All the English dialects are more or less alike and understood by most people all over England. The dialects have a similar history: the Roman occupation between 43 AD and 410 and the settling of the Angles and the influence of the Saxons affected the eastern dialects and traces of the languages of those people can still be found. Furthermore the Norwegian and Danish Vikings, who invaded the Angle Land in circa 900 left their remnants in the language as it exists today.

Since language can be learnt and changed by interacting with other people, refugees from the European mainland affected the dialects – specifically in the south-west area since the region is closest to the mainland – as well.

The development in the south-east area was a bit different though; the area was rather isolated so the Celtic and Cornish accents in the area were perserved much better than in other regions. Beside the south-east area, the north-east had a slightly different development as well. Due to the port and the international travellers entering the country from the port, the dialect evolved more quickly in recent years and because of inspiration by other tongues in a different way as the other dialects of England.

The way the English look at their dialects changes as well. The ability of speaking Received Pronunciation is not a standard anymore and it is mostly appreciated if a – slight – accent is heard. Besides that, the English like to laugh. Their humour consists of, among other things, a good deal of self-mockery, which I was able to show thanks to YouTube and the many British that made their funny films available to the world.