If you live and work in the United States, especially if you were born here, you probably don't give much thought to the various dialects that exist within our borders. Although certain regional accents, such as a Southern, Northeastern, or Midwestern accent, may be obvious, most of us would be unable to recognize a person's speech patterns beyond that very basic level.
However, citizens of the United States speak a variety of dialects, each of which has been influenced by the various languages brought to our shores by our forefathers, all of whom (with the exception of Native Americans) were immigrants from other countries.
Northern Dialects
Many Northern dialects, including New England, the Hudson Valley, and New York City, to name a few, were heavily influenced by early American settlers. This is especially true in New England, home to many of the original 13 colonies. In addition, Dutch settlers brought their influence to the Hudson Valley dialect, while German and Scandinavian immigrants influenced the Upper Midwestern dialect.
Western Dialects
Unlike the Eastern states, the languages of the Western United States were less influenced by European settlers. Instead, Spanish and Native American languages have influenced many Western dialects. Rocky Mountain, Pacific Southwest, Southwestern, Alaskan, and Hawaiian dialects are all included in this group. Notably, the Pacific Northwest dialect - which also falls in this category - is the only one to be significantly impacted by European immigrants. Those include people from England, Germany, Scandinavia and Canada. The Pacific Northwest dialect has an interesting combination of influences from these countries, as well as from many of the Native American tribes from this region.
Midland Dialects
North Midland, Pennsylvania German-English, Ozark, Southern Appalachian, and Smoky Mountain English are just a few of the dialects that fit under this category. Scotch-Irish, German, English Quaker, and Dutch are among the languages that have influenced these speech styles. Many of these dialects have taken on interesting characteristics over the years, resulting in some very unique and colorful ways of speaking - many of which are somewhat challenging to understand for an outsider.
Southern Dialects
Those dialects spoken in what were deemed Confederate states during the American Civil War are known as Southern dialects. This region, rich in history and culture, provides some of the most immediately distinguishable accents in the United States. In addition to being influenced by dialects of Northerners who settled in the South prior to the Civil War, Southern dialects are greatly influenced by the French language (remember that the western portion of the Confederate state region was once French territory) as well as African languages brought by slaves. Included in this broader category are dialects such as Virginia Piedmont, Coastal Southern, South Florida, Gulf Southern, and Louisiana, to name a few. The multiplicity of dialects seen in the United States is a reflection of our country's roots. After all, we are a nation of immigrants. As a result, it should come as no surprise that the dialects we speak have been impacted by both early settlers and slaves transported to this country against their choice.
Today, our dialects continue to evolve, now influenced not only by early settlers to this nation, but also by our new immigrants. In fact, if we revisit this topic in another 20 years or so, chances are we will be making significant additions to our list of influential languages as the "melting pot" of U.S. dialects continues to add new ingredients each and every year.
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