SEPARATED BY THE SAME LANGUAGE

No, this is the line

to get tickets.
Is this the
queue?

In what country do people say queue? In what country do they say line?
Read the excerpt from a linguistic textbook about dialects.

DIALECT

A dialect is a form of a language with grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary that differ from other
forms of the language. A dialect develops when a group of same-language speakers are separated in
some way. Regional dialects develop when speakers are separated by geography such as rivers and
mountains. Social dialects develop when one group is separated from another socially because of
differences in economic class, level of education, culture, or age. A standard dialect is a dialect that is
mostly used in the media (TV, radio, and newspaper).

DIALECT CASE STUDIES

Case Study #1
“My son is very bright. He always does very well in school, but I worry that people won’t see that
because of the way he speaks. He uses a lot of the slang that’s popular with teenagers these days. I’m
afraid that people will stereotype him because of the way he talks. To me, he sounds uneducated and
rude. He says, though, it’s part of his identity and he would be a different person if he talked a different
way. Also, he says that all his friends talk that way and he wants to fit in with them”.

Case Study #2
“I have a Boston accent. When I lived in Boston, I never thought about it much, but I became aware of
my accent when I moved to the West Coast. People here always comment on my accent and sometimes
laugh when I say certain words. I don’t think they are intentionally trying to hurt my feelings; they just
don’t realize that it hurts me. It makes me feel self-conscious, and I’m always worried about what
people think of me. I want people to accept me the way I am.

Circle the answer that correctly completes the definition of each boldfaced words.

1. A bright person is ________.

a. happy b. intelligent
2. Slang is _________used by people in a particular group.
a. formal words b. informal words
3. To stereotype means to have ideas about what people are like because of how they ______.
a. play sports b. look or sound
4. A person’s identity is _______.
a. who a person is b. where a person lives
5. to fit in means to _____ others in a group.
a. be more fashionable than b. be similar to
6. To become aware of something means to _________ something.
a. know about b. stop
7. To comment on something means to __________.
a. give an opinion about b. ignore
8. When something is done intentionally, it is done__________.
a. by accident b. on purpose
9. Being self-conscious means being worried about what ________.
a. you think of other people b. other people think of you
10. To accept someone means to feel that the person __________.
a. is good enough b. should change
Listen to the interview between Lisa and Peter. Circle the best answer to complete each statement.

1. Before Peter came to the United States, he ___________ his accent.

a. felt self-conscious about
b. wanted to preserve
c. was not aware of
2. When Peter first came to the United States, he felt that he ______ because of his accent.
a. didn’t fit in
b. couldn’t communicate
c. didn’t meet people
3. Now Peter feels that his accent is _________.
a. helpful in his work
b. different than before
c. part of his identity

Listen again. Circle the best answer to complete each statement.

1. Peter grew up in ______ .

a. England b. St. Vincent c. Australia
2. Peter felt that some people thought he was not ______ because he talked slowly.
a. interesting b. confident c. intelligent
3. Peter got tired of explaining his ______ to people he met.
a. opinions b. culture c. background
4. Peter tried to change his accent so that he could fit in _______.
a. at college b. at work c. at home
5. Peter liked living at International House because everyone ___________.
a. accepted him b. spoke another language c. helped him change his accent
6. When Peter goes home to St. Vincent, his friends says that his accent ________.
a. sounds very American b. is more difficult to understand c. is exactly the same
7. Today Peter lives in _________.
a. St. Vincent b. the United States c. England
8. Now Peter _________ his accent.
a. is comfortable with b. still has problem with c. is trying to change

Discuss the question in a small group.

1. How did Peter’s feelings about his accent change? Can you understand why?
2. Do you think it is polite to ask people about their accents? Why or why not?
3. For several years, Peter felt self-conscious about his accent. Would you feel the same way? Why
or why not?
4. Peter says that a person’s accent is part of his or her identity. Do you agree? Explain your
answer.
LISTENING TWO: Code-Switching
You will hear a lecture on code-switching. In linguistics, the word code is used to mean “language” or
“dialect”.

Listen to the lecture. Fill in the missing information in the notes.

LINGUISTICS

Code-Switching = changing ________one language to another________

-Speak one language_____at school________

-Another language ______athome_______

Teen dialect (slang)

Parents ________dont understand and hate___________

e.g., To friend: “Gotta bounce. We gotta meet the crew.”

To dad: “We have to _____go__________

We’re meeting our ______friends downtown_____

Teens use teen dialect:

- to ______fit in_______ with friends

- to _______separate______ from adults

ALTERNATIVE SPEAKING TOPIC

1. Do you change the way you speak in different situations, or when talking to different people?
Why?
2. What do other people say about how you speak?
3. Who likes the way you speak? Who doesn’t like it?
4. Do you want to change the way you speak? Why or why not?
5. In what way is your speech a part of your identity?
Read the quotes. Choose the words or phrases from the box to complete the summaries of the quotes.

Accents code-switches self-conscious about

Accepts intentionally slang
As part of his identity obviously standard dialect
Aware of regional dialect stereotype to fit in with friends

1. “As soon as I heard my new coworker’s accent, I knew he wasn’t very bright.”
The speaker stereotyped her coworker because of his accent.
2. “It’s clear that John gave me the wrong information.”
The speaker is saying that John obviously gave her the wrong information.
3. “It wasn’t an accident that John gave me the wrong information.”
The speaker thinks John intentionally gave her the wrong information.
4. “In the United States, we pronounce words like class and water different than they do in
England.”
The speaker is giving an example of different acccents.
5. “Some teens say Gotta bounce, meaning “I have to go.”
The speaker is giving an example of slang .
6. “Mary Ellen sounds like she comes from the southern part of the country.”
Mary Ellen speaks a regional dialect .
7. “Roger sounds like the reporters on tv.”
Roger speaks a standard dialect .
8. “When I’m with my English-speaking friends, I speak English, but with my Chinese friends I speak
Chinese.
The speaker code-switches with his friends.
9. “I know that I speak with an accent, but people usually understand me.”
The speaker is aware of his accent.
10. “I get embarrassed when people don’t understand me because of my accent.”
The speaker is self-conscious about her accent.
11. “I use slang because all my friends talk that way.”
The speaker uses slang to fit in with friends .
12. “I use slang because it shows people who I am.”
The speaker uses slang as part of his identity .
13. “My coworker has an accent, but it doesn’t bother me. He’s a nice guy, do I don’t care how h
speaks.
The speaker accepts his coworker the way he is.

Read the conversation between two coworkers.

ABBY: This guy at work, I think he’s trying to be funny, but he keeps making fun of my accent.
Whenever I’m around, he starts talking in a really bad Australian accent and saying things
like, “G’day, mate!”

MARCO: Really? That’s annoying.

ABBY: I know! I want him to lay off, but I’m not sure how to tell him. I don’t want to be rude.
MARCO: Well, don’t worry about that—he’s the one being rude. And if you don’t like it, you have to
stick up for yourself and make him stop.
ABBY: Yeah, but I don’t want to make a big deal about it. I have to work with him every day, so I
don’t want him to be mad at me.
MARCO: Maybe, but his behavior really crosses the line. It’s not right for him treat you like that.
ABBY: You’re right. I shouldn’t get hung up about what he thinks. He’s not considering my
feelings.
MARCO: Exactly. Hey, how about talking to your boss? Ask her to deal with it. She can talk to him
and make him stop.
ABBY: Yeah. Maybe I’ll do that.
Match the phrases on the left with the definitions on the right.

___e____1. lay off a. worry too much about

___c____2. stick up for yourself
___d____3. make a big deal about it
___b____4. cross the line
___a____5. get hung up about
___f____6. deal with it
b. behave in a way that is not acceptable
c. defend yourself from criticism
d. make something more important than it should be
e. stop doing something that is bad or annoying
f. take care of a problem

ALTERNATIVE SPEAKING TOPICS

1. Describe a time that you get hung up about.

2. Describe a time when someone made a big deal about something.
3. Describe a time you saw someone get stereotyped because of the way he or she spoke, looked,
or acted.
4. Think of something that is an important part of your identity and describe why it is important.
5. Describe a time when you had to stick up for yourself or someone else in a difficult situation.
6. Describe a time when you had to tell someone to lay off.
7. Describe something you have done to fit in with a group of friends.
8. Describe a time you saw someone act in a way that crossed the line.
9. Give an example of the slang you use with your friends.
10. Give an example of when you code-switch between two dialects or languages.
11. Describe a problem you had and how you decided to deal with it.
12. Explain whether you have a standard or regional dialect in your native language.