English in the Americas

 

KEYTERMS

1. A list of key terms useful for the study of American English.

AMERICAN DIALECTS

2. A page of links to websites on American regional dialects.

DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN REGIONAL ENGLISH (DARE) 

3. The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) collected hundreds and hundreds of questionnaires asking Americans about their speechways.

READINGS ON THE N-WORD

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.

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.

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.