LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF AMERICAN ENGLISH IN THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER BY MARK TWAIN

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF
LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF
POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG MAI

LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF AMERICAN-ENGLISH
IN THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER BY
MARK TWAIN
(Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ của tiếng Anh Mỹ trong "Những cuộc
phiêu lưu của Tom Sawyer" của Mark Twain)

M.A. THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60.22.15

Hanoi – 2010


VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF
LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF
POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG MAI

LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF AMERICAN-ENGLISH
IN "THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER" BY
MARK TWAIN
(Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ của tiếng Anh Mỹ trong "Những cuộc
phiêu lưu của Tom Sawyer" của Mark Twain)

M.A. THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60.22.15
Supervisor: M.A., Van Thi Thanh Binh

Hanoi - 2010


i

certificate of originality

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and certify the best of my knowledge.
This thesis contains no materials that have been accepted as part of requirements for any other
degree or diploma in any educational institution nor previously published is written unless the
reference to the material is made.

Signature

Đỗ Thị Phương Mai


ii

Abstract
This study investigates the linguistic features of American English in the novel "The
adventures of Tom Sawyer" by an American author, Mark Twain.
The Introduction gives a rationale for the study and sets up the aims, scopes and

methods for the study.
Chapter 1 constitutes the study's theoretical background. It presents the issues relevant
to the study's topic including an overview about standard language, dialect, American English
dialect, Southwestern American English, certain information about Mark Twain, his works
and specifically the novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Chapter 2 investigates American English in "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" in
terms of phonology, grammar and lexis as well as a possible correlation between the social
status of a character and his/her use of the linguistic code.
The Conclusion sums up the issues addressed in the study and suggest some main
points for a further research.


iii

Acknowledgements

I would like first and foremost to thank M.A. Van Thi Thanh Binh, my thesis supervisor,
for her critical comments and valuable instructions without which this thesis could not
have been completed.

My indebtedness is also to my beloved family members whose help and encouragements
contributed greatly to the completion of my study.

Last but not least, I am grateful to my colleagues and my friends for their support
throughout the process of writing this thesis.


iv

Lists of tables and figures

Tables
List

1

The order

Table 1

Content

Phonological features related to consonants of Southwestern

Page

16

American English
2

Table 2

Phonological features related to vowels of Southwestern

34

American English in the novel
3

Table 3

Phonological features related to consonants of Southwestern

35

American English in the novel
4

Table 4

Phonological features related to connected speech of

36

Southwestern American English in the novel
5

Table 5

Grammatical features of American English in Mark Twain's

38

Tom Sawyer
6

Table 6

Slang words in utterances of characters belonging to different

43

social classes
7

Table 7

Distribution of colloquial features in the novel

44

8

Table 8

Colloquial features in the novel displayed by a variety of

47

characters
9

Table 9

Co-existence of standard and non-standard forms of the same

48

expression
10

Table 10

The frequent use of standard and non-standard forms of the

50

expressions above
11

Table 11

Example 1: because vs. becuz

51

12

Table 12

Example 2: Afraid vs. Afeard

53

13

Table 13

Example 3 : Knowed vs. Knew

54

Figures
1

Figure 1

The Southwestern American English vowel shift

17

2

Figure 2

Colloquial features in Twain's characters' speech

45


v

TABLE OF CONTENT
Certificate

of

originality

.............................................................................

i

Abstract.............................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgements.................................................................................................iii
List of graphs and tables ............................................................................... iv
Table of content ...................................................................................................... v

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 1
2. Aims of the study ............................................................................................................ 2
3. Scope of the study........................................................................................................... 3
4. Methodology ................................................................................................................... 4
5. Design of the study ......................................................................................................... 4

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1:

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1. 1. Standard language ....................................................................................................... 5
1. 1. 1. Definition of standard language.......................................................................... 5
1. 1. 2. Features of standard language............................................................................. 5
1. 2. Dialect ......................................................................................................................... 6
1. 2. 1. Definition of dialect............................................................................................ 6
1. 2. 2. Levels of dialects…………………………………………………….................7
1. 3. American English ..................................................................................................... 11
1. 1. 1. American English - a dialect of British English ............................................... 11
1. 1. 2. Features of American English dialect ……………………………………… 12

vi

1. 4. Southwestern American English............................................................................... 14
1. 4. 1.Phonological features of Southwestern American English ...................... 14
1. 4. 2. Grammatical features of Southwestern American English ..................... 18
1. 4. 3. Lexical features of Southwestern American English……………….. …24
1. 5. Mark Twain and "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" ............................................... 24
1. 5. 1.Mark Twain - the first 'truely' American writer ...................................... 24
1. 5. 2. The novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer"……………………… …29
CHAPTER 2:

DISCUSSIONS AND FINDINGS

2. 1. Linguistic features of American English in characters' utterences…………………..33
2.1.1. Phonological features of American English…………………………………... 33
2.1.2. Grammatical features of American English ………………………………….. 38
2.1.3. Lexical features of American English ………………………………….. …. …41
2. 2. Linguistic peculiarities of American English in characters' utterences…………... 48
2.2.1. Linguistic peculiarities of American English in characters' utterences……..... 48
2.2.2. Linguistic peculiarities of American English as a means of characterisation… 58

PART 3: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION
1. Issues addressed in the study ....................................................................................... 64
2.Issues not addressed in the study ................................................................................... 67
3. Application.................................................................................................................... 68
4. Suggestions for further study………………………………………………………… 69
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES

1

PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Language is a communicative means and also a social phenomenon. Human beings use
language to communicate among themselves as well as to construct the world around them.
The study of language, therefore, should be the study of language in use. A language,
however, is not realized in only one but in a variety of forms among which one form can be
considered the standard one while others are the non-standard or dialects of the standard one.
(Wolfram, 1991) The study of one language, therefore, should include not only the so-called
standard but also other variations of this language.
Nowadays, English, an international language used in many parts of the world and
almost every aspect of life, exists in more than ten big group variations, among which
American English is particularly influential due to the U.S.'s dominant in the world economy.
The study of American English is, therefore, of interest of many people and also the author of
this thesis.
Additionally, literature is "a body of written works related by subject-matter, by
language or place of origin, or by prevailing cultural standards of merit." (Peter Widowson,
1998) Literature is an art that adopts language as its form and its means. Language of literature
works, hence, has been the subject of many studies by linguists because it presents particularly
the relation of language and culture. It is not only the language of art but also the language of
life. The author hopes to reveal all these relations through this thesis, consequently.
It is also essential to provide an explanation why Mark Twain and his work, "The
adventures of Tom Sawyer" are chosen. Firstly, Mark Twain is considered the "first 'truly'
th

American writer." (Howell, 1967) Early 19 century American writers tend to be too flowery,
sentimental or ostentatious, partially because they were trying to prove that they could write as
elegantly as the English. Nevertheless, together with the country development in almost every

aspect of life and the national self-confidence spirit, American writers sooner or later realized
that they must have their own American literature which is quite separated from the one of
English. And Mark Twain is regarded as "the Lincoln of our literature" (Howells), the one that
revolutionaries American literature. Additionally, Van Spanckeren (1994: 78) argues that


"Twain was the first major author to come from the interior country, and he captured its
distinctive humorous slang and iconoclasm". She further states that "Twain's style, based on
vigorous, realistic, colloquial American speech, gave American writers a new appreciation of
their national voice". In fact, many critics comment on the high level of accuracy of Mark
Twain in recording various dialects making it possible "to present his characters in a truthful
light to the reader in a language that is both vivid and clear at the same time". Furthermore,
Twain is considered a realistic writer (High, 1986; Gerber, 1993; Van Spanckren, 1994 and
Wonham, 1996) who has the ability to give an accurate description of the nation's experience
"its soul, its life, its speech, its thought" (Twain 1895 cited in Wonham, 1996: 1) Following
the realistic dimension, Twain claims in the preface to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
(p. 1) that almost all the events in the novel really occurred and that characters are inspired by
people he knew. In fact, if events and characters are drawn from life, it is likely that the
language spoken by characters is also drawn from life. It is, consequently, an important reason
for the author to investigate Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer with the hope of revealing the
linguistic features of American English spoken in the Southwest of America in the 19

th

century.
2. Aims of the study
This study aims to investigate the linguistic features of American English in characters'
utterances in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer.
To realize this aim, the answers for the two following research questions are sought
out:

1. What are the linguistic features of American English in characters' utterances in
Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer?
2. To what extent the characters in the novel share these linguistic features?


3. Scope of the study
For the limitation of the time, reference books and other constraints faced by the
author, this thesis cannot cover all linguistic features of American English in Mark Twain's
Tom Sawyer. This study, therefore, will focus on analyzing and identifying certain linguistic
features of Southwestern American-English presented in the novel including phonological,
grammatical and lexical features of Southwestern American- English.
Additionally, within this M.A. thesis, only characters' utterances are investigated to
find out the linguistic features of American English in the novel without concerning the
variety used by the narrator.
4. Methodology
First of all, it is noticeable that in the process of the study, both qualitative and
quantitative methods are employed. The former is used in the form of listing and the latter is
used in the form of analyzing the linguistic features.
Additionally, the theoretical background in chapter 1 relies on the published literature
on the concepts of standard language, dialect and levels of dialect, American English together
with a brief introduction to Mark Twain and his novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Last but not least, the analysis of linguistic features of American English is merely
based on Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes, N.'s framework (1998) about linguistic features of
Southwestern American English stated in 1.4 in the first chapter "Theoretical background" of
part II.
In this main part, the author starts with the analysis of linguistic features of American
English in terms of phonology, grammar, and lexis in characters' speech in the novel with the
application of idealisation. Then the author attempts to investigate whether there are
differences among the characters of the novel as far as their use of language is concerned to
look for a possible correlation between the characters' social background and their use of

language.


5. Design of the study
The study consists of three main parts.
Part 1: Introduction
This part comprises the rationale, scope, aims, methodology, and design of the study.
Part 2: Development
This is the main part consisting of two chapters
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
This chapter is preserved to give the basic theoretical background of the study. It includes an
overview about standard language, dialects, American English, and Southwestern American
English. Additionally, certain information about Mark Twain, his works and specifically the
novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" is included.
Chapter 2: Linguistic features of American English in Mark twain's Tom Sawyer
Chapter 2 is the heart of the thesis which investigates American English dialects in "The
adventures of Tom Sawyer." in terms of phonology, grammar and lexis. The analysis is
attached to the theory about Southwestern American English of Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes,
N. (1998) to realize the aims of the study.
Part 3: Conclusion
This part summarizes the main findings; draw important conclusion and offers
implication for language teaching and learning as well as suggestions for further studies.
At the end of the study, one can find the appendices including tables dealing with
related issues and references used in the study to help the analysis of the author clearer and
easily accessible.

PART II: DEVELOPMENT


CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

To provide a theoretical background to this study, this chapter will be devoted to a
review of issues most relevant to the thesis's topic: standard language, dialect, American
English, Southwestern American English, the writer Mark Twain and his novel "The
adventures of Tom Sawyer."
1.1. Standard language
1.1.1. Definition of standard language
Language is a communicative means and also a social phenomenon of human. A
language, as Wolfram (1991) stated, is not realized in only one but in a variety of forms
among which one form can be considered the standard one while others are the non-standard
or dialects of the standard one. Consequently, there have been quite a number of attempts to
define what a standard language is.
Finegan, Edward (2007) defines a standard language as "a particular dialect of a
language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. It is said to be the most correct
language of a nation."
Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes, N. (1998) believe that "a standard language is a
language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties
become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for
description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works. "
It is noticed that the above definitions share the same idea that a standard language is a
variety of a language used by a group of people and it is normally considered the 'correct' or
'formal' form of a language.
1.1.2. Features of standard language
According to Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes, N. (1998), standard languages usually are
established upon the following features.
Firstly, it may be formed by a recognized dictionary (standardized spelling and vocabulary)
Secondly, a recognized grammar is also a basis for establishing a standard language
The third feature is a standard pronunciation (educated speech.) The standard British English,
for example, historically based on the language of the medieval English court of Chancery.

The late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the establishment of this standard as the
norm of "polite" society, that is to say of the upper classes. The spoken standard,
consequently, has come to be seen as a mark of good education and social prestige associated
with the RP accent.
Fourthly, a standard language can be established by linguistic institution defining usage
norms, such as Académie française in France or the Royal Spanish Academy in Spanish.
Other features defining standard languages include constitutional status, the effective public
use like court; legislature or schools and a literary canon.
1.2. Dialect
1.2.1. Definition of dialect
Dialect, a linguistic phenomenon, has been accessed from a more technical point of
view recently. The question "What is a dialect?" has been approached by many linguists.
Nordquist, R. (2006) defines dialect as "a regional or social variety of a language
distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a way of speaking that
differs from the standard variety of the language."
Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes, N.'s (1998) claims that dialect is any variety of language
that is shared by a group of speaker.
In the views of linguists, however, dialect is used to refer to "varieties that seem to be
typified by the use of non-standard forms." In other words, dialect can be perceived as an
imperfect attempt to speak "correct" or "proper" the standard language. Dialects; however,
are not deviant forms of language, but simply different systems with distinct subsets of
language patterns. (Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes, N.'s (1998) Language patterning here refers
to the fact that language features are distributed in systematic and orderly ways rather than
used randomly. That is, for any given language feature, there are contexts in which the form
may be used and contexts in which is not typically used.

1.2.2. Levels of dialect


According to Nordquist, R. (2006), dialect differences can be manifested in a number

of different ways. For example, they may involve the use of difference words for the same
item, as in the use of sub, hoagie, hero, or grinder for a sandwich made on a long roll with
cheese, meat, and vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. They may also involve the
pronunciation of the same word in different ways. For example, in some dialects the vowels in
word pairs like dawn and Don are pronounced the same, while in other vernacular dialects,
they are pronounced differently. Dialect differences may also involve the ways words are put
together into sentences, as in The house needs painted vs. The house needs painting, and even
how language is used in carrying out social routines, such as greeting people with Hi, Hey, Yo,
or S'up.
Languages are patterned on several different levels, and each of these is subject to
dialect variation. This thesis, therefore, is mainly based on the theory of Wolfram. W&
Schiling-Estes, N. (1998) in which they classify five levels of dialects namely Lexicon, the
vocabulary of a language; Phonology, the sound system of a language; Grammar, the
formation of words and sentences; Semantics, the meaning of words; and Pragmatics, the use
of language form to perform different functions.
1.2.2.1. Lexical differences
One of the obvious levels of vernacular dialect variation is the lexicon, or vocabulary,
of a language. As Nordquist, R. (2006) states most of us used to encounter the situation in
which we failed to recognize a word used by some regional or social groups despite sharing
the same standard language, which resulted in confusion, and sometimes outright
communication breakdown. A famous example stated in Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes, N.
(1998) is the circumstance in which a traveler goes to different places of the United Stated and
orders a soda, and he finds that he receives different drinks in different regions like a simple
carbonated drink in Philadelphia and a carbonated drink with ice-cream in it in Chicago.
People of different social classes as well as different age groups suffer from the same
situations in communication.
There are a number of different ways in which lexical differences can manifest
themselves.

Firstly, the relationship between a real- word object and the word used to describe it is almost
always arbitrary; therefore, people often find that different labels are used to describe the same
object or idea in different dialect areas. People also find different words because diverse
objects and activities are found in different regions. For example, in America it is easy to find
such words as sneakers, tennis shoes, gym shoes and running shoes referring to the same basic
type of athletic shoe when worn as casual footwear.
Secondly, not only do dialects use different words, but they may use the same words with
different meanings. Meaning is flexible and transitory, and they may change in a number of
ways over time and places. Dialects differences result when a meaning changes in one way in
a particular region but in some other way in other dialect areas. For instance, the broadening in
meaning of the word barn which used to refer to a building that was used for only storing
grain in British English to a building for storing all sorts of farm-relalted items including
animals and machinery results in a lexical difference between America and Britain.
Finally, there are a variety of ways to create new words as compounding, acronyms, blending,
clipping, so on and so forth. And there also appear many instances of new meanings for old
words across the dialects of a language in general and English language in particular although
in many cases speakers may be uncompletely unaware of the fact that the words they use in
daily conversation originally had quite different meanings from the ones they have today.
1.2.2.2. Phonological differences
Like lexical differences, phonological variation among the dialects of a language can
be highly noticeable. In America, for example, listeners are quick to hone the distinctive
vowel sounds associated with "The Southern drawl," the "broad a" and "dropped r" of the
Boston speech or the "dropped g" in certain vernacular.
Phonological pattern can be indicative of regional and socio-cultural differences, and a
person who has a good ear for dialects can often pinpoint a speaker's general regional and
social and ethnic affiliation with considerable accuracy based solely on phonology. Even in
today's increasingly interconnected world, the use of a few critical pronunciation cues can
narrow down a person's place of origin to at least a general region of a country.

Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes (1998) states many ways in which phonological
differences may be manifested in the dialects of a language. Firstly, it is the variation in
pronunciation of vowels and consonants, which concerns instances in which a sound in one
dialect corresponds to a different sound in another variety. Secondly, there are also instances
where sounds are added or deleted affecting the basic sequencing of sound segments. The
addition or deletion of sounds has to do with how sounds are pronounced when they occur in
particular sequence or with the arrangement of sounds into syllables rather than with overall
changes in the organization of sound system. Addition and deletion processes, therefore, tend
to be restricted to certain phonetic contexts as well. Finally, the potential for pronunciation
differences that have to do with such matters as the stress patterns of words, the intonational
contours of sentences, or the timing of syllables is also noticeable.
Although there may be some social stigma attached to certain pronunciation
differences, phonological dialect differences are normally considered to be matters of curiosity
rather than grounds for condemnation. Moreover, in terms of principles governing the
organization of language systems, it is difficult to explain why certain pronunciation changes
take place in some regions or among social groups and why other changes take place
elsewhere. However, once a given pronunciation takes hold, it may persist for quite a long
time as a symbolic marker of regional or social group identity.
1.2.2. 3. Grammatical differences
Grammatical variation may be discussed in terms of two types of language
organization. One level, called Morphology, relates the way in which words are formed from
their meaningful parts. The other major level of grammatical organization, Syntax, refers to
the arrangement of words into larger units such as phrases or sentences.
Firstly, in terms of Morphology, there appear cases in which inflectional morphemes
can be added or omitted in a language. Additionally, morphological differences may be due to
regularization or simplification and these differences can carry a great deal of social
significance in a society, and listeners draw sharp distinctions between dialects and standard
speaking groups on the basis of the use or non-use of regularized morphological forms. In
part, the prominence of regularized morphological forms may be attributed to the fact that all

tendency is overcome only by paying special attention to the irregular forms, which must be
learned by rote since they are not as linguistically "natural" as regularized forms. This focused
attention on learning these forms subsequently makes them sensitive to social marking. In
other words, because speakers of standard varieties may have struggled to learn irregular
forms during their school years, they will be quick to notice when regularized forms are used
and just as quick to stimatize speakers to use them. Furthermore, it should be noticed that not
all dialect word formation processes are the result of regularization and simplification. It may
involve complications as well as simplification.
The other major level of grammatical organization called Syntax refers to the
arrangements of words into larger units such as phrases or sentences. As with morphology, it
is found that the tendency toward making meaning differences transparent may lead to dialect
differentation in syntax. For example, it is common in English language for the speakers of
dialect variaties to use auxiliary, or helping verbs to give verbs special meanings that can be
only indicated in standard variaties through adding a good bit of additional materials to the
sentence if the meaning can be conveyed at all. Syntactic differences may involve special
auxiliaries, types of structures that can co-occur with particular verbs, agreements among
different elements in the sentences or linear arrangement of words in phrases or sentences.
1.2.2. 4.
Pragmatics

Language

usage

and

Knowing a language involves more than knowing the meanings of words and the
phonological and grammatical structures of the language. In every language and dialect, there
are a variety of ways to convey the same information or accomplish the same purpose, and the

choice of how to say something may depend on who is talking to whom under what social
circumstances. Therefore, the term Pragmatics is used to refer to how language is used in
context to achieve particular purposes. And in Pragmatics, one important concept is the
speech act, which refers to an utterance that accomplishes a social action, such as requesting,
making a promise, complimenting, or apologizing.
Speakers of all languages and dialects are quite capable of performing the same basic
kinds of speech acts but how these speech acts are carried out and the conditions under which
they are considered to be appropriate varies considerably across cultural groups. Statements


may be strong or direct or they may be softer and less direct. Additionally, different social and
cultural groups often have contrasting expectations about the appropriate use of direct or
indirect expressions. Related to the issue of cultural differences in directness is the distinction
between literal and non-literal language use. Conventions for interpreting statements as literal
or non-literal vary considerably among different social and cultural groups, as does the value
accorded to literal vs. non-literal language use. For example, Shirley Brice Heath (1983) cited
in Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes (1998) found that European Americans in one particular
working class community valued perfectly factual children's stories more highly than African
Americans in the same community, who placed higher value on stories embellished by nonliteral language use, including invented quotations. This contrast contributed to the negative
valuation of African American children by school teachers, since story telling conventions in
the classroom setting were largely reflective of mainstream. Although there are many types of
language- use differences, it is also stated in Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes (1998) that a
couple of areas are particularly sensitive to variation involving address forms, greeting, leavetaking, turn taking, overlapping, backchanneling, so on and so forth.
1.3. American English
1.3.1. American English - a dialect of British
English
The formation of a dialect language involves a complex array of historical, social and
linguistic factors. Furthermore, dialects not static, discrete entities; they constantly interact
with one another and undergo change over time and place. And all these features denote the
situation of American English.

Many linguists like Crystal, D. (1997), Downes, W. (1998), or Labov (2005) all claim
that American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United
States. They, therefore, argue that American English is in fact a variation of British English.
Other linguists like Edgar Schneider (2003) quoted in Wolfram. W& Schiling-Estes,
N. (1998) showed that in the process of its development, American English has evolved
through a number of different stages, from the simple transplantation of wide range of British
dialects to the Americas to the internal diversification of dialects within America. Edgar
Schneider (2003) further suggests that there are five stages that can be applied to the spread of


English to different locations across the world, including "its movement to and development
within the United States."
In the initial phase called the Foundation stage, English was used on a regular basis in
five primary cultural hearths including Jametown, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New
Orleans where it was not used previously. The second phase namely Exonormative
Stabilization witnessed the consideration influence of British norms in American language
despite American resistance to British English. In the next phase, Nativiation, there was a
fundamental transition towards independence - politically, culturally, and linguistically; as a
consequence, unique linguistic usages and structures of American English emerged. This also
created the differentiation of American English from British English. In the fourth phase
known as End normative, the new-established country America adopted its own language
norms rather than adhering to external norms while in the last phase, Differentiation, the
American English dialect evolve in its own, and quite different from British English. In short,
in such as progression, we can see how language variation in the United States has developed
from its initial roots in the English language of the early British colonists to its current state in
which the dialects of American English are viewed as the regional and cultural manifestations
of diversity solely within America.
1.3.2. Features of American English
As the author has mentioned in the previous part, American English is a dialect of
British English. Although all Americans do not speak the same way, their speech has enough

in common that American English can be recognized as a variety of English distinct from
British English, Australian English, and other national varieties. American English
undoubtedly have certain distinguished linguistic characteristics in comparison with British
English. The differences between American English and British English has been investigated
by many linguists like Mencken, H.L. (1962), Lippi-Green (1997) and such features can be
summarized as follows:
First of all, in terms of phonology, the difference in words pronunciation between
British and American English is little while in some cases there are differences between
American English and British English in the rhythm of words.


Secondly, in terms of inflexional forms, the difference is not much. For example, the
plural nouns and verb tenses of the two English have not diverged very much. Thousands of
nouns form their plurals in regular fashion in the manner of boy-boys; girl-girls; bus-buses.
Even certain irregular nouns such as knife-knives; tooth-teeth or sheep-sheep have the same
form in these two different places. Furthermore, there are of about 120 or more irregular verbs
like get-got in English language. And the point here is that both American English and British
one share the irregularities. For most of the verbs, two forms of the language are pretty wellidentical.
Thirdly, in terms of word order for the arrangement of the words into phrases and
sentences, British and American English are similar.
Fourthly, in terms of lexical field, unlike British English, American English is various
for there are many loan words in present - day American English. Certain languages that have
contributed to the diversity of American English include Indian, French, Spanish, Dutch,
Germans, Africans and others. Moreover, millions of people from different parts of the world
who have settled in American have also contributed to American English to make it more
plentiful.
Additionally, the different varieties of English do use different words for many words
that are slightly less common, for example, British crisps for American potato chips. It is even
more common for the same word to exist with different meanings in different varieties of
English. Corn is a general term in Britain, for which Americans use grain, while corn in

American English is a specific kind of grain. Many of the words most easily recognized as
American in origin are associated with aspects of American popular culture, such as
gangster or cowboy.
Finally, in terms of every day communication and text-o-logy, American have a
tendency of expressing their opinion by brief statements through simple sentences or clauses
rather than complex sentences. Moreover, thanks to their religious beliefs, they like to use
religious expressions in communication with each other.
1.4. Southwestern American English - a dialect of American English


The investigation of the regional dialects of American English has been a major
concern for dialectologists and sociolinguists since at least the early part of the twenty century.
Linguists have additionally long debated the precise place of regional dialect studies in the
overall investigation of language variation. However, this M.A. thesis is mainly based on the
theory developed by Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schiling-Estes (1998) to explore in more
details one of the variations of American English, i.e. Southwestern American English. There
are two main important reasons for this choice that is firstly, the setting of the novel analyzed
in this thesis is in the South-west of America and much more importantly, the theory about
South-western American English developed by these two authors, in the researcher' opinion, is
easy to understand and follow.
According to Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schiling-Estes (1998), the distinctive features
of Southwestern American English are numerous in comparison with the so-called standard
American English. Nonetheless, within this study, the author just focuses on phonological,
grammatical and lexical features and such features can be summarized as follows:
1.4.1. Phonological features of Southwestern American English
The distinctive features of American English in terms of phonology can be sub-divided
into features related to consonants including consonant deletion and consonant changing their
features; features related to vowels like vowel shift and vowel deletion; and features related to
connected speech such as elision, contraction, assimilation, liaison, juncture.
1.4.1.1. Features related to consonants

There are a variety of phonological items in Southwestern American English different
from the so-called standard American including the consonant deletion and consonants
changing their features.

1.4.1.1.1. Consonant deletion
a. Unstressed initial syllable loss


In Southwestern American vernacular, the general process of deleting unstressed initial
syllables in informal speech style of general American English such as 'cause for because is
extended; as a result, a wide range of word classes including nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. and
a wide range of initial syllable types are affected by the process of deleting unstressed initial
syllables.
The following are certain examples of this process
because → 'cause

tomorrow →'morrow

remember → 'member

b. Dropping of final consonant sounds
A certain consonant sounds, especially [t] and [d], are dropped when they are at the
end of the words. Some examples of this phenomenon are:
and → an'

round → roun'

don’t → don'

1.4.1.2. Consonant changing their features

a. th sounds
There are a number of different processes that affect th sounds for the phonetic
production of it is sensitive to the position of th in the word and the sound adjacent to it.
Consequently, a number of changes with th sound can be seen in American English of people
in the Southwest depending on its position in the words.
At the beginning of words th tends to be produced as a corresponding stop, as in dey
for they or even it can be dropped. like the → de

, that → dat

In word-final position and between vowels within a word, th tends to become d like
such words as wid (for with) or furder (further)
b. g - dropping
g - dropping is commonly found in Southwestern American English. It is the process in
which the nasal segment represented phonetically as [η] (often spelled ng) is produced as the
sound [n]. Consequently, this process makes the final nasal segment of taken [tekin] and takin'
[tekin] phonetically the same. This process takes place when the ng occurs in an unstressed
syllable at the end of a word.
c. Instructive t


A small set of items, usually ending in [s] and [f] in the so-called standard American
English is produced with a final t in Southwestern American English. This results in a final
consonant cluster. Typical items affected by this process are oncet, twicet, clifft and acrosst.
The following table summarizes phonological features related to consonants of
Southwestern American English according to Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schiling-Estes (1998)
Table 1
Phonological features related to consonants of Southwestern American English
Features

Manifestation

Examples
Form used

Standard
form

Consonants deletions
Consonants changing
their features

Certain consonants, especially ones

an'

and

in unstressed positions, are deleted

goin'

going

in American English.

'cause

because

Certain consonants like t or th

Den

then

change their features when

wid

with

produced in words

oncet

once

1.4.1.2. Features related to vowels
The distinctive phonological features related to vowels of Southwestern American
English are most noticeable in the vowel shift and vowel deletion.
First of all, there are several shifts in the phonetic values of vowels that were taking
th

place in the 19 century Southwestern American English vernacular. The important aspect of
these shifts is the vowels are not shifting their phonetic value in isolation but as a rotating
system of vowels. Normally, the short front vowels are moving upward and taking on the
gliding character of long vowels. Meanwhile, the long front vowels are moving somewhat
backward and downward, and the back vowels are moving forward. These features can be
illustrated as follows:

Figure 1


The Southwestern American English vowel shift (Adapted from Labov 1991)
/i/ (beet)

/u/ (boot)
/ / (bit)

/ʊ/ (put)

/e/ (bait)

/o/ (boat)

/ ʌ/

/ε/ (bet)
(but)

/ ɔ/

/æ/ (bat)
(bought)
/ɑ/ (father)

Secondly, vowel deletion is additionally a noticeable phonological feature of American
English spoken in the Southwest. There are a number of vowels being reduced in the
pronunciation of the words in sentences. Normally, the vowels reduced belong to the
unstressed syllables of the words, and this process results in the reduction of the number of

syllables in words. The vowels deleted may be at the initial or mid position in the words like
in such words as 'long or b'long.
1.4.1.3. Features related to connected speech
Three different types of features related to connected speech may be noticed in Southwestern American English basing on the theory of Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schiling-Estes
(1998) including elision, contraction, and assimilation.
1.4.1.3.1. Elision
Elision is the process in which appears the cutting off or suppression of a vowel or
syllable, for the sake of meter or euphony and the dropping of a final vowel standing before an
initial vowel in the following word, when the two words are drawn together are realized.
Examples:
Do you → D'you

More than → more'n

So do I → so'd I

Don't know → dono