English in the Americas
| ACTIVITY NAME | ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
1. A list of key terms useful for the study of American English. | |
2. A page of links to websites on American regional dialects. | |
3. The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) collected hundreds and hundreds of questionnaires asking Americans about their speechways. Download a pdf with forty typical questions selected from the DARE survey. Browse through the questions to get a sense of how they collected data and the kinds of questions that elicited responses without leading the informant. Optional: Try out some of the questions on your acquaintances if you wish—usually the older the better. | |
4. What is the most taboo word in English today? In American English? This link takes you to a collection of readings on the topic. | |
NERDING OUT NORTHERN CITIES VOWEL SHIFT | 5. William Labov in this Youtube video demonstrates a sound change currently going on in northern cities like Buffalo and Pittsburgh. This PDF gives you more information on the Northern Cities Vowel Shift. |
NERDING OUT ANALYSIS OF A FIELD | 6. Almost any human activity can develop its own special vocabulary. This exercise asks you to identify a field and investigate which languages it draws from. |