Do You Speak American Worksheet

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Do You Speak American Discussion Questions You are expected to answer ALL PARTS of ALL of the following questions. Save this as a word document & then type your answers below each question in a bold dark color! Then, submit as an assignment:-) Pronunciation in New England (DYSA/1) 1. Lobsterman/Pronunciation in Maine : MacNeil says, “Mainers fear that their dialect . . . is coming to the end of the road.” How might a decline in a way of life be related to a decline in a way of speaking? Does one cause the other or do they just coincide? Can there be one without the other? 2 . Buying a car: Pam Head, the Massachusetts native, tells a story of living in Oklahoma, where people did not understand her pronunciation of the word car as “cah.” If Head had remained in Oklahoma, do you think she would have continued to use her Massachusetts pronunciation? If you have ever moved from one dialect region to another, did you notice yourself changing your pronunciation? If so, why? In order to be understood? In order to fit in? For some other reason? Have you ever noticed other people changing their pronunciation? Which is harder, adopting new and strange vocabulary items or modifying pronunciation? What are the advantages and disadvantages of trying to adopt a different regional dialect? Language Attitudes/Dennis Preston on the train (DYSA/1) 3a. Dennis Preston: MacNeil says, “Americans are ambivalent about language. They may think that New York and Southern accents are bad English but they can also find them charming.” Do you agree that Americans are ambivalent about language? Do you share the sorts of feelings MacNeil describes? Do you consider your own variety of English to be prestigious or stigmatized? 3b . Dennis Preston: Dennis Preston studies Americans’ perceptions and attitudes about English, called folk linguistics. Do you
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