In London, more so than any other part of England, stereotypes of what constitutes "English-ness" break down, so be careful not to make simple assumptions about where someone is from.
In "Speaking American," a history of American English, Richard W. Bailey argues that geography is largely behind our fluid evaluations of what constitutes "proper" English.
The goal of the exhibit is to explore the ongoing debate over what constitutes "standard English," and the attempts over the years to rescue the language from corruption by the masses.
For example, the vowel that constitutes the English word eye /aɪ/ is pronounced differently depending on dialect ([aɪ̯] or in RP and General American, [ae̯] or [əi̯] in Scottish English, in Australian English, in Irish English, [aː] in South African English, and [aː] or [əi̯] in Southern American English) but is considered the same by speakers.
After spending weeks struggling with the rigours of the German language's far less flexible sentence structures to achieve the endless succession of "pull back and reveals" that constitute much English language humour, the idea of our comedic superiority soon begins to fade.
Labov's new work, which is called "The Atlas of North American English," constitutes the first coast-to-coast charting of all the major dialects spoken in the continental United States and Canada.
"I think John's at the heart of a continuing and very important argument that's being going on for centuries about what constitutes the best English," he added.
What constitutes the perfect full English breakfast?
The Prelude constitutes the most significant English expression of the Romantic discovery of the self as a topic for art and literature.
Whales, dolphins, and porpoises together constitute the Cetacea (English: cetaceans).
In our experience, English constituted part of the communicative environment, but was not an obstacle.
