Chapter2

Varieties of English

The English language does not only vary in the color/colour international distinction of the spelling of a word. English varies within a country, within a region of that country, within a group of people in that region and within the individuals of that group (to make it a bit more complicated). Beyond those differences across oceans and borders, there are others particular to a region in the same country. Cockney English is a dialect in England in the same way that the Southern dialect is a variety inside the U.S. territory.

But before further analysis is made, there is an important distinction worth noting, and that is the one that tells the difference between a dialect and an accent.

In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (1992) David Crystal notes:

"It is important to keep these terms apart, when discussing someone's linguistic origins. Accent refers only to distinctive pronunciation, whereas dialect refers to vocabulary and grammar as well. If we heard some person say He done it and another say He did it, we would refer to them as using different dialects, because a grammatical difference is involved. Similarly, the choice between wee bairn and small child is dialectical, because this is a contrast in vocabulary. But the difference between bath with a 'short a' [a] and bath with a 'long a' [a:] is to do with accent, as this is solely a matter of pronunciation. Usually, speakers of different dialects have different accents; but speakers of the same dialect may have different accents too. The dialect known as 'standard English' is used throughout the world, but it is spoken in a vast range of regional accents." (p. 24)

Internationally, varieties of the English language are many, and all of them provide for and exceptionally amazing arena to be researched. As a first language, English is spoken in the US, the UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some islands in Central America. As a second language, English is spoken worldwide. You can click on the LINKS link on your leftto be electronically taken to sites devoted to the English variety of your choice. For class-related matters, website-size and brain-capability reasons (and I mean my brain) we will concentrate on the varieties of English as found in the United States.

After reading some material on dialectology; doing some research online and watching a video, I decided that an extract from the last source would best serve as a summarized report on English regionalisms in the US.

The following passage is a faithfully script of material introduced in American Tongues, a video from the Center for American Media.

An accent or dialect means the words we use and how we pronounce them. It doesn't mean slang, which includes words and expressions that are passing fads. And it doesn't mean jargon, which is the vocabulary of a special group--you can have an accent and still speak computerese.

It's hard to say how many varieties of English there are in the US, it depends on how you want to cut the pie.

American dialects came from the speech of the first English settlers who brought with them the accents of their regions. The folks from the London area who settled in Virginia and Massachusetts spoke a different way from the folks from Northern England who settled in Philadelphia. As the population spread out these groups and others interacted, mixing with non-English speaking settlers to create a patchwork of American accents each blending gradually into the nest.

As you go East to West, it becomes harder to hear the differences between accents. In the wide open spaces out West accents are mixed, so you don't find as many distinctions.

Sometimes the settlers were stopped by natural boundaries such as mountain ranges or rivers and of course as they were stopped, their dialects were stopped too. For example, the Connecticut river to this day separates park your car from pahk ya cah. Human interaction, the way people talk to each other who don't talk to each other, the way they copy each other is always changing. As people change, so do our dialects.

In different parts of the country, foreign languages have left their mark. For example, German has influenced the speech of the Pennsylvania Dutch, African languages shaped the Gullah dialects of South Carolina, and French and English are intermingled by the Cajuns in Louisiana.

When you think about the way someone from another part of the country talks, one thing that strikes you are the words that they use. Even though we all speak English, there are many words and expression that might as well be Greek to people from somewhere else.

E.g.      Cabinet = Milkshake (Rhode Island)
            Gumband = Rubberband (Pittsburgh)
            Pau Hana = The work is finished (Hawaii)
            Antigogglin = Crooked (South and West)
            Snickelfritz = Kid (Pennsylvania)
            To Schlep = To carry (New York City)

Words do tell a lot about the people in a particular place. We learn the words we use in our regions the same way we learn our manners and customs: from the people around us.

There's no such thing as a one standard English accent that's better than all others, but there is a type of English favored by actors and radio and TV announcers. It may lack something in personality, but everybody can understand it.

The dialect of many black Americans is what is often called black English. Although the roots of black English go back hundreds of years its use is still controversial today.

The accents of the upper class can be just as noticeable as blue-collar speech, particularly in the Eastern U.S. One such dialect is that of the Boston Brahmins, whose British-sounding speech is becoming a thing of the past.

Black or white, Texan or New Yorker, few people talk the same way all the time. There's one way of talking to friends and family and another way for business and school. We switch back and forth because we know there is not one way that works in every situation. Language can bring us together or set us apart. Our social and racial attitudes are mixed up with what we feel about people's accents. And because the way we talk is so much a part of who we are, we feel a special bond to people who talk the way we do.

Across the country it seems that we are having a renewal of pride in our roots and our speech as well. People are getting rid of the notion that everybody should sound alike. We are recognizing that our accents are part and parcel of our diverse identities, and we are certainly not afraid of advertising it.

There is a long-standing tradition in America of regional and ethnic humor. From Will Rogers to the Borscht Belt, performers have used familiar, non-standard accents to get laughs. Regional speech patterns are going to mark you as regional for the rest of your life and that's not what the corporate world is looking for.

"Let's face it. There are certain consequences for not speaking a standard dialect. For example, people may make fun of you, or you may have certain limitations in terms of the job market. So if you don't want to deal with the negatives, it would be very helpful to learn the standard dialect for certain situations. It may not be fair, but that's the way it is." Walt Wolfram (Sociolinguist)

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MORE STUFF

Thursday, August 17, 2000 - USA Today - 4D

In an article titled "Slanguage Speakes the Shagadelic Lingo," Bob Minzesheimer introduces us to Mike Ellis, someone dedicated to the fun tasks of collecting words and phrases that "reflect who we really are."

Among the examples in this article are:

"Did you bag a fourteneer?" How they ask in Denver about climbing to the top of any of the nearby 14,000-foot mountains.

"You seen that diesel sniffer?" A Nashville inquiry about certain country music fans who follow their idols' buses from town to town.

In Phoenix, an "Arizona cooker" is a car. "Anything left inside will melt, warp of die."

In Charlotte, N.C., saying "mash mine" will get you to the ninth floor of a building via elevator.

In Orlando, "working for the mouse" is a phrase employed by employees of Walt Disney World.

In Los Angeles, "Laxaphobia" refers to the fear of Los Angeles International Airport.

The article suggests visiting Ellis' site and checking out his new book: "Slanguage: A Cool, Fresh, Phat, and Shagadelic Guide to All Kinds of Slang."

Why not?

Veronica Martini - 29.VIII.2000

Dr. Carol Jamison
Gamble Hall 202B
Armstrong Atlantic State University
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA 31419
Phone: 912.927.5237