How We Talk

by Metcalf, Allan A.

• ISBN13: 9780618043620
• ISBN10: 0618043624
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

Where are you when people go to the coast instead of the beach tote things as well as carry them wait on line instead of in line get groceries in a paper sack instead of a paper bag say things like "The baby needs picked up" and "The car needs washed" eat solid rectangular doughnuts that are also called beignets complain when something is spendy ("costly") are chilled by a blue norther ask for tonic instead of soda go "dahntahn" to shop. Allan Metcalf answers these and many other fascinating questions in his new book, How We Talk: American Regional English Today. In short, delightful essays, Metcalf explains the key features that make American speech so expressive and distinct. He begins in the South, home of the most easily recognized of American dialects, and travels north to New England, then on to the Midwest and the far West, even to Alaska and Hawaii. It's all here: the northern Midwest "Fargo" accent, Louisiana Cajun and New Orleans Yat, dropped r's as in Boston's "Hahvahd Yahd," and intrusive r's as in "Warshington," especially common in America's midlands. With additional chapters on ethnic dialects and dialects in the movies, Metcalf reveals the resplendence of one our nation's greatest natural resources -- its endless and varied talk.

Author Biography

Allan Metcalf is a professor of English at MacMurray College, executive secretary of the American Dialect Society, and author of books on language and writing. His books on language include AMERICA IN SO MANY WORDS (with David K. Barnhart), THE WORLD IN SO MANY WORDS, HOW WE TALK: AMERICAN REGIONAL ENGLISH TODAY, PREDICTING NEW WORDS, and PRESIDENTIAL VOICES. His books on writing include RESEARCH TO THE POINT and ESSENTIALS OF WRITING TO THE POINT. He lives in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Note on Sources	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
THE SOUTH	1	(54)
The Upper South of South Midlands	39	(16)
THE NORTH	55	(64)
New England	62	(17)
New York City and the Mid-Atlantic	79	(14)
The Inland North	93	(26)
THE WEST	119	(36)
The Mountain West	122	(9)
The Far West and Beyond	131	(24)
AMERICAN ETHNIC	155	(22)
IN THE MOVIES	177	(14)
DIALECTS 21000	191	(4)
INDEXES
Word Index	195	(6)
Subject Index	201