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Commonwealth English
The use of the English language in current and former Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, countries of Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British Empire, British colonisation, with some exceptions. English forms part of the Commonwealth's Commonwealth of Nations#Culture, common culture and serves as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations. ''Commonwealth English'' wikt: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. English in the Commonwealth is diverse, and many regions have developed their own local varieties of the language. The Official language, official status of English varies; in Bangladeshi English, Bangladesh, it lacks any but is widely used, and likewise in Languages of Cyprus, Cyprus, it is not official but is used as the . Written En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Please Do Not Step Or Sit On Graves - Genocide Memorial Center - Kigali - Rwanda
''Please'' is a word used in the English language to indicate politeness and respect while making a request. Derived from shortening the phrase "if you please" or "if it please(s) you", the term has taken on substantial nuance based on its intonation and the relationship between the persons between whom it is used. In much of the Western world, use of the word is considered proper etiquette, and parents and authority figures often imprint upon children the importance of saying "please" when asking for something from an early age, leading to the description of the term as "the magic word". Origin and understanding "Please" is a shortening of the phrase, ''if you please'', an intransitive, ergative form taken from ''if it please you'', which is in turn a calque of the French ''s'il vous plaît'', which replaced ''pray''. The exact time frame of the shortening is unknown, though it has been noted that this form appears not to have been known to William Shakespeare, for whom "ple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand English
New Zealand English (NZE) is the variant of the English language spoken and written by most English-speaking New Zealanders. Its language code in ISO and Internet standards is en-NZ. It is the first language of the majority of the population. The English language was established in New Zealand by colonists during the 19th century. It is one of "the newest native-speaker variet esof the English language in existence, a variety which has developed and become distinctive only in the last 150 years". The variety of English that had the biggest influence on the development of New Zealand English was Australian English, itself derived from Southeastern England English, with considerable influence from Scottish and Hiberno-English, and with lesser influences the British prestige accent Received Pronunciation (RP) and American English. An important source of vocabulary is the Māori language of the indigenous people of New Zealand, whose contribution distinguishes New Zealand Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenyan English
Kenyan English is a local dialect of the English language spoken by several communities and individuals in Kenya, and among some Kenyan expatriates in other countries. The dialect contains features unique to it that were derived from local Bantu languages, such as Swahili. History The English language was introduced to Kenya along with the United Kingdom's colonisation of Kenya in 1895, when the East Africa Protectorate was set up before becoming a colony in 1920. Swahili had been established as a trade language in most parts of the Swahili Coast at the time of colonization, and it was also used in education. The British reduced the influence of Swahili and made English the medium of instruction in Kenyan schools. English remained in official use after Kenya's independence on 12 December 1963. The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili, with the latter also recognised as the national language. While English is not used as commonly as other native languages in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, Zambia to the north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. With a population of slightly over 2.4 million people and a comparable land area to France, Botswana is one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most sparsely populated countries in the world. It is essentially the nation-state of the Tswana people, who constitute nearly 80 percent of the population. The Tswana ethnic group are descended mainly from Bantu peoples, Bantu-speaking peoples who Bantu expansion, migrated into southern Africa, including modern Botswana, in several waves before AD 600. In 1885, the British Empire, British colonised the area and declared a protectorate named Bechuanaland. As part of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namlish
Namlish (a portmanteau of the words Namibian and English) is a form of English spoken in Namibia. The term was first recorded in 1991. English is the country's official language since independence in 1990. Because it is the second or third language for the majority of the Namibians, local usage can vary significantly from usage elsewhere in the English-speaking world. Namibian English, or Namlish, shares many similarities with South African English, having been influenced both by Afrikaans and indigenous African languages. Examples of Namlish Vocabulary Expressions Some observations * Many Namibians repeat single-word responses twice, e.g. "Hi hi", "Fine fine" and "Sharp sharp" are all common responses in casual conversation. * Upon asking ''How are you?'' Namlish speakers will greet you with ''Yes!'' or ''Yebo!'' ''Yebo'' comes from Zulu, which is an emphatic "yes" said throughout southern Africa. * Directions can be very vague: ''That side'' is usually the answer. * ''Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and the #Definitions and Usage, physical geography definition based on the physical characteristics of the land. The most restrictive definition considers the region of Southern Africa to consist of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa, while other definitions also include several other countries from the area. Defined by physical geography, Southern Africa is home to several river systems; the Zambezi, Zambezi River is the most prominent. The Zambezi flows from the northwest corner of Zambia and western Angola to the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique. Along the way, it flows over Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and a major tourist a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zimbabwean English
Zimbabwean English (ZimE; en-ZIM; en-ZW) is a regional variety of English found in Zimbabwe. While the majority of Zimbabweans speak Shona (75%) and Ndebele (18%) as a first language, standard English is the primary language used in education, government, commerce and media in Zimbabwe, giving it an important role in society. About 90 percent of the population can speak English fluently or at a high level, and it is the native language of White Zimbabweans. Casual observers tend to have difficulty in placing the Zimbabwean accent, as it differs from those that are clearly from British, South African or other African Englishes; like other English dialects, the accent tends to vary between individuals based on education, class and ethnic background. To Americans, it sounds slightly British, while British speakers find the accent rather old-fashioned and either nasal or somewhat twangy or African-influenced depending on the background of the speaker. The Zimbabwean education ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Indian People
Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Anglo-Indian" has also encompassed other European and Indian ancestries. Anglo-Indians' first language is usually English. Prior to 1911, various designations like "Eurasian" or "Indo-Briton" were used to describe this community. The All India Anglo-Indian Association, founded in 1926, has long represented the interests of this ethnic group; it holds that Anglo-Indians are unique in that they are Christians, speak English as their mother tongue, and have a historical link to both the British Isles and the Indian sub-continent. During the period of British rule in India, children born to unions between British fathers and Indian mothers from the 17th century onwards formed the basis of the Anglo-Indian community. This new ethnic group formed a small ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mother And Daughter In India 1920
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestational surrogacy. A biological mother is the female genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through sexual intercourse or egg donation. A biological mother may have legal obligations to a child not raised by her, such as an obligation of monetary support. An adoptive mother is a female who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A putative mother is a female whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepmother is a non-biological female parent married to a child's preexisting parent, and may form a family unit but generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child. A father is the male counterpart of a mother. Wom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Dictionary Of Canadianisms On Historical Principles
''A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles'' (DCHP) is a historical usage dictionary of words, expressions, or meanings which are native to Canada or which are distinctively characteristic of Canadian English though not necessarily exclusive to Canada. The first edition was published by W. J. Gage Limited in 1967. The text of this first edition was scanned and released as a free-access online dictionary in 2013. A second edition of ''A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles'' (DCHP-2), was then created by expanding and partially revising the first edition's data set. DCHP-2 was published in 2017 as an academic project by the University of British Columbia, and is only available as a free-access online dictionary. History The origins of the first Canadian Dictionary (DCHP-1) can be linked to American Lexicographer Charles Julien Lovell just after WW2 in 1946. Predating this, the American OED dictionary included the small number of Canadian words found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian English
Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) encompasses the Variety (linguistics), varieties of English language, English used in Canada. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1% of the total population; the remainder spoke Canadian French, French (20.8%) or other languages (21.1%). In the province of Quebec, only 7.5% of the population speak English as their mother tongue, while most of Quebec's residents are native speakers of Quebec French. The most widespread variety of Canadian English is Standard Canadian English, spoken in all the western and central provinces of Canada (varying little from Central Canada to British Columbia), plus in many other provinces among urban middle- or upper-class speakers from natively English-speaking families. Standard Canadian English is distinct from Atlantic Canadian English (its most notable subset being Newfoundland English), and from Quebec English. Accent differences ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
