Standard American English: Socially Distinguishing?

Standard American English: Socially Distinguishing?
Author: Daniela Daus
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 19
Release: 2006-04-10
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 363848808X

Intermediate Examination Paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2.5, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: PS Regional and Social Varieties of American English, language: English, abstract: Language variation could also be called „. . .the most basic and fundamental of human socialisation tools.” You need language to express yourself, to learn things, to communicate and to get educated. Without language, an independent life is hardly to live. As long as people speak, there always have been dialects and individual ways of speaking in one language. British English for example, during the twelveth and thirteenth century, was spoken in four varieties, besides French and Latin. Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the more unified Great Britain needed some kind of “Standard”, to cope with official tasks and affairs. So, at some point, it seems necessary to compromise on one way of speaking for official matters. This paper will focus on “Standard American English” as a sociolinguistic tool: A brief history of American English will be given and definitions of “Standard American English” will be discussed. The central question of this paper will be: Why there is a need for the so-called “Standard”? Whom does it serve? Is it an “ideology” of the upper classes to distinguish them also linguistically from the lower classes? Or is the function of “Standard American English” solely to enable the American people to communicate on an even level, despite the various dialects? Further, the example of New York City speech will be given, to show that “Standard” seems to be necessary for “upward mobility”.

Standards of English

Standards of English
Author: Raymond Hickey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0521763894

The first book-length exploration of 'standard Englishes' with contributions by the leading experts on each major variety of English discussed.

English with an Accent

English with an Accent
Author: Rusty Barrett
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2022-11-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 100077449X

Since its original publication in 1997, English with an Accent has inspired generations of scholars to investigate linguistic discrimination, social categorization, social structures, and power. This new edition is an attempt to retain the spirit of the original while enriching and expanding it to reflect the greater understanding of linguistic discrimination that it has helped create. This third edition has been substantially reworked to include: An updated concept of social categories, how they are constructed in interaction, and how they can be invoked and perceived through linguistic cues or language ideologies Refreshed accounts of the countless social and structural factors that go into linguistic discrimination Expanded attention to specific linguistic structures, language groups, and social domains that go beyond those provided in earlier editions New dedicated chapter on American Sign Language and its history of discrimination QR codes linking to external media, stories, and other forms of engagement beyond the text A revamped website with additional material English with an Accent remains a book that forces us to acknowledge and understand the ways language is used as an excuse for discrimination. The book will help readers to better understand issues of cross-cultural communication, to develop strategies for successful interactions across social difference, to recognize patterns of language that reflect implicit bias, and to gain awareness of how mistaken beliefs about language create and nurture prejudice and discrimination.

American English

American English
Author: Walt Wolfram
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2015-12-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1118390229

The new edition of this classic text chronicles recent breakthrough developments in the field of American English, covering regional, ethnic, and gender-based differences. Now accompanied by a companion website with an extensive array of sound files, video clips, and other online materials to enhance and illustrate discussions in the text Features brand new chapters that cover the very latest topics, such as Levels of Dialect, Regional Varieties of English, Gender and Language Variation, The Application of Dialect Study, and Dialect Awareness: Extending Application, as well as new exercises with online answers Updated to contain dialect samples from a wider array of US regions Written for students taking courses in dialect studies, variationist sociolinguistics, and linguistic anthropology, and requires no pre-knowledge of linguistics Includes a glossary and extensive appendix of the pronunciation, grammatical, and lexical features of American English dialects

The US American Suppression of Language and Identity with the Focus on Hispanics and African American Vernacular English

The US American Suppression of Language and Identity with the Focus on Hispanics and African American Vernacular English
Author: Juliane Heß
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2011-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 3640994922

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald (Institut für Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Linguistic Schools: Theories & Methodologies of Modern Linguistics, language: English, abstract: According to the Oxford English Dictionary language is a system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country and identities are the characteristics, feelings or beliefs that distinguish people from others. Both terms are directly connected because humans use speech as a tool to express their identity. It is the mother tongue which signals the origin of a person but the way people talk on the lexical-, grammatical- or phonological level gives a listener an idea of a speaker ́s sex, social class, religion, educational level, attitude, mood etc.. A strong impact on the personal identity has the social environment and the culture because people stick to norms, standards, beliefs and values which are prescribed by society. On the one hand we are aware of ourselves and we know who we are but on the other hand the perception of other people who identify us is important and that is different from person to person...

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
Author: Kenneth G. Wilson
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 501
Release: 1996-08-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0585041482

In the most reliable and readable guide to effective writing for the Americans of today, Wilson answers questions of meaning, grammar, pronunciation, punctuation, and spelling in thousands of clear, concise entries. His guide is unique in presenting a systematic, comprehensive view of language as determined by context. Wilson provides a simple chart of contexts—from oratorical speech to intimate, from formal writing to informal—and explains in which contexts a particular usage is appropriate, and in which it is not. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English provides the answers to questions about American English the way no other guide can with: * an A–Z format for quick reference; * over five thousand entries, more than any other usage book; * sensible and useful advice based on the most current linguistic research; * a convenient chart of levels of speech and writing geared to context; * both descriptive and prescriptive entries for guidance; * guidelines for nonsexist usage; * individual entries for all language terms. A vibrant description of how our language is being spoken and written at the end of the twentieth century—and how we ourselves can use it most effectively—The Columbia Guide to Standard American English is the ideal handbook to language etiquette: friendly, sensible, and reliable.

Seven Steps to Separating Difference From Disability

Seven Steps to Separating Difference From Disability
Author: Catherine Collier
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2010-10-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452223440

Ensure appropriate placement and services for your school’s diverse students! This timely book shows how to adapt the widely used Response to Intervention (RTI) model to distinguish between learning differences and disabilities in culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Readers will find: A seven-step framework for determining each student’s unique strengths and needs and making appropriate decisions regarding resources, referrals, and integrated services Discussion of cognitive learning styles, language acquisition, acculturation, the role of family and community, and other key considerations A running case study demonstrating the book’s strategies in action

Do You Speak American?

Do You Speak American?
Author: Robert Macneil
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0307423573

Is American English in decline? Are regional dialects dying out? Is there a difference between men and women in how they adapt to linguistic variations? These questions, and more, about our language catapulted Robert MacNeil and William Cran—the authors (with Robert McCrum) of the language classic The Story of English—across the country in search of the answers. Do You Speak American? is the tale of their discoveries, which provocatively show how the standard for American English—if a standard exists—is changing quickly and dramatically. On a journey that takes them from the Northeast, through Appalachia and the Deep South, and west to California, the authors observe everyday verbal interactions and in a host of interviews with native speakers glean the linguistic quirks and traditions characteristic of each area. While examining the histories and controversies surrounding both written and spoken American English, they address anxieties and assumptions that, when explored, are highly emotional, such as the growing influence of Spanish as a threat to American English and the special treatment of African-American vernacular English. And, challenging the purists who think grammatical standards are in serious deterioration and that media saturation of our culture is homogenizing our speech, they surprise us with unpredictable responses. With insight and wit, MacNeil and Cran bring us a compelling book that is at once a celebration and a potent study of our singular language. Each wave of immigration has brought new words to enrich the American language. Do you recognize the origin of 1. blunderbuss, sleigh, stoop, coleslaw, boss, waffle? Or 2. dumb, ouch, shyster, check, kaput, scram, bummer? Or 3. phooey, pastrami, glitch, kibbitz, schnozzle? Or 4. broccoli, espresso, pizza, pasta, macaroni, radio? Or 5. smithereens, lollapalooza, speakeasy, hooligan? Or 6. vamoose, chaps, stampede, mustang, ranch, corral? 1. Dutch 2. German 3. Yiddish 4. Italian 5. Irish 6. Spanish

Phonological Characteristics of American English

Phonological Characteristics of American English
Author: Dominik Borner
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 16
Release: 2005-04-23
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 3638369994

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,3, University of Bamberg, course: Proseminar: English Varieties, language: English, abstract: 1. Introduction Even to non-native speakers of the English language it is in most cases an easy task to differentiate between British and American native speakers by listening to their pronunciation. In this term paper the most characteristic phonological features of American English will be named and explained and an overview of the variety of dialects within the United States will be provided. This can be done best by using British Standard English – also known as Received Pronunciation (RP) – as reference accent and pointing out the differences to American English. 2. General American However, it is hard to work with the term American English when doing a phonological analysis of American speech since it covers a broad spectrum of different dialects. For this reason the term General American (GA), which is widely used and preferred by most linguists today, will be introduced and worked with. General American can be seen as the Standard English of North America, but in contrast to Received Pronunciation, it is not defined by social reputation or a specific geographical origin. Throughout the United States one can not really find a socially preferred accent that is commonly recognized as the standard pronunciation. There have been several different approaches to defining a Standard English for the USA and in this paper General American will be used in means of a range of accents that do not exhibit any of the North-Eastern or Southern features which “are perceived as regional by the majority of American speakers.” One has to keep in mind that GA is not “a single and totally homogeneous accent. But since its internal variation is mainly a matter of differences in the phonetic realizations of a system of phonemes that is by and large shared by all GA speakers, the generalization expressed in the notion ‘General American’ is useful in phonological terms.”

American English

American English
Author: Katrin Appenzeller
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2009-04-15
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 3640311477

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, University of Duisburg-Essen (Englische Sprachwissenschaft), course: Hauptseminar: Language, Meaning and Use, language: English, abstract: The USA is one of the largest western countries. Its population amount to approximately 250 million people. Thus, American English is spoken by an immense number of people in the world. It is estimated that nearly 2/3 of all native English speakers use any dialect of American English. American English, as an independent variety, differs from British English and even weakens its hegemony. More and more, American language, culture, and business become an integral part of European society. Therefore, it is very interesting to investigate the significant characteristics of this language. To give the reader some background information there is a brief overview of the history of the English language in the USA at the beginning of the study. After that the term American English is explained and analyzed. Further, different linguistic features, among them pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, are described and compared to British English. In addition, sociolinguistic characteristics, such as regional and social dialects, are illustrated. As a result a conclusion follows.