Do You Speak American?

Do you put your groceries in bags or sacks? Dialect and language “rules” are determined by the region / social class / ethnic group involved. A Short hand that becomes common based on common practice Language expresses group identity – who’s on the inside and who didn’t get the memo.

Ebonics Emerge African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) aka “Black English” or “Ebonics” Used frequently by African Americans – especially those from working class or inner-city areas. Looked down upon by many as an ignorant form of the language. We all master different versions of our language – and use them depending on our social context.

Department of Ms. Information Gender differences in language.  Men swear, women use qualifiers.  Are these because of gender or because of gender roles? 1970’s U.S. Department of Labor rewrote job titles to become more gender inclusive  stewardesses became flight attendants. Ms. Meant to be similar to Mr. by not identifying marital status.  Used as a “trendy” alternative to Miss  Identify an unmarried (divorced or widowed) woman “You Guys” … meaning everyone, not just males.

How’d we get here? The U.S. was founded on diversity. We embrace other religions, political view points, ethnicity. Why only one language?. The 19 th century bilingual schooling was common As immigration increased, public schools made the shift to English. Public transactions were later required to be done in English

What do you call a person that speaks one language? American Immigration reforms in the 1960’s brought Spanish, Russian and a variety of Asian languages 1970’s court ordered bilingual education Bilingual Ed can be controversial as many people fear the programs are designed to preserve minority language – not teach English Supporters of Bilingual Ed fear that this reduction in language signals a step back to isolationism