Chapter 11
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 |
|
Southern varieties of American English |
11 |
326 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Alabama |
|
|
Charleston accent |
11 |
327 |
The Speech Accent Archive: English 86 |
http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=150 |
|
Appalachian accent |
11 |
330 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Alabama Three (white female, born 1950, farm in NE Alabama) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama-3 |
|
Charleston accent |
11 |
330 |
The Speech Accent Archive: English 86 |
http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=150 |
|
Texas accent |
11 |
330 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Texas |
|
|
Virginia accent |
11 |
330 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Virginia |
|
|
Piedmont, NC accent |
11 |
331 |
The Speech Accent Archive: English 20 |
http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=78 |
|
Gullah |
11 |
333 |
NPR story 'New Testament' Translated into Gullah |
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5283230 |
|
Mississippi |
11 |
336 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Mississippi |
|
|
South Carolina |
11 |
336 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of South Carolina |
|
|
Standard American English |
11 |
336 |
International Dialects of English Archive: General American |
|
|
North Carolina |
11 |
336 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of North Carolina |
|
|
North Carolina |
11 |
338 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of North Carolina |
|
|
Texas accent |
11 |
339 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Texas |
|
|
Midwestern English |
11 |
339 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Illinois |
|
|
Asian accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of Asia |
|
|
Indian accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of India |
|
|
Middle Eastern accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of the Middle East |
|
|
Spanish accent |
11 |
345 |
The Speech Accent Archive: Spanish 1-88 |
http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=find&language=spanish |
|
French accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of France |
|
|
German accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of Germany |
|
|
British accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of England |
|
|
Swedish accent |
11 |
345 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of Sweden |
|
|
New York |
11 |
346 |
International Dialects of English Archive: New York Three (Puerto Rican male age 49, The Bronx) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/new-york-3 |
|
Puerto Rican |
11 |
346 |
The Speech Accent Archive: Spanish 15 |
|
|
Midwest |
11 |
346 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects of Illinois |
Discussion question
1. Listen to the clips of Southern English*. Can you tell in which region of the South these dialects are spoken? Can you hear the variation? Are some dialects more devalued than others? Which ones do you think would be most accepted by outsiders? Why do you think that is?
Videos
John Reep – “Southerners”
Comedy Central Stand-Up
http://comedians.jokes.com/jon-reep/videos/jon-reep---southerners
Gary Valentine – “Southern Accents”
Comedy Central Stand-Up
http://comedians.jokes.com/gary-valentine/videos/gary-valentine---southern-accents
These videos contain material for the discussion of perceptions of Southern accents, stereotypes of people who speak with a Southern accent, and strategies of condescension used to mock Southern English.
Discussion question
1. Analyze these two clips in light of what you have learned in Chapter 11. How is Southern English represented in these clips? What stereotypes of people who speak Southern English are apparent? Why does Gary Valentine imitate Southern English in his routine, and what does his use of Southern English reveal about his language ideology?
Further Resources
Bailey, G. and Tillery, J. (2006a) Sounds of the South. In W. Wolfram and B. Ward (Eds.) American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Bailey, G. and Tillery, J. (2006b) The Lone Star State of Speech. In W. Wolfram and B. Ward (Eds.) American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Cooke-Jackson, A. (2008) Appalachian Culture and Reality TV: The Ethical Dilemma of Stereotyping Others. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 23(3): 183–200.
Hazen, K. and Fluharty, E. (2006) Defining Appalachian English. In W. Wolfram and B. Ward (Eds.) American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Hyman, E. (2006) The All of You-All. American Speech, 81.
Tillery, J., Wikle, T., and Bailey, G. (2000) The Nationalization of a Southernism. Journal of English Linguistics 28(3): 280–294.
Links
Appalachian English
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/dictionary/index.html
Alphadictionary.com
Are you a Rebel or a Yankee?
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html
What Are People Saying about the Rebel-Yankee Test?
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/rebel-yankee_comments.html
A Glossary of Quaint Southernisms
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html
Sounds of the South
Do You Speak American?
http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/southern/sounds/
RSS & Blogs
Dialect Blog
Search for “Southern accent”
http://dialectblog.com/