Dialect

• “That ossified cake-eater over there with the cheaters on thinks his applesauce will land him a date."

Define

• What is dialect?

• Give examples

• Dialect refers to differences in accent, grammar and vocabulary among different versions of a language

2 FACTS ABOUT LANGUAGE

• 1) that language changes over time, and

• 2) that language use is linked to social identity.

Say these in past tense(t, d, or id)

• 1. Hop • 2. Knit • 3. Kick • 4. Score • 5. Stretch • 6. Bag • 7. Bat • 8. Explain • 9. Need • 10. Side • 11. Flex • 12. Burn

Standard English vs other dialects

Negative views of dialect

• Appalachian English (e.g., "She went a-hunting")

• African American Vernacular English (e.g., "Tuesdays, we be bowling")

• Southern vowel merger (e.g., pronouncing pin and pen the same)

• A SOUTHERN VOWEL PRONUNCIATION• In some Southern dialects of English, words like

pin and pen are pronounced the same. Usually, both words are pronounced as pin. The following is a list of words in which the i and e would be pronounced the SAME in these dialects.

• A. 1. tin and ten • 2. kin and Ken • 3. Lin and Len • 4. tinder and tender • 5. sinned and send

Activity 2: Dialect Samples

• What can you tell about the reader by the way he or she speaks?

• Where is the reader from?

• Is the reader educated or uneducated?

• How old is the reader?

• What is the reader's race? How can you tell?

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/africa/southafrica/southafrica1.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/africa/southafrica/southafrica8.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/georgia/georgia1.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/southcarolina/southcarolina3.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/kentucky/kentucky6.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/arkansas/arkansas1.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/asia/pakistan/pakistan2.mp3

• http://web.ku.edu/~idea/caribbean/jamaica/jamaica2.mp3

Dialect questions

• Why do dialects exist? Why do they vary?

• What can you tell about a person by the way he or she speaks?

• What influences dialects? Why do they vary depending on the region? the state? the neighborhood?

• What are the benefits of speaking in dialect? What are the drawbacks?

Group Work

• Participation: including taking notes on what is said

• contributing to the discussion

• listening carefully when others are speaking.

• 6-inch voices

• Work on the second set of questions with your group.

Homework

• Record a few examples of dialect you find particularly challenging from Roll of Thunder in your double-entry journal and focus your responses on what makes these examples so difficult to understand.

• Can you find any ‘rules’ about dialect in Roll of Thunder?