According to Hudson, a variety is ‘a set of linguistic items with similar social distribution’ . Since the term dialect has acquired a negative connotation throughout the years, academics have started to use the term variety, which is considered more neutral, instead. Therefore, we should start considering the statement according to which ‘A speaker of English is necessarily a speaker of some dialect of English’ . As far as the dialect is concerned, this term refers to ‘varieties distinguished from each other by differences of grammar and vocabulary’ . Despite the fact that the previous explanation can sound complete to the majority, the word dialect has had several definitions throughout the years. For example, in the Anglo-Saxon world, it is used for referring to ‘any variety of language that can be delimited linguistically or socially’ . According to another point of view, ‘a dialect is a subset of a language, usually with a geographical restriction on its distribution’ . In Trudgill’s view, as far as the dialect is concerned, another distinction between traditional dialects and mainstream dialects needs to be made. On one hand, the first ones are spoken by the minority of English language speakers and they are located in the most peripheral and rural areas. On the other hand, mainstream dialects include both Standard English dialect and Modern non–standard dialects and they are associated with the urban areas, the youth culture and the so-called middle and upper–class. Wells uses different terms in order to refer to the two dialect categories previously mentioned. Actually, the term Traditional Dialect holds steady, whereas Mainstream Dialect, in Wells’ meaning, becomes General English. Furthermore, Wells notices that the di... ... middle of paper ... ...4-51. McGill, S., ‘Double-standard English’, English Today, 14 (1998), 6-12. Milroy, J., and Milroy, L., Authority in Language. Investigating Standard English (London and New York: Routledge, 1985). "nonstandard, adj. and n." OED Online (Oxford: Oxford University Press., 2013) [accessed 14 January 2014]. Trudgill, P., Sociolinguistics. An Introduction to Language and Society (London: Penguin books, 1974). Trudgill, P., The dialects of England (Cambridge: Basil Blackwell, 1990). Trudgill, P., Introducing language and society (London: Penguin, 1992). Trudgill, P., ‘Standard English: what it isn’t’, in Standard English: the widening debate, ed. by T. Bex & R.J. Watts (London: Routledge, 1999), pp. 117-128. Wells, J.C., Accents of English I: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
Finegan says this is something “living languages must do”. For me, I was raised in a military home in which we moved to a new region every couple of years. Coming from Germany, moving to Rochester, and then to Lowville, my dialect is a combination of all three speech communities. It is different than my parents, and will mostly be passed down to my children. As I age and move locations it is opted to change again as well. So it is not that I speak differently or incorrect than the rest of my family, my speech community is merely growing and changing as it is passed generation to generation. Richard Lederer stated in his article, “We are a teeming nations within a nation, a country that is like a world.” (150) He was portraying how our country, with a universal language, can be so diverted by each region’s version of the English language. I agree completely that although we all “sing” the same song of the American language, “we talk in melodies of infinite variety.” (150) The way our country was built was by different American regions doing their own work, for example, the south had plantations, where my ancestors were small town farmers who worked with manufacturing in mills and
United States of America, small in history but large in diversity continues to face new challenges with language as time continues to turn. In the documentary “Do You Speak American?” Robert MacNeil analyzes the English language and reveals many dialects that culturally defines us. Regional dialect is one of the many strongholds of all cultures and now it has reached its’ zenith and today it is slowly declining because it does not possess the human nature of advancement. Optimistically, it allows people to learn how to cooperate with each other. In order to advance and adopt a person has to change; I believe that the acceptance of cultural adaptations, diversity, and industrialization can prove that the decline of speech does not cause a decline of culture.
He argues that not all users of English are going to adopt the values of Anglo-American society, and neither should they be required to adopt its rhetorical style. Imposing rigid guidelines about what constitutes good writing not only keeps a large part of the world from contributing to academic fields, but also silences the unique voices of users of English throughout the world
It is apparent that there are many types of dialect within American English. The coexisting of two or more languages, either serving together in the same area or servicing different areas, is as old as language itself (Pei 106). This has happened throughout time and appears to be inevitable. It is impossible to believe an entire country could conform to one language, and then only one dialect of that language. Throughout history societies have survived for some time using different languages until these language barriers tore territories apart. It is apparent how, in America, barriers between dialects separate black men from white men even more than physical conditions.
The English language has been in constant transition throughout its history, but the most significant transformation in modern English can be credited to William Shakespeare. With Shakespeare’s invention of commonly used expressions, his creation of new words, and his use of iambic pentameter, he was able to affect the language in a way that no person since has. Shakespeare’s influence on modern English is not only visible in everyday speech, but also in the fact that his work has survived over four hundred years and it continues to be performed and read worldwide.
The entire country is controlled by one language: English. English ties everyone together. It expresses our wants, needs, emotions, and everything in between. This language is the platform for most communication, not only in the U.S but also in several other countries. Amy Tan is the daughter of two immigrants, and she, as well as her parents, had to learn English when she came to the U.S. In “Mother Tongue”, she described how people assume that if you don’t know Standard English well, you are not well educated. She also states that we speak different English’s, based on the audience and context. So, does society place too much value on Standard American English? Society places too much value on the Standard American English.
"Here you are the Top Ten List for the evening. Tonight’s Top Ten, Rejected TV show ideas to replace Seinfeld. If you know what I mean? Ha Ha!" (The Late Show 1998). As a student at Ball State University I come across many different people daily within a term. These individuals come from numerous locations within the state and beyond our identified state boundaries or even regional area of the nation. Considering the vast diversity, the common student will at a majority of the time encounter many different dialects in various conversational situations. These regional standard dialects are all brought together at an institution for higher learning. This leads to issues pertaining to the idea of dialect area and dialect variation involving the factors of Dialectic Region. If these issues exist then would it not be logical that dialect mixing would then be relevant. In this case then the idea of repentance of a certain phrase would then become an incorporation into one’s own dialect after a certain period of exposure. Yet, is this exposure just limited to environment or does the mass technological revolution have a word in otherwise with the television and the music industry.
When looking at dialects, it is also important to be aware of the differences between Nonstandard English and Standard English dialects. According to Ross Burdette in his article, Developing Language in the Classroom, “the language spoken in schools, media outlets and the government, tends to be what is referred to as ‘Standard English’”. This referral attempts to rid both spoken and written language of regionalism and...
In Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson argues the importance of preserving language. Other dialects had a produced their own dictionaries, such as the French and Italians. Various writers of the eighteenth century were alarmed at the fact that there was no standard for the English language, since there was no standard it could easily become extinct. Johnson explored many points, such as how and why languages change as well as how many words are formed.
Launched from National Science Foundation, a report by Elizabeth Malone explain that Dialect is certain ways of talking by many different language communities that set them apart from others, include accents, grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and common expressions. A group that isolated regionally and socially from other groups will develop characteristic dialect. Edward (2009) defined dialects as a variety of a language that differs from others along three dimensions: vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation (accent) because they are forms of the same language. Variety/Variation divided into two types; Regional variation and social variation. Regional variation occurs because people often speak differently in different places, and Social variation involves non-regional differences – the result of such things as social class, gender, ethnic background and education; it also includes variation according to changes in a speaker’s situation.
Miscommunication is a huge part of it because not being able to understand someone while speaking to them can be a problem and hard to accept. Dialects are different in vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and speech. People are very judgmental when it comes to dialects and often think it is a broken form of language which it isn’t (Ronald). It is a different form of that same language. Dialects tend to be favored by people because some dialects get more attention and are more popular. No dialect dominates another because everyone who speaks a language has a dialect, but people may have favorites. Another problem with dialects is when it comes for someone to apply for a job; it is difficult to get approved if he/she speaks a different
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson, 2007.
In a sociolinguist perspective “the idea of a spoken standardized language is a hypothetical construct” (Lippi-Green, 2012, pp. 57). They are the form of Britain English and American English that are used in textbooks and on broadcasting. Giles and Coupland observe that “A standard variety is the one that is most often associated with high socioeconomic status, power and media usage in a particular community” (1991, p. 38). Both native speakers and learners of English, where English is taught as a second or foreign language (hereafter ESL/EFL), speak dialect of English in everyday conversation (Kachru, 2006, pp. 10-11; Owens 2012, p.
Miller, T. P, & Faigley, L. (1982). College English. National Council of teachers of English, 44(6). Retrieved from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-
East Midland district is the largest and most populous of the major dialect areas. There are also two universities, Oxford and Cambridge. In the fourteenth century the monasteries were playing a less important role in the spread of learning than they had once played, while the two universities had developed into important intellectual centers. So far as Cambridge is concerned, any its influence was exerted in support of the East Midland dialect. That of Oxford is less certain because Oxfordshire was on the border between Midland and Southern and its dialect shows certain characteristic Southern features.