PPT used to facilitate discussion about dialect and teaching literature for ECI 430, Class 12, Fall 2012.

1. EDCI 430: METHODS & MATERIALS
FOR TEACHING Language arts
in the middle grades
CLASS #10 /11 /12
Andrews LEA
Dialect – Ch. 8:
“Regional, Social, and Historical Variations”
Young

2. Andrew Text:
Guided Freewrite/Freethink
 What are the different speech communities
to which you belong?

3. Andrew Text:
Guided Freewrite/Freethink
 What are the different speech communities
to which you belong?
– Which of these are tied to social, regional and/or
cultural origins? Race, class, socioeconomic
status, and/or gender?

4. Framing Questions
for Discussion
of Language Differences
Questions:
 How do you understand the term dialect differently than you
did prior to your reading?
 What dialect would you say that you speak? Is it a social,
cultural, or regional dialect—or some combination of these?
Is the dialect you currently speak different than the one you
grew up speaking? What are its origins?
 What language attitudes (biases/prejudices) do you have (i.e.,
what are the things which bother you in others'
language/speech habits? What accents grate? What usages
raise your hackles?, etc.)?
 Where do you think you got these language attitudes/biases?

5. Accent v. Dialect
 An accent is just one feature found within the broader
concept of dialect.
 Accent refers only to a distinctive pronunciation,
whereas dialect includes not only differences in
accent, but variations in vocabulary use and grammar
as well. Dialects are characterized by variations
observed in 3 basic linguistic features:
– Lexical or vocabulary variations – ex.: frying pan v. skillet
– Phonological or accent variations – ex.: idear v. idea
– Grammatical variations – ex.: y’all v. you

6. DIALECT…
 For any observable & identifiable language variety to gain status as a full-
fledged dialect, it must have unique grammatical features.
 Dialect, then, refers to any language variety in which the speakers use a)
similar pronunciations, b) similar word choices, and c) their sentences are
grammatically different from other regional or social groups of speaker-
writers. Dialect pronunciations are also referred to as accent.
 Dialect varies according to the individual user and her or his regional,
social, and cultural ties.
 Regional dialects are tied to physical, geographical, natural barriers—
location—and vary from one region of the country to another.
 Social dialects (sociolect) are tied to social class and socio-economic
status and vary from one social class of society to another.
 Cultural dialects are tied to culture and ethnicity and vary accordingly.

7. Language Variation &
Teaching Literature
 What is the relevance? What are the
connections? Contexts? Applicable works of
literature?
 Why is a knowledge of language variations and
differences important in the context of teaching
literature? How can this help?

8. Dialect Myths / Ignotions
About Standard English (adapted, Andrews, 2 nd Ed., p. 197)
 SE is a clearly definable set of correct pronunciations,
grammatical structures, and word choices.
 SE is the kind of language that people should use for all
occasions. ―Standard‖ means most serviceable and negotiable
and therefore correct.
 SE is necessary for success in school and therefore employment.
Conformity to certain ways of using language is vital to success.
 SE is the best version of English for the expression of logical and
abstract thought since all the great English and American writers
as well as the business community use it.
 Some people, such as Blacks and hillbillies, speak a version of
English that is degenerate, evidenced by their sloppy
pronunciation, imprecise vocabulary, and violation of many
grammatical rules—all signs of inadequate language.

9. DEBUNKING THE MYTHS &
ADDRESSING THE ISSUES
 THE BASIS FOR A LANGUAGE STANDARD
 WHO DECIDES WHAT IS STANDARD AND WHAT IS
VERNACULAR?
 STANCES TOWARD LANGUAGE VARIATION
 TEACHERS’ STANCES
 STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE IDENTITIES
CONTEXT! CONTEXT! CONTEXT!
Mode of communication, Audience, Purpose, Situation!
These all effect language use and language choices!