The document provides guidance on understanding the dialect used by a character named Jim in a story. It identifies key features of Jim's dialect including: replacing "th" sounds with "d" sounds; mixing up vowel sounds like "if" and "was"; and using words like "pooty" instead of "pretty". It encourages readers to read passages in Jim's dialect out loud and use context clues if passages are confusing. The purpose is to help readers understand Jim's dialogue despite differences from standard English.

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