by the Canadian Government’s style manual, Canadian Press style guide and various other institutions.

Australian English

Australian English is also a mix of British and American spellings. Though American spelling is used by a portion of the press, British spelling dominates.


Standards within Commonwealth English

Almost all forms of Commonwealth English have their own distinctly different dictionaries. The Senior Dictionary of Canadian English was first published by Gage Learning in 1967 and most recently in 1997. Charles Pettman's Africanderisms was first published in South Africa in 1913; Philip Branford's Dictionary of South African English was first published in 1978 and the most recently in 1991. Australian English has its own Macquarie Dictionary since 1981. Oxford University Press published the Concise Ulster Dictionary in 1996. Gong further they released A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles in 1998, The Dictionary of New Zealand English and The Canadian Oxford Dictionary. They published The Australian Oxford Dictionary in 2000.

Commonwealth English has no clear and distinctive dialect. There are other Commonwealth nations which also use English either as primary or official language. Examples include Singapore, Mozambique and Malta which are Commonwealth members. Mozambique uses Portuguese as main language of communication. Although Irish-English also known as Hiberno-English is listed under Commonwealth English, the Republic of Ireland is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, only Northern Ireland is a member.