Do you Speak American? is a great site to start conversations with your language or ESL students and a great site to learn about regional differences, regional prejudices, the evolution of American English, why Americans make up more new words than any other English speaking country, and what lies ahead for American English.
Is American English in trouble? Apparently not according to professional linguists, they see “language reflecting a society that has become more informal in its dress and manners and more permissive in its sexual morality, but still quite concerned with correctness.”
Speaking is a part of culture and instead of trying to force everyone to speak alike linguists are finding a trend in our language that Americans are embracing different dialects as a part of our natural cultural heritage.
View the short videos with your students to discuss not only different dialects of American English, but the regional dialects of other languages and countries, such as Tagalog, Spanish, and Thai. Educators may find the curriculum units useful with high school and college students.
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