Week 13

I was able to make several connections during this weeks reading. I enjoyed exploring the importance of making students realize their own accents and the need for our students to have knowledge of this linguistic diversity. I think it’s very important to aware our students of the linguistic diversity that is among us and the different variations and dialects of the English language, especially since English is so commonly used (which relates back to our previous discussion on globalization). Here is a short video of a girl performing different impersonations of different “English” (some are dumb!):

As you can see, although this girl was only speaking one language, she was using different dialects and variations of this language to portray a certain demographic or culture. I have always assumed I spoke the “Standard English”, and was quickly informed that I had a strong Chicagoan accent while studying abroad with many students from the west and east coast. This came as a shock to me, but the more I paid attention to their words, the more I realized the difference. Especially after taking a linguistics class, I now find myself fascinated with how people pronounce things and why they do so! If our students are aware of these differences as well, then they can view English with an open mind and avoid confusion. It will also help them tolerate and be more knowledgeable of a certain community.