1. Understanding Jim’s
Dialect
Important words and rules in
understanding his dialect

2. Jim’s Dialect D words
 Dat –That
 Da –There
 De – There
 Dis – This
 D = Th “eth” sound
 Dese =
 Dey=

3. Jim’s Dialect Mixed up Vowels
 Ef – if
 ‘Uz – was
 Er – of
 Peck – pick
 Git – get
 Jis – Just
 En - and

4. Jim’s Dialect Key words
 Pooty – pretty
 Awluz – always
 Widder – widow
 Arter – After
 Fust – first
 Nuffn – nothing
 Kinder – kind of
 Chile - child

5. More Keys to Understanding Jim
 Thoo – Through
 Why isn’t it Doo?
 A-gwne or gwne – Agoing or going
 ‘ – stands for a dropped letter.
 Hard to find a pattern for ‘
 ‘Uz – wuz – was
 ‘a’ – of

6. Final Keys to Understanding Jim
 Try to read Jim’s and Huck’s dialogue with a
southern accent.
 If you are struggling, try to read Jim’s dialogue aloud
phonetically (Hooked on phonics) and Listen to what
Jim is trying to say.
 Keep going if you get confused and go back to figure
it out if you need to. If you think you understand t
general point Jim is making, continue on.
 Use context clues to help understand what Jim is
saying.

7. Practicing Understanding Other
River Dialects