Y’all Talk Real Funny Huck Finn Dialect Activity

Y’all talk real funny Read the following article on a Dialect Survey that appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday, Jan. 12, mpl?id=2003_

Class Survey Take a class survey on how everyone pronounces certain words

Dialect Survey Check out the current dialect survey at

Key Terms Dialect –the form of spoken language peculiar to a region or social group Colloquialisms –the words or phrases of informal speech or writing

Mark Twain In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain wrote in the regional dialect of several different groups of people. He used inventive spelling to make these words sound the way someone would actually pronounce them with the accent of the region and used colloquial phrases of the time and place.

Dialect Activity In groups of 3 or 4, choose 2 quotes from Huckleberry Finn that contain heavy dialect – like Jim’s speech, not Huck Quote the lines from the book as Twain wrote them: –“… en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on the head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed.” (Chapter 15)

Dialect Activity Translate the lines literally by spelling correctly, writing out shortened/abbreviated words, etc. –… and trash is what people is that puts dirt on the head of their friends and makes them ashamed.

Dialect Activity Rewrite the line as it would be spoken today in proper modern English, including generic American expressions –Someone who would try to make a fool of their friend and make them feel ashamed is cruel.

Dialect Activity Then recreate the lines in another dialect in English. Any will do: Cajun, Bronx, Valley girl, island, Hip/hop urban, Spanglish, Shakespearean, Redneck, etc. Be creative! –Thou dost act like rubbish whence thou dost attempt to make a jester of me.

Dialect Activity You will place all of the above on poster paper and present to the class. Be sure all writing is visible and presentable to the audience Everyone in the group must present something –Read the lines as Twain wrote it –Read the translated words and modern version –Read the lines in the “other” dialects.