English in America: A Linguistic History

An overview of the American English dialect map; the difference between a language, a dialect and an accent; the rules governing all linguistic systems; how and why some varieties of language become valued standards, and others are stigmatized.

The main English dialect hubs in the new American colonies; how these are influenced by contact with languages such as Native American languages, Spanish, French and Dutch; the five stages of development English dialects typically undergo.

How the English settlers transform themselves from colonists to American citizens; how English in America becomes American English; myriad dialects begin to coalesce; an explosion of linguistic creativity, especially in the creation of dialect words.

America begins looking inward for its language standards; the new norms are recorded in dictionaries, spelling books and grammar; they are celebrated in American literary works; key figures in this stage of American English's development.

The westward expansion of American English; the New England dialect spreads across the North; the South extends to the Southwest; people in the middle intermingle; how "General American English" is born; where it is; who speaks it.

What to call a big road where one drives fast; how to pronounce the word "been"; where one's linguistic usages places them on the American dialect map; how linguists get data to make their dialect maps; how they decide where to draw dialect lines.

How the languages of the many immigrants who pour into America in the 19th and early 20th centuries give rise to distinctive ethnic dialects of American English; how they leave their mark on American English more generally.

The linguistic effects of the peoples of African descent who are brought to America as slaves; they go on to develop African American English, which is emulated by young people across the world; the dialect's intricate and consistent rules.

How changes in people's movement patterns and information affect language change; population movements between rural, urban and suburban environments; the Civil Rights Movement; the influence of Hollywood media; the dawn of the Internet age.

Considering the official language of the United States; how American language policies and attitudes shift back and forth over the centuries, from periods of relative tolerance to times of heightened fear; attempts at stricter language legislation.

The effects of immigrants from Latin America on American English; the fears facing some native speakers of American English; exploring the native English varieties developed by people of Latin American descent in the U.S.

The U.S. can look inward and focus on its linguistic and cultural diversity; regional dialect differentiation is actually increasing, not receding, even in the Internet age; the development of English as it continues to spread across the world.