“BRITAIN AND AMERICA are two nations divided by a common language,” said George Bernard Shaw. Our American language, sometimes blithely referred to as ‘English,’ sounds different depending upon what part of the country from which the speaker hails. The photo shows the USA dialect map, breaking down the various offshoots of our glorious language. Not all people who speak a language speak it the same way. A language can be subdivided into any number of DIALECTS, each varying in some way from the parent language. The term ACCENT is often incorrectly used in its place, but an accent refers only to the way words are pronounced, while a dialect has its own grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and common expressions as well as pronunciation rules that make it unique from other dialects of the same language. Another term, IDIOLECT, refers to the manner of speaking of an individual person. No two people's idiolects are exactly the same, but people who are part of the same group will have enough verbal elements in common to be said to be using the same dialect. One must have an ear for this sort of thing, which I definitely do not. Anyone who speaks to me with a heavy regional inflection may cause me to look to a companion for a translation. Since I reside in the American South, I have grown accustomed to the Southern drawl, which can be quite charming, as was the case with a lady I once knew whose speech was so unhurried it took her three syllables to say ‘Yes.’
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Check out our travel tips on diet and fitness.