Formal Written English
A version of the language almost universally agreed upon by educated English speakers around the world is called formal written English. It takes virtually the same form regardless of where it is written, in contrast to spoken English, which differs significantly between dialects, accents, and varieties of slang and of colloquial and regional expressions. Local variations in the formal written version of the language are quite limited, being restricted largely to minor spelling, lexical and grammatical differences between different national varieties of English (e.g. British, American, Indian, Australian, South African, etc.).
Read more about this topic: Sudanese English, Dialects and Varieties
Famous quotes containing the words formal, written and/or english:
“The manifestation of poetry in external life is formal perfection. True sentiment grows within, and art must represent internal phenomena externally.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Paper is soft and ink is fluid; it might be better if some pages of this chronicle could be written on chips of granite at the point of steel.”
—E. M. Almedingen (b. 1898–?)
“So in Jamaica it is the aim of everybody to talk English, act English and look English. And that last specification is where the greatest difficulties arise. It is not so difficult to put a coat of European culture over African culture, but it is next to impossible to lay a European face over an African face in the same generation.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)