英国的语言是什么？
根据《简·爱》(作者：夏洛蒂·勃朗特）一书中的人物对话来看，在十九世纪中叶，约克郡的方言仍然相当普及，而本书的主要人物虽然住在乡间，却是出身于大城市（约克郡的约克城）。 比如：第1章：
·“He's a good-tempered young gentleman——very obliging and pleasant in his manner. He has a kind voice an' easy way wi' him.”（他是一个脾气好的年轻人—他很友好并且举止得体。他说话声音很好听而且从容不迫。）
·“I dinna ken what t' make o' that yonker， he's deef en dumf， I think 'at 'e vos lame o' mun'y as well as o' hef.”（我不知道那个混帐东西想干什么！我觉得他既聋又蠢。）
·“You talk o' yer love for us children on yer knees， but we see to it dat you can't do no harm wi'out our knowin' on it。”（你跪着我们孩子面前说你们对我们爱到骨子里面去了，但是我们知道如果你做出什么伤害的事我们不会不知道的。）
·“She'd ne'er ha' thought on mekkin' yerself discomfited by tellin' on truth；”（她决不会让你因为说实话而感到尴尬的。）
·“Y' are a varmint， an' y'are a liar， an' y'are a thief of the King's timber an' gold。”“你是一个恶棍、骗子、偷国王木头和金子的小偷。”
当然，书中也提到了伦敦腔，这是由于伦敦是当时英国的首都。比如说：
·“Don't go so fast， Miss ————（名字给忘了，我真是该死！）Don't you hear me？ Don't you understand？ You are not fit to be trusted——with anything of importance， forsooth——you have got such an awful accent——no wonder——the first day I saw you I couldn't understand a word you said——your mouth was full of 'a's an' 'o's， like a basket with bread in it.”（不要那么快走啊，小姐……我没说清楚吗？你没听见还是没明白？你不适合被信任——任何重要的事都不适合——你的口音实在太差了——难怪——我刚见到你的时候听不懂你说的一个字——你嘴里全是‘啊’和‘哦’，就像嘴里塞满了面包屑。）
·“The manners here are very different from what they were at home——so different， sir， that ef I ha'n't been brought up where I ha'n't known any better， I should think my aunt did wrong to teach me proper ways， for though she is rich an' great an' all that， she ha'n't had much schooling， an' her speech is so coarse.”（这里的规矩跟我在家的时候完全不一样，真的差远了，先生。如果我不认识更好的人，我会觉得我太受宠了，因为她很有钱又很尊贵等等，但事实是她没读过多少书，讲话很不文雅。）