What Can We Learn From Dialectical Diversity of the English Language in the United States?

The English language is one of the most complex languages in the world; this is because there are multiple dialects and regional differences. It has been noted over time that the complexity of the English language and its variations have made even the native speakers in the United States of America not to speak the language properly. The accents and dialects which exist form other countries which speak English make it hard to understand the language. Through the different dialects which are spoken in the country and across the world, one can tell the difference between individuals and also the cultural values that one subscribes to. The use of a particular dialect means that an individual belongs to a particular group that uses the dialect. The existence of several dialects also means that the country is highly diversified. In the United States of America, there are various dialects which are spoken across the country, the most outstanding dialect is the Standard American English, there are also several regional variations (MacSwan, 2018). Although English dialects differ from one another, the language has been the same since it was first spoken in the country. However, social and linguistic scholars have found that the dialects have been diverging from one another. There are various things that we can learn from the dialectical diversity which exists in English in the US. The general expectation would be that because of the mass culture of the people of the United States would decrease the dialectical diversity in the country. However, this is not the case; many regions are now more divergent than they were many years ago. A classic example that should be noted is that of the African Americans who have developed a divergent dialectical English language across major cities in the country from that which is spoken by the whites. The dialect which has been created by the African Americans is however highly homogenous throughout the country.

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We can also note that the political forces throughout the country play a significant role in the changes in language that are experienced throughout the country. According to studies, there have been considerations that have been made to look at the geographical composition of different regions; this has also shown the parallels that exist between the variations of dialects in the United States of America (Labov & Fisher, 2015). There has been the reversal of political parties in the different states which are classified as the Red States and the Blue States, one of the main differences which have been used to classify these states is the different dialects which are used. This has even contributed to the outcome of the presidential elections in the recent past. Another aspect that we can learn from the dialectal variations of the English language in the United States of America is the historical and geographical aspects of linguistics. By looking at the dialectical differences which exist, we can be able to see the correlations which present the patterns of the issues of slavery and race. These issues can be traced back to the ages when the country was being formed. The different dialects that are used by different individuals can point out the beliefs or the culture of the person who is using the dialect.

References

Labov, W., & Fisher, S. (2015). African American phonology in a Philadelphia community. The Oxford Handbook of African American Language, 256.

MacSwan, J. (2018). Academic English as standard language ideology: A renewed research agenda for asset-based language education. Language Teaching Research, 1362168818777540.