Explores the characteristics of a useful myth and identifies and describes several in the field of social dialectology: autonomous linguistics, standard/nonstandard polarity, bidialectalism, and community accountability. (KM)

Examines several areas where traditional work in dialectology has proven inadequate. Outlines specific areas where sociolinguistics can make a substantial contribution. Discusses (1) the bias in dialectology toward the historical; (2) the relative lack of attention paid to the heterogeneity of the speech community and the variability of speech;…

Asserting that all dialect variation is accountable for in terms of social factors, this article strongly critizes the methods, assumptions and conclusions of geography-oriented dialectology. (FB)

The situation in the U.S. is different from that in England, France and other European countries: in each of those countries there is something that is known as the standard language, and a number of dialects apart from the standard language. There is also a rather close consensus on what the standard dialect is (especially on phonological lines).…

The first version of this Compilation was prepared in 1951 as a convenience to American scholars and others planning surveys of dialects of English who wished to know the kinds of questions that had proved useful for providing comparable data on pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and meanings. It was also intended to be a reference work to…

Part of Lexicography and Dialect Geography, Festgabe for Hans Kurath''. (DD)

Author explains the significance of a survey of student language, and gives a sample Checklist of School Language". (SP)

This study is a sociolinguistic analysis of the variant pronunciation of /aI/, a selected phonological variable, by white informants in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Through a purposive sampling procedure, 56 informants were interviewed to determine their pronunciation of /aI/. Informants were ranked according to education, income, and occupation to…

The major objectives of this investigation were to measure (1) the effects of phonological variations of representative speakers on the social perceptions of college student listeners from socially diverse backgrounds; (2) the influence of the race and class of the listeners upon their attitudes toward dialect differences and toward the speakers;…

Generally, the article describes and discusses topics and positions found in the literature on Black English. Specifically, particular attention is paid to certain articles and positions that misrepresent opposing opinions and facts of the area. (Author/RM)

This paper is the first in a compilation of articles reprinted by NCTE from the journal "Elementary English" and entitled "On the Dialects of Children." It comprises an overview of recent research in regional and social dialects in the United States. The "Linguistic Atlas of New England," the first section of the "Linguistic Atlas of the United…

This paper describes a graduate course for language arts teachers at Georgia State University in Atlanta, titled Social Dialects and Language Learning. Classroom procedures and activities in the course were organized into five cumulative, related phases to engage the teachers in useful fieldwork in order to achieve major objectives of the course.…

A study was conducted to explore the relationship of the pronunciation of /r/ to social class and age in the speech of whites in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Tape-recorded interviews were conducted with a sample of informants representing a cross-section of ages and social classes in the city. Conversation was elicited on a number of topics of common…

A survey of written and spoken Tennessee English was recently begun. Work is in progress on the first stage of the project, which involves the compilation of a bibliography. Data from the Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States (LAGS) and the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) will be examined in planning the survey itself. The next stage…