Is this also true?
People who speak mainstream (or standard) English don’t think of themselves as speaking in a dialect.
People who speak mainstream (or standard) English don’t think of themselves as speaking in a dialect.
No dialect?
Real "Standard American English" isn't an actual L1 dialect (anymore, if it ever was) it's more of a talent... Because of this, people tend to think of their dialect as the standard... This is not so true in the south, where we tend to think of the people in the bigger cities (Atlanta, Houston, etc.) as having no accent.
Because Standard American is relatively close to the speech of the western states (think of the speech of people from Salt Lake City or Denver) these folks especially don't think they speak a dialect... My exgirlfriend started taking Linguistics (ended up getting her minor in it) but evidently having grown up in the valley and coming out of the valley without the "Clueless" dialect, she was very proud of the fact that she had no accent.
So yes, it's true, a lot of people, especially in certain areas of America, do not think they have an accent.
Because Standard American is relatively close to the speech of the western states (think of the speech of people from Salt Lake City or Denver) these folks especially don't think they speak a dialect... My exgirlfriend started taking Linguistics (ended up getting her minor in it) but evidently having grown up in the valley and coming out of the valley without the "Clueless" dialect, she was very proud of the fact that she had no accent.
So yes, it's true, a lot of people, especially in certain areas of America, do not think they have an accent.
<Real "Standard American English" isn't an actual L1 dialect (anymore, if it ever was)>
I thought it was a sociolect.
I thought it was a sociolect.
<So yes, it's true, a lot of people, especially in certain areas of America, do not think they have an accent. >
The speaker asked about dialect and not accent. Is there difference between those words?
The speaker asked about dialect and not accent. Is there difference between those words?
Technically, yes... When I think of "accent" I think of a foreigner speaking English, but a "dialect" is a subunit of a language. However, Americans tend to refer to the differences between their speech and "Standard American English" as an "accent" i.e. A southerner would almost always say "I have a Southern accent" rather than "I speak the Southern American English dialect"
<My brother still refuses to believe that he has an accent, no matter how often I tell him.>
Has he ever listened to himself on a recording? Because to ourselves our recorded voices often seem very different to what we feel them to be, doing so might cure him of this misconception.
Has he ever listened to himself on a recording? Because to ourselves our recorded voices often seem very different to what we feel them to be, doing so might cure him of this misconception.
I myself tend to use a somewhat different differentiation of "accent" and "dialect". I consider a dialect to simply be a variety that is spoken in some given area. On the other hand, I consider an accent to be the subjective perception of someone else's speech. I do not make any separation of phonology versus morphology, syntax, and usage as the basis of the primary distinction between the two, even though the subjectivity of perception of phonology is primary to what an accent is.
<A southerner would almost always say "I have a Southern accent" rather than "I speak the Southern American English dialect".>
Even when talking about differences in grammar use?
Even when talking about differences in grammar use?
<My brother still refuses to believe that he has an accent, no matter how often I tell him. >
Are you saying that standard english speakers also speak in dialect?
Are you saying that standard english speakers also speak in dialect?
<I myself tend to use a somewhat different differentiation of "accent" and "dialect". >
So you saying that standard english speakers do not use a dialect, are you?
So you saying that standard english speakers do not use a dialect, are you?
<I myself tend to >
Please, sir, why do you use "I myself"? Is not I" or " myself" enough?
Please, sir, why do you use "I myself"? Is not I" or " myself" enough?
dialect
1577, from M.Fr. dialecte, from L. dialectus "local language, way of speaking, conversation," from Gk. dialektos, from dialegesthai "converse with each other," from dia- "across, between" + legein "speak" (see lecture).
1577, from M.Fr. dialecte, from L. dialectus "local language, way of speaking, conversation," from Gk. dialektos, from dialegesthai "converse with each other," from dia- "across, between" + legein "speak" (see lecture).
<I myself tend to>
No, Guest, this is grammatically correct... Using "myself" here is similar to the emphatic form of pronouns in languages like Irish ("mise" literally translates to "I myself").
Standard English is, technically, a dialect, but not one that anyone actually speaks natively. (Standard American English, that is)
No, Guest, this is grammatically correct... Using "myself" here is similar to the emphatic form of pronouns in languages like Irish ("mise" literally translates to "I myself").
Standard English is, technically, a dialect, but not one that anyone actually speaks natively. (Standard American English, that is)
>>Standard English is, technically, a dialect, but not one that anyone actually speaks natively. (Standard American English, that is)<<
I would say that it is not properly a dialect because it is not actually spoken in a particular area in Real Life. Rather, I would simply call it, more generally, a "variety" or, more specifically, a "standard". However, I would call dialects that closely approximate or are for all practical purposes identical to General American actually "dialects", since they are extant varieties that are tied to particular locations.
I would say that it is not properly a dialect because it is not actually spoken in a particular area in Real Life. Rather, I would simply call it, more generally, a "variety" or, more specifically, a "standard". However, I would call dialects that closely approximate or are for all practical purposes identical to General American actually "dialects", since they are extant varieties that are tied to particular locations.
<However, I would call dialects that closely approximate or are for all practical purposes identical to General American actually "dialects", since they are extant varieties that are tied to particular locations. >
Isn't Standard English tied to the location of London?
Isn't Standard English tied to the location of London?