Dialect: dialect, a distinctive variety of a language, spoken by members of an identifiable regional group, nation, or social class. Dialects differ from one another in pronunciation, vocabulary, and (often) in grammar.
Standard English: The variety of English that is generally acknowledged as the model for the speech and writing of educated speakers.
Jargon: The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group.
Slang: A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.
*ASSIGNMENT*
Go to: Harvard Survey of North American Dialects (hosted at University of Wisconsin)
http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html
a. Back in 2001, the linguistics department at Harvard University began a survey about North American dialects. I completed the survey while they were still seeking data, but they have since posted the results and turned over the hosting of their project to the University of Wisconsin. You don’t have to read through all 122 survey items, but click through some of them and compare your usage to the survey results.
b. Provide a significant comment about the survey or discuss with other students with several shorter comments to this post.
