Final Draft Regional Variation

Multidialectualism: Regional Variances
The question we posted deals with how regional dialect determines friendship or informal communication and then examines how that communication changes when we shift to conversing with other groups such as employers, and professors. Typically, the latter form of communication closely resembles Standard American English, or the dialect of English typically used in broadcasting or in an academic environment (Edwards 369). This shift from friendship communication to Standard American English indicates the presence of multidialectualism, which is common amongst most languages of the world. Throughout this paper I will discuss multidialectualism, and how regional location helps determine both informal communication (friendship communication) and formal communication (Standard American English).
Throughout the discussion it was often noted that friendship, or informal communication was “the most effortless and comfortable dialect to use.” These dextral and familiar qualities are indicative that informal communication is the style of speech we grow most accustomed to using while we were growing up and acquiring our social interaction skills. Considering the natural means and early period of acquisition, it can then be deduced that the dialect used in friendship or informal communication is most people’s native, or “first language.”
Usually when we communicate with our friends, as was mentioned in the discussion, our style of speech is colloquial and incorporates more slang terminology when compared to the Standardized American form of English. Also, when speaking informally, some people tend to alter words phonetically by omitting certain phonemes off words such as, /g/ in many present participle verbs. Another linguistic feature characteristic to informal communication is the addition of certain words or phrases such as many cuss words, and the phrases “you know”, “I don’t know”, and “like”. These are traits are general and seem to be part of a ubiquitous dialect in use amongst the younger generations of American English. However, there are traits that are more distinguishing between the different regional dialects and accents, such as phonetic pronunciation and word preference.
The major regional speech varieties are typically categorized into geographic setting, certain ethnic concentrations, social class, age, length of residency, and education (Johnstone 221). Many of the most distinct accents and dialects in English exist in cities/regions that are older, and have a high concentration of a certain ethnic groups such as German, Scandinavian, Dutch, Irish, English, etc. For all speakers of English, or any language for that matter, these aspects help influence the way in which our dialects and accents are developed. However, some current research on regional dialectology suggests that there are additional, more influential reasons for variation (Johnstone 222). These reasons include, strength of a person’s social ties in a community, the value a person holds for their community audience, and also the value that person holds for the community itself (Johnstone 222). Here, this demonstrates the strength of community influence, rather than just an absolute regional influence on dialectology. Since different communities can exist within a region, this explains the phenomena of multidialectualbility that many speakers possess.
As many people noted in the discussion, most speakers of a language are mutually intelligible with some of the other dialects of that language and do shift their speech styles when they are interacting with speakers of a different community, or group. . Typically, people alternate between various dialects by means of formal and informal communication, usually using the standardized version of a language for formal communication, and their “first language” for informal communication. The reason for the utilization of the Standard version of a language when communicating with a professional community can be explained by the power and dominance that certain dialect holds in a society (Edwards 369). When a certain region or community contains the most people of power, that region’s dialect becomes the standardized version of that language. Since education is highly valued within our society, the people who are educated, professors, and employers are typically the people in power. This dominance in turn usually causes people to abandon their regional or generational dialect and conform to the formal or standard dialect when they are communicating with professors or employers, as a sign of respect, or to receive proper acknowledgement.
In conclusion, regional location and the various communities within a society are highly influential in the development of a person’s speech style and accent. The interaction with these various communities in turn prompts multidialectualism and incites a person to utilize various dialects in different situations of communication. In the Western Region of the United States, speakers are often faced with two main situations of communication: friendship or peer communication and formal communication where a close version of Standard American English is spoken. Since we live in a Western society that highly values education and enables it to be a determinant of dominance and power, it would be interesting to see what the standard dialect would be in a society whose power determinant is religion, or physical strength. What other types of dialect would there be? What would be some situations where multidialectualism is necessary and to what extent would it be necessary?