Chapter 1
Please note that the labels on each recording (for example, "Chicago English" or "Black English") were provided by the person who made the recording available for you to listen to. Other linguists or individuals may not agree on the description as it stands. The best example of this: you'll note that some recordings are marked "general" American, which is problematic for the same reasons the term "standard" English is problematic.
Audio Examples
Audio
|
Accent |
Chapter |
Page # |
Online Example Title |
URL |
|
Orange County |
1 |
21 |
International Dialects of English Archive: California Two |
|
|
Northwest Chicago |
1 |
21 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Illinois Three (female age 18) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/illinois-3 |
|
Boston Southie |
1 |
21 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Massachusets Six |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/massachusetts-6 |
|
Smith Island in |
1 |
21 |
The Speech Accent Archive: English 26 |
http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=84 |
|
Chicago |
1 |
23 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Illinois Three (female age 18, Chicaco suburbs, IL) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/illinois-3 |
|
Belfast |
1 |
23 |
The Speech Accent Archive: English 14 |
http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=71 |
|
Midwest |
1 |
23 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Illinois |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/illinois |
|
Far West |
1 |
23 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of California |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/california |
|
Southern US |
1 |
23 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Alabama |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama |
|
Pennslyvania |
1 |
23 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Pennsylvania |
|
|
Michigan |
1 |
27 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Michigan |
|
|
Standard American |
1 |
31 |
International Dialects of English Archive: General American |
Discussion questions
Listen to the samples of the dialects spoken in Orange County*, Northwest Chicago*, South Boston*, and Smith Island* provided by the International Dialects of English Archive and The Speech Accent Archive.
1. In Chapter 1, the author states that these varieties, while very different, “are all equally efficient as languages, although they do not enjoy the same degree of respect (p. 9).” How do you think each of these dialects might be evaluated by speakers in your area? Which do you think would be most respected and why? What does this reveal about language attitudes in your area?
Videos
“Woe is Us” – bad grammar permeates language (11/11/2005)
MSNBC Nightly News
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10004296/ns/nightly_news/
This video provides material for discussion of language ideologies, prescriptivism, and linguistic authority.
Discussion questions
1. How did this news clip frame the story on “bad grammar” and what was its main message? What linguistic examples did the story provide to support this message? Was the evidence they provided for the decline of English convincing? Why or why not?
2. According to this clip, who or what has the authority to determine what is “good” and “bad” language?
Further Resources
Gee, J.P. (2007a [1996]) Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses. New York: Taylor and Francis Group.
Gee, J.P. (2007b) The Literacy Myth and the History of Literacy. In Social Linguistics and Literacies. New York: Routledge, pp. 50–66.
Hill, J.H. (2008) The Everyday Language of White Racism. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Links
“Ma Ferguson, The Apocryphal Know-Nothing”
Language Log
Posted by Benjamin Zimmer, April 29, 2006
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003084.html
“Pronouncing it by the book”
LanguageLog post
Posted by Geoffrey K. Pullum, November 9, 2010
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2762
The Speech Accent Archive
http://accent.gmu.edu/
RSS & Blogs
Separated by a Common Language: http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/
Language Log: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/