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VOA日常语法2022--Language Variation in the US

时间:2022-06-07 00:57:29

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Language Variation in the US

Today on Everyday Grammar, we will explore some differences in American English spoken in different regions, or parts of the country.

The United States is a large country, and there are areas where people use different words for the same thing or say the same words differently.

Although school systems across the country teach standard American English, many Americans grow up speaking non-standard American English. These varieties are also called dialects. People may not even realize they are speaking a non-standard form of the language.

Let us look at some vocabulary and pronunciation differences from different regions of the United States.

Vocabulary

One of the main features of different regional varieties of American English is vocabulary. Different words can be used for the same idea or concept, depending on the region of the U.S., such as the Northeast, the South, the Midwest or the West.

Take for example a kind of cloth shoe that is worn for informal times or for sports. What would you call this?

Many Americans in the South, Midwest, and the West Coast call sports shoes "tennis shoes." It does not matter if they play the sport of tennis. The shoes just might be their everyday shoes. They call them "tennis shoes" anyway. In parts of the Northeast and some parts of southern Florida, they use the word "sneakers."

Sugary, carbonated drinks have different names depending on where you are from.

In the Midwest, the western part of the state of Pennsylvania, and parts of the Appalachian Mountains, especially in the state of West Virginia, people call the drinks "pop."

In parts of the Northeast and the West Coast, they are called "soda1." In addition, people in some southern states use one name for all those kinds of sugary drinks. They call it "Coke," which is short for Coca Cola.

For our final vocabulary word, we have the insect that flies at night in the summertime and lights up. In parts of the Northeast and West coast, the word "firefly" is commonly used. In parts of Appalachia, the Midwest, and the South, "lightning bug2" is probably most common. Sometimes people in the U.S. use both words.

Pronunciation

In the U.S., people say some of the same words in different ways, depending on where they grew up.

Take for example a small stream of water that flows into a river. Most Americans say this word as "creek3" with a long /ee/ sound, like in the word "beet4."

But in some parts of Appalachia like western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the Ohio Valley, you might hear this word with a /i/ sound, as in "creek," like in the word "tip."

Our next pronunciation variation is a full merger5 of two vowels7, the / ɒ / as in the vowel6 sound in "bother" and the / ɔ / vowel as in "saw."

In most variations of American English, these two vowels are separate and different. You can hear this difference in the words "caught" and "cot."

In some varieties of American English, especially in the eastern mountains of Appalachia, these two vowels have merged8 into one, like in the word "cot." These two separate words, caught and cot, sound the same in that pronunciation.

Our final pronunciation variation is a difference in how many syllables9 make up the word, "caramel." Syllables are the parts a word is naturally divided into when pronounced.

"Caramel" (two syllables) or "caramel" (three syllables) is a light brown candy made from butter, sugar, and milk. In much of the Northeast and parts of the South, this word is pronounced with three syllables, /CA-ra-mel/. In parts of the Appalachian Mountains and much of the Midwest, many Americans pronounce this word with two syllables, as in /CAR-mel/.

These two pronunciations can have different meanings depending on the speaker or region. Caramel (two syllables) may mean a mixture of just sugar and water that that turns brown when boiled. Caramel (three syllables) may mean the light brown candy.

Closing thoughts

Today we looked at some differences in vocabulary and pronunciation in regions of the US. There are several varieties of American English including cultural and ethnic10 varieties, which we have not covered. If you liked learning about these variations in American English, please write to us in the comments. We would love to share more about this subject!

Finally, let us end this report with some homework. Do you know of any variations or dialects in your first language? Or have you heard about other variations in American English? Write to us at [email protected] or in the comments and share what you know about language variation!

Words in This Story

region — n. a part of a country or the world that is different or separate from other parts

standard — n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable

varieties — n. numbers of different things

dialects – n. a form of language people speak in a particular part of a country

vocabulary –n. the words that make up a language

pronunciation –n. the way in which a word is normally or correctly said

features – n. usual qualities or important parts of something

concept – n. an idea of what something is or how it works

beet – n. a garden plant with thick leaves and a rounded red root tip – n. a piece of useful advice

merger – n. the combing of two things into one

cot – n. a fold-up bed made of cloth


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1 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
2 bug 5skzf     
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
参考例句:
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
3 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
4 beet 9uXzV     
n.甜菜;甜菜根
参考例句:
  • He farmed his pickers to work in the beet fields. 他出租他的摘棉工去甜菜地里干活。
  • The sugar beet is an entirely different kind of plant.糖用甜菜是一种完全不同的作物。
5 merger vCJxG     
n.企业合并,并吞
参考例句:
  • Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
  • Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。
6 vowel eHTyS     
n.元音;元音字母
参考例句:
  • A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
  • The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。
7 vowels 6c36433ab3f13c49838853205179fe8b     
n.元音,元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
8 merged d33b2d33223e1272c8bbe02180876e6f     
(使)混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 ); 相融; 融入; 渐渐消失在某物中
参考例句:
  • Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
  • The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。
9 syllables d36567f1b826504dbd698bd28ac3e747     
n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a word with two syllables 双音节单词
  • 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓,它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
10 ethnic jiAz3     
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的
参考例句:
  • This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏,这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
  • The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

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