TERRITORIAL AND SOCIAL VARIABILITY OF ENGLISH DIALECTS

The purpose of this article is to reveal the features of the territorial and social variability of English dialects. The author analyzes the peculiarities of the linguistic situation in the British Isles by displaying diversi- ty and conservatism – the main features of dialects. This article reveals the fact that the regional and social vari- ability of the English language can be represented as a hierarchy in which RP, regional standards and dialects are arranged from top to bottom. The description of the language situation in the UK convinces that the use of RP has a social significance and determines the socio-territorial differentiation of various types of English pronunci- ation. The paper highlights the need to study dialects of the English language, examines their main linguistic differences and features, provides examples of differences between dialects from Standard English