This book provides a very readable, up-to-date description of language variation in American English, covering regional, ethnic, and gender-based differences. contains new chapters on social and ethnic dialects, including a separate chapter on African American English and more comprehensive discussions of Latino, Native American, Cajun English, and other varieties, includes samples from a wider array of US regions features updated chapters as well as pedagogy such as new exercises, a phonetic symbols key, and a section on the notion of speech community accessibly written for the wide variety of students that enrol in a course on dialects, ranging from students with no background in linguistics to those who may wish to specialize in sociolinguistics
Speaking American shows what the English language looked like from various points on the American continent at crucial points in its linguistic history.
This standard text, now in paperback for the first time-- the companion volume to Foreign Dialects-- AmericanDialects offers representative dialects of every major section of the United States. In each case, a general description and history of the dialect is given, followed by an analysis of vowel and consonant peculiarities, of its individual lilt and rhythm, and of its grammar variations. There are also lists of the idioms and idiomatic expressions that distinguish each dialect and exercises using them. American Dialects also includes musical inflection charts and diagrams showing the placement of lips, tongue, and breath.
Languages and Dialects in the U.S. is a concise introduction to linguistic diversity in the U.S. for students with little to no background in linguistics. The goal of the editors of this collection of fourteen chapters, written by leading experts on the language varieties discussed, is to offer students detailed insight into the languages they speak or hear around them, grounded in comprehensive coverage of the linguistic systems underpinning them. The book begins with "setting the stage" chapters, introducing the sociocultural context of the languages and dialects featured in the book. The remaining chapters are each devoted to particular U.S. dialects and varieties of American English, each with problem sets and suggested further readings to reinforce basic concepts and new linguistic terminology and to encourage further study of the languages and dialects covered. By presenting students with both the linguistic and social, cultural, and political foundations of these particular dialects and variations of English, Languages and Dialects in the U.S. is the ideal text for students interested in linguistic diversity in the U.S., in introductory courses in sociolinguistics, language and culture, and language variation and change.
The English of the southern United States is possibly the most studied of any regional variety of any language because of its rich internal diversity, its distinctiveness among regional varieties in the United States, its significance as a marker of regional identity, and the general folkloric appeal of southern culture. However, most, if not all, books about Southern American English have been directed almost exclusively toward scholars already working in the field. This 2003 volume, written by a team of experts, many of them internationally known, provides a broad overview of the foundations of and research on language variation in the southern United States designed to invite inquiry and inquirers. It explores historical and cultural elements, iconic contemporary features, and changes in progress. Central themes, issues and topics of scholarly investigation and debate figure prominently throughout the volume. The extensive bibliography will facilitate continued research.
Is American English in decline? Are regional dialects dying out? Is there a difference between men and women in how they adapt to linguistic variations? These questions, and more, about our language catapulted Robert MacNeil and William Cran—the authors (with Robert McCrum) of the language classic The Story of English—across the country in search of the answers. Do You Speak American? is the tale of their discoveries, which provocatively show how the standard for American English—if a standard exists—is changing quickly and dramatically. On a journey that takes them from the Northeast, through Appalachia and the Deep South, and west to California, the authors observe everyday verbal interactions and in a host of interviews with native speakers glean the linguistic quirks and traditions characteristic of each area. While examining the histories and controversies surrounding both written and spoken American English, they address anxieties and assumptions that, when explored, are highly emotional, such as the growing influence of Spanish as a threat to American English and the special treatment of African-American vernacular English. And, challenging the purists who think grammatical standards are in serious deterioration and that media saturation of our culture is homogenizing our speech, they surprise us with unpredictable responses. With insight and wit, MacNeil and Cran bring us a compelling book that is at once a celebration and a potent study of our singular language. Each wave of immigration has brought new words to enrich the American language. Do you recognize the origin of 1. blunderbuss, sleigh, stoop, coleslaw, boss, waffle? Or 2. dumb, ouch, shyster, check, kaput, scram, bummer? Or 3. phooey, pastrami, glitch, kibbitz, schnozzle? Or 4. broccoli, espresso, pizza, pasta, macaroni, radio? Or 5. smithereens, lollapalooza, speakeasy, hooligan? Or 6. vamoose, chaps, stampede, mustang, ranch, corral? 1. Dutch 2. German 3. Yiddish 4. Italian 5. Irish 6. Spanish
The sociolinguist William Labov has worked for decades on change in progress in American dialects and on African American Vernacular English (AAVE). In Dialect Diversity in America, Labov examines the diversity among American dialects and presents the counterintuitive finding that geographically localized dialects of North American English are increasingly diverging from one another over time. Contrary to the general expectation that mass culture would diminish regional differences, the dialects of Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Birmingham, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and New York are now more different from each other than they were a hundred years ago. Equally significant is Labov's finding that AAVE does not map with the geography and timing of changes in other dialects. The home dialect of most African American speakers has developed a grammar that is more and more different from that of the white mainstream dialects in the major cities studied and yet highly homogeneous throughout the United States. Labov describes the political forces that drive these ongoing changes, as well as the political consequences in public debate. The author also considers the recent geographical reversal of political parties in the Blue States and the Red States and the parallels between dialect differences and the results of recent presidential elections. Finally, in attempting to account for the history and geography of linguistic change among whites, Labov highlights fascinating correlations between patterns of linguistic divergence and the politics of race and slavery, going back to the antebellum United States. Complemented by an online collection of audio files that illustrate key dialectical nuances, Dialect Diversity in America offers an unparalleled sociolinguistic study from a preeminent scholar in the field.
