In Erica J.Benson's introduction she discusses some studies that show folk boundaries parallel linguistic divisions while other studies show subjective regions are influenced by political and civil demarcations. The linguistic atlas of the North Central states (LANCS) never produced a definitive map of the dialect boundaries of the area. She compares three boundaries, LAP,DARE, and TELSUR. Northern boundaries are similar; southern boundaries are not.
The method she uses is a pilot study of 12 respondents from four cities in different regions of Ohio, all were upper working/ lower middle class ages 30-70, five female and 7 male, all lifelong residence of their area. She used two survey instruments. One is a blank map of Ohio and surrounding states where they circle and label areas where people speak differently; The second is a degree of difference task where they rank 24 cities on a four point scale indicating the difference in speech from where they live.
Findings were that they did not agree. Some of the respondents used geographic boundaries such as interstate 70 or the Ohio River. Others used communities such as the Amish/Mennonites, blacks, coal miners, Dutch and other cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Boundaries also included urban vs. rural and educated and non-educated identies.
In the discussion section she discussed three findings. First, perception of different dialects can be collected in a small area; a small group of 12 made judgements for the survey. Second, people from different part of the state respond differently; these differences could be explained by their exposure to speakers, the amount of travel, the small sample size, and their linguistic security and insecurity. Lastly, Perceptual dialectology and Traditional dialectology can yield similar results.
What is your perception on dialect boundaries? Do you want to maintain a distinct identity from others?
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10 comments:
I think the process of mapping out dialect boundries is very interesting. Not only can you see how different people speak across a region, but how drastically different even people in close proximity can speak. People of different regions hold onto their dialects because they help to define their culture. Their dialects show the level of importance they put on correct grammar, slang, and variety of vocabulary. Also, by having a distinct dialect, members in a group can recognize each other in other places and automatically feel as if they have something in common. Dialects are obviously advantageous for a group, but this should not prohibit them from understanding a more Standard English in which they can use in academia and the professional world.
I think that dialect boundaries is an interesting concept; yet, I do not think that the boundaries can ever be truly concrete. I have noticed in the many jobs I have had that dialects do not stop or start at any particular place. Instead, dialects seem to blend in with one another and slowly phase out as another progresses. Some of the people I worked with in Mt. Vernon spoke a little bit differently than I did, yet, they were completely capable of understanding the language I was using. Also, there are many instances where there are different dialects within a town such as AAE in Murphysboro, and many of my friends from Murphysboro speak like me and do not use AAE. As I have said it is an interesting concept but, I do not see how it will ever be figured out how to map such a thing.
I don't think this study can give an accurate finding, due to the small population that was surveyed. Even if there was a large nuumber surveyed, everyone's perceptions are dfferent. I think this question is very hard to reserach and answer. There are a lot of variables involved that confound the findings.
I think that dialects definitely have boundries; however, these boundries get fuzzy when people move or mingle with others from different regions. For me, dialects are important. They give a certain distinction to a person. It is another thing that makes you who you are. Not to mention, it gives one a tie to home that might never go away.
Language has many different boundaries. Whether its the language or the dialect. Whether a person is from one side or the other of a country, their speech or vocabulary that they will use could differ greatly. It is hard to conceptualize the boundaries of dialects. Which is why, we shouldn't put boundaries of dialects. We should accept other peoples ways of communication, even when it sounds different from what we are used to.
This article was interesting in the fact that they map out people of different dialect from different regions. It was not until I begin traveling with my husband for his work that I realized there are so many different dialects. However I do not think that someones dialect should matter. Many people have different dialects is it really that important to understand?
After reading this article, I had a better understanding of how many dialects there really are. I thought that the maps within the article were interesting, although some of them were hard to understand. It's almost intriguing to think that within the United States, there are so many different dialects that Americans speak.
In general, I think that the most noticable changes in dialect occur when a comparison of northern and southern speakers takes place. As for the eastern and western differences, I they are only obvious in extreme cases. For example, comparing individuals from Seattle, WA and Brooklyn, NY would yield such results.
I personally like how different every person's dialect sounds. It makes everyone unique, not to mention it can be a great conversation starter.
I believe this process to be very interesting. People always speak differently but how drastically different they speak, even in close regions is interesting to learn about. These dialects show a level of importance that they put in slang, grammar, and a variety of voacb. A plus with having different dialect is one can recgonize their dialect and immediately feel like they have something in common.
I have always thought the study of dialects and their boundaries was interesting. I would like to see what a more broad-scale study of this type would find. Dialects are an important part of anyone's identity, and no two people, even from the same area, will have exactly the same speech patterns.
I have never heard of LANCS, so this was very interesting to read aout. I never knew dilects were mapped out like this. I think there can be some advantages in locating these boundaries, but locating these boundaries will have their disadvantages as well. These people can eventually be labled or seperated by neighboring communities. Yet, learning about these boundaries can help everyone learn more about the region and cultures. I think more studies need to be conducted in order to support this one; this was just a small region.
I don't think this study can be considered accurate do to the small sample it used. I also believe that you cannot map out dialect. I feel dialect has no boundaries. People move and bring their dialects with them, and they could keep it that way. Just because someone moves or is in a different setting doesn't mean their dialect disappears.
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