The main information about Southern and Northern American English

6) Last but not least, there may be a marked difference in frequency characteristics. Thus, time-table which occurs in American English very rarely, yielded its place to schedule. This question of different frequency distribution is also of paramount importance if we wish to investigate the morphological peculiarities of the American variant. Practically speaking the same patterns and means of word-formation are used in coining neologisms in both variants. Only the frequency observed in both cases may be different . Some of the suffixes more frequently used in American English are: -ее (draftee n 'a young man about to be enlisted'), -ette (tambour-majorette 'one of the girl drummers in front of a procession ), -dom and -ster, as in roadster 'motor-car for long journeys by road' or gangsterdorn [4; 267].

American slang uses alongside the traditional ones also a ew specific models, such as verb stem+-er-f-adverb stem-rc, e. g. opener-upper 'the first item on the programme' and winder-upper 'the last item'. It also possesses some specific affixes and semi-affixes not used in literary colloquial: -o, -eroo, -aroo, -sie, -stj, as in coppo 'policeman', fatso 'a fat man', bossaroo 'boss, chapsie 'fellow . The trend to shorten words and to use initial abbreviations in American English is even more pronounced than in the British variant. New coinages are incessantly introduced in advertisements, in the press, in everyday conversation; soon they fade out and are repla^d by the newest creations. Ring Lardner, very popular in the 30s, makes one of his characters, a hospital nurse, repeatedly use two enigmatic abbreviations: G.F. and B.F.; at last the patient asks her to clear the mystery.

"What about Roy Stewart?' asked the man in bed.

"Oh, he's the fella I was telling you about," said Miss Lyons. "He's my G.F.'s B.F."

"Maybe I'm a D.F. not to know, but would you tell me what a B.F. and G.F. are?"

"Well, you are dumb, aren't you\" said Miss Lyons. "A G.F. that's a girl friend, and a B.F. is a boy friend. I thought everybody knew that."

The phrases boy friend and girl friend, now widely used everywhere, originated in the USA. So it is an Americanism in the wider meaning of the term, i.e. an Americanism "by right of birth", whereas in the above definition we have defined Americanisms synchronically as lexical units peculiar to the English language as spoken in the USA. Particularly common in American English are verbs with the hanging postpositive. They say that in Hollywood you never meet a man: you meet up with him, you do not study a subject but study up on it.[4;268]

In British English similar constructions serve to add a new meaning. With words possessing several structural variants it may happen that some are more frequent in one country and the others in another. Thus, amid and toward, for example, are more often used in the United States and amidst and towards in Great Britain. The lexical peculiarities of American English are an easy target for ironical outbursts on the part of some writers. John Updike is mild-ly humorous. His short poem "Philological" runs as follows:

The British puss demurely mews',

His transatlantic kin meow,

The kine in Minnesota moo\

Not so the gentle Devon cows:

They low,

As every schoolchild ought to know.

          A well-known humourist G. Mikes goes as far as to say: "It was decided almost two hundred years ago that English should be the language spoken in the United States. It is not known, however, why this decision has not been carried out." In his book "How to Scrape Skies" he gives numerous examples to illustrate this proposition: "You must be extremely careful concerning the names of certain articles. If you ask for suspenders in a man's shop, you receive a pair of braces, if you ask for a pair of pants, you receive a pair of trousers, and should you ask for a pair of braces, you receive a queer look [4; 268].

I should like to mention that although a lift is called an elevator in the United States, when hitch-hiking, you do not ask for an elevator, you ask for a lift.

There is some confusion about the word flat. A flat in America is called an apartment; what they call a flat is a puncture in your tyre (or as they sp°II it, tire). Consequently the notice: FLATS FIXED does not indicate an estate agent where they are going to fix you up with a flat, but a garage where they are equipped to mend a puncture." Disputing the common statement that there is no such thing as the American nation, he says: "They do indeed exist. They have produced the American constitution, the American way of life, the comic strips in their newspapers: they have their national game, baseball — which is cricket played with a strong American accent — and they have a national language, entirely their own, unlike any other language."

This is of course an exaggeration, but a very significant one. It confirms the fact that there is a difference between the two variants to be reckoned with. Although not sufficiently great to warrant American English the status of an independent language, it is considerable enough to make a mixture of variants sound unnatural and be called Mid-Atlantic. Students of English should be warned against this danger.

1.3. Southern American English

This dialect region matches the borders of the Confederate states that seceded during the "Confederate War" and is still a culturally distinct region of the United States. Since it was largely an agricultural area, people tended to move around less than they did in the north, and as a result, the subdialects are much less uniform than those of the General Northern regions and have much more clearly defined boundaries. Other languages that had an important influence on it are French (since the western region was originally French territory) and the African languages spoken by the people brought over as slaves. People tend to speak slower here than in the north creating the famous southern "drawl." / is pronounced AH, and OO is pronounced YOO, as in "Ah'm dyoo home atfahv o 'clock. " An OW in words like loud is pronounced with a slided double sound AOO (combining the vowel sounds in "hat" and "boot"). Some local words are: boogerman,funky (bad smelling)Jwm/? the broomstick (get married), kinfolks, mammy, muleheaded, overseer, tote, y'all [3; 445].

SOUTH MIDLAND

This area, dominated by the Appalachian Mountains and the Ozark Mountains, was originally settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch moving south from the North Midland areas and the Scotch-Irish moving west from Virginia. A TH at the end of words or syllables is sometimes pronounced F, and the word ARE is often left out of sentences as they are in Black English. An A is usually placed at the beginning of verb that ends with ING, and the G is dropped; an O at the end of a word becomes ER. ("They a-celebratin' his birfday by a-goin' to see 'Old Yeller' in the theatah "). AT is frequently added to words that end with an S sound. Some words are: bodacious, heap, right smart (large amount), set a spell, and smidgin. American English has retained more elements of the Elizabethan English spoken in the time of Shakespeare than modern British English has, and this region has retained the most. Some Elizabethan words that are extinct in England are: bub, cross-purposes, fall (autumn), flapjack, greenhorn, guess (suppose), homely, homespun, jeans, loophole, molasses, peek, ragamuffin, reckon, sorry (inferior), trash, well (healthy) [3; 456].

OZARK

Made famous by the Beverly Hillbillies, this isolated area was settled by people from the southern Appalachian region and developed a particularly colorful manner of speaking [3; 456].

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN

Linguists are still studying the specific differences with South Midland, but most of the research has concentrated on the many archaic words that are still alive in its vocabulary rather than on its grammar and usage. A popular myth is that there are still a few remote regions here that speak an unchanged form of Elizabethan English, but it isn't true [3; 457].

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN ENGLISH

One such region that is notable for the many archaic features in its pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar is the Smoky Mountains, a small, thirty by sixty mile area located on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee (the size is exaggerated on the maps). However, while it has preserved a great many elements that once were - but no longer are - used in Britain, it has also developed a large number of unique features of its own. They is used in the place of there; subject-verb agreement can differ; and plural nouns may not end with an -s ("They's ten mile from here to the school"). An -est can be placed at the end of a word instead of most at the beginning (workingest, completest). Irregular verbs may be treated as regular verbs and vice versa, or they may be treated as irregular in a different way from more general dialects (arrove, blowed, cos ted). Like many of the other dialects discussed on this page, the decrease in isolation caused by the increases in mobility and literacy has caused Smoky Mountain to be much less spoken today than it was at the beginning of the twentieth century. Some local words are withouten (unless) and whenevern (as soon as) [3; 459].

SOUTHERN

As the northern dialects were originally dominated by Boston, the southern dialects were heavily influenced by Charleston, Richmond, and Savannah. They tend to drop Rs the way New Englanders do, but they don't add extra Rs. Some words are: big daddy (grandfather), big mamma (grandmother), Confederate War (Civil War), cooter (turtle), fixing to (going to), goober (peanut), hey (hello), mouth harp (harmonica), on account of (because) [3; 459].

VIRGINIA PIEDMONT

When an R comes after a vowel, it becomes uh, and aw becomes the slided sound, ah-aw. Thus, four dogs becomes fo-uh dah-awgs. Some local words are: hoppergrass (grasshopper), old-field colt (illegitimate child), school breaks up (school lets out), weskit (vest) [3; 460].

COASTAL SOUTHERN

Very closely resembles Virginia Piedmont but has preserved more elements from the colonial era dialect than any other region of the United States outside Eastern New England. Some local words are: catty-corner (diagonal), dope (soda, Coca-Cola), fussbox (fussy person), ker-nal (pit), savannah (grassland), Sunday child (illegitimate child). They call doughnuts cookie [3; 460].

OCRACOKE

Named for the island off the coast of North Carolina where it is spoken, this dialect is also called Hoi Toide (because of the way its speakers pronounce the long / sound in words like "high " and "tide ") and Outer Banks English to include the coastal regions of North Carolina and Virginia where it is also sometimes heard, ow becomes a long a so that "town" becomes "tain". Unlike other Southerners who tend to drop their rs, Hoi Toiders actually emphasize their rs. Overall it tends to resemble the Scottish and Irish dialects and is another area that is often incorrectly believed to be speaking an unchanged form of Elizabethan English. Some local words are mommuck (to bother) and quamished (nauseous) [3; 461].

GULLAH

Sometimes called Geechee, this Creole language is spoken by some African Americans on the coastal areas and coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolina and was featured in the novel on which the musical, Porgy and Bess, was based. It combines English with several West African languages: Mende, Yoruba, Wolof, Kongo, Twi, Vai, Temne, Ibo, Ewe, Fula, Umbundu, Hausa, Bambara, Fante, and more. The name comes either from the Gola tribe in Liberia or the Ngola tribe in Angola. The grammar and pronunciation are too complicated to go into here, but some words are: bad mouth (curse), guba (peanut - from which we get the English word goober), gumbo (okra), juju (magic), juke (disorderly, wicked), peruse (to walk leisurely), samba (to dance), yaw (sweet potato) [3; 461].

GULF SOUTHERN

This area was settled by English speakers moving west from Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas, as well as French speaking settlers spreading out from Louisiana, especially the Acadians (see "Cajuns" below). Some words are: armoire (wardrobe), bayou (small stream), bisque (rich soup), civil cat (skunk), flitters (pancakes), gallery (porch), hydrant (faucet), neutral ground (median strip), pecan patty (praline) [3; 462].

LOUISIANA                            

There's a lot going on down here. Many people in southern Louisiana will speak two or three of the dialects below. Cajun French (the Cajuns were originally French settlers in

Acadia, Canada - now called Nova Scotia - who were kicked out when the British took over; in 1765, they arrived in New Orleans which was still French territory) carries the highest prestige of the French dialects here and has preserved a number of elements from the older French of the 1600s. It has also borrowed some words from the Spanish who once controlled this area. There are many local variations of it, but they would all be mutually understandable with each other as well as - with some effort - the standard French in France. Cajun English borrows vocabulary and grammar from French and gives us the famous pronunciations un-YON (onion) and / ga-RON-tee as well as the phrase Let de good times role!, but movies about cajuns usually get the rest wrong. A famous authentic speaker is humorist Justin Wilson, who had a cooking show on PBS, with his catch phrase, How y'all are? I'm glad for you to see me. New Orleans is pronounced with one syllable: Nawlns. There is another dialect of English spoken in New Orleans that is informally, and some would say pejoratively, called Yat (from the greeting, Where y 'at), that resembles the New York City (particularly Brooklyn) dialect (more info). Provincial French was the upper class dialect of the pre-Cajun French settlers and closely resembles Standard French but isn't widely spoken anymore since this group no longer exists as a separate social class. Louisiana French Creole blends French with the languages of the West Africans who were brought here as slaves. It is quite different from both the Louisiana and standard dialects of French but is very similar to the other Creoles that developed between African and French on various Caribbean Islands. Married couples may speak Creole to each other, Cajun French with other people, and English to their children [3; 464].

1.4. Northern American English

GENERAL NORTHERN

This is sometimes also referred to as General American and is used in almost two-thirds of the country. It breaks down into the dialect regions below [3; 440].

NEW ENGLAND

Many of the Northern dialects can trace their roots to this dialect which was spread westward by the New England settlers as they migrated west. It carries a high prestige due to Boston's early economic and cultural importance and the presence of Harvard University. A famous speaker is Katherine Hepburn. They sometimes call doughnuts cymbals, simballs, and boil cakes [3; 441].

NEW ENGLAND, EASTERN

This is one of the most distinctive of all the American dialects. R's are often dropped, but an extra R is added to words that end with a vowel. A is pronounced AH so that we get "Pahk the cah in Hahvahdyahd" and "Pepperidge Fahm remembuhs. " [3; 441].

BOSTON URBAN

Like many big cities, Boston has its own dialects that are governed more by social factors like class and ethnicity than by geographic location. Greater Boston Area is the most widely spoken and is very similar to Eastern New England. Brahmin is spoken by the upper aristocratic class like Mr. Howell on Gilligan's Island. Central City Area is what most of us think of as being the "Boston Accent." In the last few years, Saturday Night Live has featured this dialect among a group of rowdy teenagers who like to videotape themselves. Also think of Cliff on Cheers, the only character on this Boston-based show to actually speak a Boston dialect [3; 442].

NEW ENGLAND, WESTERN

Less distinctive than Eastern, but more influential on the other Northern dialects [3; 442].

HUDSON VALLEY

New York was originally a Dutch colony, and that language influenced this dialect's development. Some original Hudson Valley words are stoop (small porch) and teeter-totter. They call doughnuts (which were invented by the Dutch) crullers and olycook [3; 442].

NEW YORK CITY

Unlike Boston and other urban dialects, New York City stands by itself and bears little resemblence to the other dialects in this region. It is also the most disliked and parodied of any American dialect (even among New Yorkers), possibly because many Americans tend dislike large cities. When an R comes after a vowel, it is often dropped. IR becomes 01, but 01 becomes IR, and TH becomes D as in "Dey sell tirlets on doity-doid street" and fugeda-boudit (forget about it). This pronounciation is particularly associated with Brooklyn but exists to some extent throughout the city. The thickness of a speaker's dialect is directly related to their social class, but these features have been fading within all classes over recent decades. Famous speakers are Rosie Perez, Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinnie, Archie Bunker, Bugs Bunny, and (if you're old enough to remember) the Bowery Boys [3; 443].

BONAC

Named for Accabonac Creek in eastern Long Island, this dialect is rapidly dying out due to the influx of people from other areas. Back when New York City belonged to the Dutch, this area was part of New England, and Bonac shows elements of both dialects [3; 443].

INLAND NORTHERN

Combines elements of Western New England and Upper Midwestern. Marry, merry, and Mary are pronounced the same. They call doughnuts friedcakes [3; 443].

SAN FRANCISCO URBAN

Unlike the rest of California, which in the early twentieth century saw an influx of people from the South and other parts of the West, San Francisco continued to be settled by people from the Northeast and Northern Midwest, and elements of their dialects (North Midland, Upper Midwestern, Inland Northern) can be found. Mission dialect, spoken by Irish Catholics in a specific part of the city is very much like the New York City dialect [3; 444].

UPPER MIDWESTERN

Originally settled by people from New England and New York State who brought those dialects, this area was also influenced by Southerners coming up the Mississippi River as well as the speech patterns of the German and Scandinavian immigrants and the Canadian English dialects from over the border. It's sometimes referred to as a "Midwestern twang." They call jelly doughnuts bismarks. Minnewegian (Minnesota / Norwegian), a subdialect spoken in the northernmost part of this region was spoofed in the movies Fargo and Drop Dead Gorgeou [3; 444].

CHICAGO URBAN

Influenced by the Midland and Southern dialects. Often spoken by the late John Belushi (Chicago's Second City comedy theater supplied many Saturday Night Live actors). SNL used to spoof it in the "Da Bears, Da Bulls" sketches. They call any sweet roll doughnuts [3; 445].

NORTH MIDLAND

Created as the people in Pennsylvania migrated westward and influenced by Scotch-Irish, German, and English Quaker settlers. This and the South Midland dialect can actually be considered a separate Midland Dialect region that serves as a transition zone between the north and south. They call doughnuts belly sinkers, doorknobs, dunkers, and fatcake [3; 445].

PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN-ENGLISH

This was strongly influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of German spoken by people in this area (in this context, "Dutch" is actually a mispronunciation of the German word, "Deutsch," which means "German"). Its grammar allows sentences like "Smear your sister with jam on a slice of bread" and "Throw your father out the window his hat. " They call doughnuts fasnacht, and they also invented dunking - from the German "dunken " (to dip) [3; 446].

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

Analysis of Southern and Northern American English

2.1. Practical analysis of Northern American English

We found examples of the use of a Northern American English dialect in the book of the known modern writer and teacher Liza Jane Smith with the name of this book "The Vampire Diaries: THE AWAKENING".

From the first pages of the novel we can see a lot of dialect words, on Northern American English dialect.

These words have absolutely other value and the use in original or general English, but in Northern American English dialect they mean and name usual things for given inhabitants. So, you can see it in the following examples:

1. There's no reason for me to be upset and every reason for me to be happy, but… - Нет ни малейшего повода для расстройства, зато есть миллион причин для радости, и все же… [6; 3].

The word “but” has meaning of “но” in General English. [11; 92], [12; 322].

2. So lost. – Такой тревоги. [6; 3].

The word “lost” means “потерянный, растерянный” in General English [10; 215], [12; 517].

3. When we turned onto our street I suddenly thought, "Mom and Dad are waiting for us at home”. -  Когда машина вдруг повернула на нашу улицу, я вдруг подумала: «Дома нас ждут мама и папа» [6; 4], [12; 798].

The word “turned onto” means “turned into”  in General English [9; 495].

4. I bet they'll be on the front porch or in the living room looking out the window. – Могу поклясться, что они окажутся на крыльце или будут стоять в гостиной, глядя в окно [6; 4].

This word in general English has following meaning “быть уверенным в чем-либо” [10; 99], [12; 300].

5. That sounds totally crazy. – Просто безумие, иначе не скажешь [6; 5].

This word means “повсюду звучать” in General English [8; 395], [12; 620].

6. And when Aunt Judith unlocked the door I burst inside and just stood in the hallway listening, expecting to hear Mom coming down the stairs or Dad calling from the den. – Когда же тетя Джудит отперла ее, я буквально ворвалась внутрь и замерла в коридоре, кажется, я ждала, что сейчас мама спустится по лестнице, а папа позовет нас из кабинета [6; 6].
7. Just then Aunt Judith let a suitcase crash down on the floor behind me and sighed a huge sigh and said, "We're home." – А потом тетя Джудит с грохотом поставила на пол тяжелый чемодан, тяжко вздохнула и вымолвила: «Вот мы и дома» [6; 6].
8. And the most horrible feeling I've ever felt in my life came over me. – А меня охватило ужасное смятение, в жизни я не испытывала ничего подобного [6; 7].
9. Why does that sound like a he? – Почему тогда все мне кажется здесь чужим? [6; 7].
10. This is my same old bedroom, with the scorch mark on the floorboards where Caroline and I tried to sneak cigarettes in 5th grade and nearly choked ourselves. - Это моя старая добрая спальня с темными отметинами на половицах, после того, как мы с Кэролайн в пятом классе попробовали курить и чуть не задохнулись [6; 8].
11. I can look out the window and see the big quince tree Matt and the guys climbed up to crash my birthday slumber party two years ago. – Выглянув из окна, я увижу большую айву, на которою в день рождения забирались Метт с ребятами, чтобы посмотреть на наш «ночной девичник» [6; 8].
12. I was too tired yesterday to go to Orientation. – Вчера у меня просто не было сил пойти на собеседование [6; 9].
13. Aunt Judith told everyone who called that I had jet lag and was sleeping, but she watched me at dinner with a funny look on her face.
14. - Всем, кто звонил, Джудит отвечала, что у меня расстройство биоритмов в связи с перелетом и что я сплю [6; 9].
15. We're supposed to meet in the parking lot before school. - Мы договорились встретиться на автобусной остановке перед школой [6; 10].
16. She finally chose a pale rose top and white linen shorts combo that made her look like a raspberry sundae. – Наконец она выбрала розовую блузку и белые шорты – в этом костюме она напоминала сливочное мороженое с малиновым сиропом [6; 10].
17. Good enough to eat, she thought, and the mirror showed a girl with a secret smile. Her earlier fears had melted away, forgotten. – «Я бы сейчас не отказалась от мороженого,» - подумала она, и зеркало тут же отразило ее задумчивую улыбку [6; 10].
18. Maple Street was deserted. – Кленовая улица была пустынна.