Dialect

blacksmith’s boy, you might know the son of the local baronet, but you didn’t speak his language. You spoke the language of your social group, and he that of his, and over the centuries these social dialects remained widely separated” (329). England today is still separated by the difference in dialects and accents, and it is easy to tell someone’s background and family history solely based on the way they are speaking. It is hard to cross the social lines because of the great barrier that…

language and it put the original language into the danger of not being used as much and it is then called, “endangered”. The dialects that form out of the original language have different variation of the languages and it sounds very different from the main language. The danger of dialects encourages people to associate themselves to the isolated languages because the dialects are more frequently used and it is more popular. However, the main language is usually avoided because it is general and…

integrity and speak properly? This situation is one that I know I am not alone in, which leads me to ask: What is standard American English, really? I think it has more to do with where you are rather than a “by the book” grammatical breakdown of a dialect given to a country by the…

African Language used by enslaved persons brought to the Americas over 400 years ago. Enslaved people were denied a formal education, but were required to learn the language to communicate with white master, hence the BEV dialect was fashioned. In today’s society, this dialect has greatly influenced different sectors of the English language, from slang to highly respected fables such as the Uncle Remus Tales and Huckleberry Finn. Standard English is the version of English used by Americans,…

Popular recording artist, Rihanna, recently dropped a new single titled “Work.” In the song, she incorporates many words from a dialect called Jamaican Patois, an example being her singing “you said me haffi work.” People rushed to Social Media to complain that the song was annoying because she was speaking gibberish, not knowing that “haffi” is an actual word in a different culture. In the article “Do You Speak American?” by Robert MacNeil a similar issue is brought forward to a broad audience…

Dialects, the words we use and how we pronounce them, are a huge part of our daily lives. As we communicate and interact daily with others, dialects are imbedded in our everyday surroundings. Given that there is a large diversity of academic language, non-standard dialects, and Standard English that exists inside of schools, all languages should be accepted into the classroom by educators. One way to accept all languages is through the method of codeswitching: “the switching from the linguistic…

(left) spoke, I had trouble understanding him. There were many times when I had no idea what he had just said.” This quote by Jerry Flynn’s granddaughter, Gwen (Koehler) Stauder, reflects the fact that Jerry speaks the English language with an Irish dialect, called an Irish brogue. The Irish not only use some words in a way that is different from the way that they are used in America, but they also speak the language with a rhythm and tone that is often hard for many Americans to understand.…

many similarities with other dialects including several nonstandard and standard English varieties spoken in the United States (Bailey, Baugh, & Mufwene, 2013). AAE have been at the center of a number of public debates and its analysis has sustained and sparked debates among sociolinguists (Bailey, Baugh, & Mufwene, 2013). It is difficult to explain how many individuals speak AAE since it is unclear about its exact meaning.…

they also had trouble understanding the native people. So it was hard for them to spread their religion amongst the natives until the natives and missionaries comprehended each other (Aikhenvald 2003, 4). The understanding of language, register, and dialect can also cause a separation amongst people and cultures. The previously mentioned Western Apache, have a relatively clear understanding of the “whitemen” or Anglo-Americans language; Consequently, they understand the Anglo-American fairly.…

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…