Interferences between Regional, Social, and Ethnic Dialects

1 Dialect definitions and concepts

The existence of dialects in a heterogeneous society is a natural manifestation of group differences. Dialects are one of the basic elements of our social organization. Therefore, while languages world-wide are diminishing, there is much evidence to suggest that ~s of particular languages (like English) are increasing.

The existence of ~s results from a combination of historical, social and linguistic causes.

the popular viewpoint(see: [2:30])

1“We went to Boston for a vacation and the people there sure do speak a dialect.”

2“I know we speak a dialect in the mountains, but it’s a very colorful way of speaking.”

3“The kids in that neighborhood don’t really speak English; they speak a dialect.”

4“The kids in this school all seem to speak the dialect.”

1: refers to those who speak differently from oneself (Myth: a ~ is sg that someone else speaks)

2: a variety whose features have become widely recognized throughout Am. Society (Myth: ~s always have highly noticeable features that set them apart)

3: refers to a kind of deficient or “corrupted” English (Myth: ~s result from an imperfect attempt to speak “proper” English)

4: refers to a specific, socially disfavored variety of E (Myth: only varieties of lg spoken by socially disfavored groups are ~s)

~: a neutral label to refer to any variety of a lg that is shared by a group of speakers

--to speak a lg is to speak some ~ of that lg

--no inherently “good” or “bad”~s

--social factors correlating with ~ range from geography to cultural identity

--socially favored (“standard”) and disfavored (“stigmatized”) varieties allconstitute ~s

DYSA: Any language variety associated with a particular region or social group. As used by linguists, the term dialect involves no judgment of the value of a particular language variety. No variety is superior to any other. When used by the general public, this term often refers to a language variety that is considered inferior to the standard or mainstream variety.

FAST-US: A ~ is a variety of language spoken by a group of people who identify themselves with that particular way of speaking. Most ~s are regional, ethnic, or social subsets of a particular 'national' language, even if some 'national languages' might technically be considered to be ~s, and some 'dialects' have assumed the status of a 'language'.

A Dialect is distinct from a Language largely in the numerical, political or other influence of its speakers, as suggested by the pithy definition of a language as "a dialect with an army." This influence may either be "real" or "absolute," or simply "perceived" as being such, whether or not it really is

2 Definitions of dialect types(American Tongues: Tease [2:49])

Regional:Varieties of a language that exist in different geographical areas, often referred to by the general population as an accent. Features that distinguish a regional variety can include pronunciation, grammatical structures, vocabulary, and pitch. Major regional speech varieties in the United States include the Northeast, Midlands, West, and Coastal Southern varieties.

~s identify the area from which the speaker comes (or from which s/he originally came). Local dialect is a subset of regional dialect. This may be specific to a particular city, such as New York, Pittsburgh, or Boston, or even to particular neighborhoods of a city, such as between Brooklyn and the Bronx in New York City, or Beacon Hill and the South Side or Back Bay in Boston. Mobility and education (social factors!) may diminish the distinctiveness of a regional dialect, but can seldom completely eradicate it.

Social: Language varieties associated with social factors, such as socioeconomic class, age, ethnic background, or sexual orientation. Social speech varieties can vary withingeographical regions.

Our~ reveals our educational or class status. The influence of ~ is often thought to be more prominent in class-oriented societies like Britain, but it is also influential in American English. In the United States, ~ is more often associated with the stereotypes of different national or local regions, ethnic groups, or educational level than with 'class'. A social dialect, or sociolect, is often revealed through language which indicates the cultural attitudes and status preferences of the communities in which we live, or groups with which we identify. Examples of these could include an individual's use of "politically-correct" language, or the attitudes and perspectives revealed by the humor or special jargons one may use.

Ethnic:If we belong to an ethnic community, we may express our membership in that community by speaking the ethnic dialect of that group.

3 Overlapping features

--In almost every regional dialect, there are social and ethnic features, although certain ethnic groups tend to prefer to settle in or move to specific geographical areas rather than someplace else.

E.g.: -African-Americans were initially associated with the South (slave trade destination), then with certain areas of bigger cities (Harlem, South Side of Chicago, Watts in LA, etc.)

-Hispanic immigrants normally populate southern and south-western (Florida, Texas, Southern California, etc.) states, due to their physical proximity

-ethnic enclaves can be located in metropolises (Little Italy, Chinatown, The Lower East Side / Jew York, barrios, etc.)

-the arrival of French speakers in Louisiana and their settlement in & around New Orleans

-people from Northern Europe settling mostly (in) the North (familiar climate & fauna)

--Ethnicity is oftentimes considered to be a factor of social variation

E.g.: -“linguistic profiling”( [3:00])

-prejudices against BAEV or Spanglish

--Social varieties might differ according to whether the region/area is metropolitan, (sub)urban, small town, or rural

E.g.: -rural vs. urban pattern (based on relative regional features)

--Certain regions include geographical areas that might display age-group (social) preferences

E.g.: -retired people tend to move to Florida, California, etc., for reasons of a milder / more favorable climate (no heating expenses)

-the sphere of gravity around the Silicon Valley or Hollywood attracting young Am-s

--Migration patterns vary over time and are unique to different cultural/ethnic groups. They can involve geographical movement (regional) as well as movements from rural to urban (social) settings. Consider,e.g., the following historical migrations that have characterized America:

Europeans (up to 20th century) => / East to West / Urban to Rural
African Americans (early 20th century) => / South to North / Rural to Urban
Contemporary (variety of cultural groups) => / North to South (Sun Belt)
Hispanic (up to contemporary) => / South America to American West

--The easy availability or the lack of education possibilities and choices (social) are oftentimes associated with ethnic background

E.g.: -non(/sub)standard language use is often seen as a result of African-American roots

-a high proportion of Asian-American students excelling in educational institutions

-- In America, class differences are influenced by a variety of social and economic factors including such things as income, education, family background, ethnicity, region, and ethnicity. It might be more appropriate to say that America does not have one upper class but many different upper classes that are related hierarchically to each other based on a variety of factors. The same thing can be said for lower socio-economic classes. Therefore, different regions will construct social classes in different ways.

-- Social classes always exist within different ethnic groups, even as these groups as a whole (or as individuals) struggle to fit into the larger patterns of social class in America.

--Many of the world's languages (including American English) have a standard dialect. The standardis usually defined as the speech of the upper- or educated class (or those in power). It is the language of written communication. It is the variety of the language taught in schools or other educational institutions. A social concept with the majority of its speakers belonging to one single ethnic variety… (People Like Us: Open [9:27])

4 Social vs. Regional Variation

--William Labov`s pioneering work in the 1960`s with two techniques:

1 --Saks` Fifth Avenue (upper-middle)

--Macy`s (middle class)

--Klein`s (working class) for the use of the sound /r/ in fourth floor

2 comparing data obtained in the following four ways: --casual speech

--reading of a paragraph

--reading of lists of unrelated words

--reading of paired words

» the increase of the production of /r/ in the more formal contexts » pretentiousness

5 Factors in Social Variation(apart from socioeconomic class--how many? [Fussell])

Gender: women’s speech is different in 6 aspects (see Robin T. Lakoff):

1/ lexical choice;

2/ question intonation in statements;

3/ hedges and question tags;

4/ emphatic modifiers and intentional emphasis;

5/ hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation;

6/ super-polite forms

» “women have less social power in Am. society than men do

Age: choice of words and expressions; slang (discussed later)

Race and Ethnic Group: discussed separately

Education: creates SAE and Non-SAE

Region: urban vs. rural(People Like Us: Wasp Lessons [2:12])

6 Standard and Nonstandard American English

SAE--not a variety of E that is inherently “standard” or better than other forms (» GA)

--rather the E spoken by people with power (upper middle class, predominantly

male, mostly white, middle-aged, higher-educated, urban[e]) » Network St. (NS)

-- GA » NS (rhotic, with flat half and path, and flat, not rounded hot and top)

--used in the media

Non-SAE--a matter of the lack of education, resulting in:

--multiple negation and the contraction ain`t (I ain`t no spring chicken)

--subject-verb disconcord (I says, He don`t know nothin`)

--them used for those (With them windshield wipers slappin` time)

--double modals (might could) and missing relative pronouns

--past participle used for simple past and vice versa (I seen you baby...)

--often more logical and systematic forms (yourn, hisself, theirself)

Illustrations:

--DYSA: linguistic profiling(Disk 1, Section 9a, 38:40-41:40 > 3:00 +

--American Tongues: Transcript at

--American Tongues: Tease (2:49)

--American Tongues: Weird Words (5:44)

--People Like Us: Trailer at

-- People Like Us: Transcript at

-- People Like Us: Open (9:27)

--People Like Us: All You Need Is Cash (8:47)

-- People Like Us: Wasp Lessons (2:12)