Accents and Dialects in the United States

"Come on, you guys!"

Let's take a look at the way people talk.

Have you ever wondered why people in different parts of the United States talk the way they do?

We will learn about accents and dialects. Accent is all about pronunciation. Dialect refers to a whole language – grammar and vocabulary, and usually accent. A person’s accent is usually the first sign that they’re from someplace else.

Did you know that dialects and accents have changed through the years? There were many foreign people living in the North. All of the different cultures helped form the northern dialects and accents.

At the end of the 19th century people who lived in the South were happy just to stay in one place. There were not many foreign people living in the South at that time. This is why southern dialects and accents have not changed very much.

The dialects of the west coast came from the many immigrants who moved there. These dialects and accents also came from people who moved across the United States as that newly discovered gold called their name!

Some of the people who were traveling across the country settled in the middle part of the country. These dialects and accents are a mixture of north and south.

This site was created by Amberley, Jacob, Janae, Jericha, and Mikala for ThinkQuest 2005