<Tr> <Th> BATH </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> TRAP </Th> <Td> / æ / </Td> </Tr> <P> Varieties of English vary the most in pronunciation of vowels . The best known national varieties used as standards for education in non English - speaking countries are British (BrE) and American (AmE). Countries such as Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa have their own standard varieties which are less often used as standards for education internationally . Some differences between the various dialects are shown in the table "Varieties of Standard English and their features". </P> <P> English has undergone many historical sound changes, some of them affecting all varieties, and others affecting only a few . Most standard varieties are affected by the Great Vowel Shift, which changed the pronunciation of long vowels, but a few dialects have slightly different results . In North America, a number of chain shifts such as the Northern Cities Vowel Shift and Canadian Shift have produced very different vowel landscapes in some regional accents . </P>

What was the first word of the english language