Dialect continuum

Curly Hairstyle Along With a Short Haircut Very few styles may be suited for this type of hair structure. Surely curly hair type will give you a different image that is completely different from the straight hairstyle. The funniest thing is that the person, who has curly hair, wants to have straight hair, and a person with plain hair wants to have a curly hairstyle. Again, a short hairstyle doesn't match everybody. Body structure, hairstyle and dressing sense determine whether a curly…

Language is a truly unique thing since everyone utilizes it differently allowing people to show who they are. When I was in the sixth grade, I attended a summer camp where many of the campers were from Tennessee. Living in Alabama, I believed that I had a southern accent, but these campers made my accent seem nonexistent. Many people have stories like this one where they sound different or used different words than the people that they are speaking with at the time. In James Baldwin’s essay, he…

In “The Last Speakers” by linguist, K. David Harrison, the reader travels across the world with Harrison and learns about endangered languages. Harrisons’ goal is listen to people’s views on why their language is important and celebrate languages that no longer have a large amount of speakers. Harrison is able to meet the last speakers of some languages and expand his knowledge about different cultures and the influence that language has on people’s everyday lives. Harrison is able to identify…

English is one of the most widely spoken languages, along with Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and French, respectively. There is no doubt that it has found its way into numerous countries. However, there is a difference between etymological mingling and lingual domination. I strongly disagree with the notion that everyone, in every country, should learn English. This suggestion seems almost barbaric and hateful. Globalizing English would demolish not only the history and culture of other…

Introduction Maine’s dialects are vividly depicted the very characteristics of Maine’s country folks that some people have not heard before. Many words are no longer used in today as much as in the past except for some old ancient folks live in rural areas. However, there are some words and phrases that do blend in today’s society to create the dialects that are more flexible, humor, and wisdom of the people speaking it. Syntactically, the word’s orders and idioms are sounded more humor and…

There are dozens of languages on this planet for the purpose of millions or even billions of people to be able to communicate with each other. Even within one language there are different dialects and sects which help to make communication with in one certain group even more efficient. In English for example there are thousands of different words just within the English language. However, because the English language is so diverse and carries…

In the article of “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan (1989), it tells us the difference and relationship between “Broken English” and “perfect English”. It seems to others, Tan’s mother’s English is broken and fractured, but for Tan, her mother’s English is vivid and easy to understand, it is also Tan’s bridge of growth and understanding of the external things. Tan used her life experience to show that many people speak “Broken English” like her mother is not mean that they don’t know English. They know…

The Language Used Immigrants are a well known topic, but more than often immigrants are laughed at. An immigrant is a person that comes to live in a new place that is foreign to them. Immigration started way before 1965 and it still happens to this day, at first there was not many people coming to America but then it sky rocketed. Tan learns from her mother's English that people pretend to not understand by not listening with her accent, it is her second internal language and passion. People…

Spoken language is often varied. This is due to different dialects and sociolects, which are based on different regions or social classes. The variation can also be seen in accents. Usually, certain sociolects are expected in certain situations. For example, in jobs related to law, politics or businesses, the use of received pronunciation is expected. However, when talking in a less formal situation (eg. talking to friends), you’re more likely to revert to your own sociolect. I have recently…

At a professional interpreter conference in 2013 a presenter stated, "The interpreter is the sole holder of all information in an interpreted encounter." The information that the interpreter holds is linked to the language and culture of the parties involved. Sociolinguistics is the study of how language interactions between members of social networks and between different social networks. This field also studies how language and culture are perceived by the interlocutors or the audience of the…