Do You Speak American?

           

             This week we watched a series called “Do you Speak American?” The series talked about how the English language in America changes as you travel across the map. In every area of our country there is a different kind of accent or dialect.

            One of the more interesting things brought up in this movie was in southern texas, many Hispanic people believed that Spanish was going to become a second language. They said that so many people were moving to America from Mexico, that Spanish will soon be a prominent language in the U.S. Many of those people already speak Spanglish, which is a mixture of English and Spanish when they are talking.

In a school in California they were trying to find out if having a special class teaching proper English would benefit children who spoke African American English (AAL). They found that the children in the class were progressing. Many people do not realize the AAL is an actual language. They think that the people are just using bad English.

            If you live in the United States, you're likely aware that there are a handful of regional accents across the country, many of which are immediately recognizable. I've found a map that details the boundaries of each of the major regional American dialects.

Where do you fit in?