DIALECTS

WHAT IS DIALECT?

• It's a version of a language
• Dialects use different vocabulary
• They use different punctuations
• Grammar style also makes dialect distinguishable

3 AMERICAN DIALECTS

• New England, Southern, Western/General America
• Estimated total of 24, maybe more!
• Different cities and towns have dialects
• Have been investigated for a century

STANDARD VS. NON-STANDARD DIALECT

• Proper vs. Improper Word Choice
• Non-Standard Dialect Users Can Be Unaware
• Education tends to lead to Standard Dialect
• Non-Standard usually includes much slang
• Both are ways to communicate

DIALECTS VS. LANGUAGE, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

• A dialect is a linguistic convention
• Dialects are mutually intelligible
• Languages are not mutually intelligible
• Dialect pronunciation is called an accent

TWO CHARACTERS FROM OMAM THAT USE A DIALECT

• Crooks use Southern dialect
• George and Lennie use Western dialect
• 2 main dialects OMAM - Southern, Western
• All characters have Non-Standard Dialects

WHAT DOES THEIR DIALECT TELL US?

• Crooks was treated as a slave
• George and Lennie lived in West
• The ranch is somewhere around Southwest
• They grew up uneducated, probably poor

WORKS CITED

• Gasser, Michael. "Idiolects and Dialects." Indiana University. Indiana University, 12 Apr. 2013.
• Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
• Nordquist, Richard. "What Is the Definition of Dialect?" About. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2014
• Nordquist, Richard. "What Is Nonstandard English?" About. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.

WORKS CITED

• Steinbeck, John. "Of Mice And Men". Penguin Classics: 1937. Book. 15 Sept. 2014
• Wolfram, W. "American Varieties." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014