JC WalkerEN 302 History and StructureDr. StratynerApril 29, 2014Accents of AmericaNo matter where you live in the United States, there will always be an accent different from yours, and some of them will most likely sound terrible to you. Many regions claim that their American accent is better than others, but this is not true. Some accents may be more standard than others, but that in no way makes them superior. Due to differences, some regions begin to be invaded by unwanted stereotypes which can lead to discrimination. Many stereotypes are disseminated through media and advertising, leading to assumptions on the part of the listener. Logically speaking, there are as many different ways of speaking in America, just as there are a wide variety of people in America. Many differences between American accents can be described in terms of phonetics, lexicon, syntax, and pragmatics. Phonetics is the general study of the perception and production of speech sounds; it examines the varieties within a language and takes note of the differences between them, such as the pronunciation of vowels. The lexicon is a personal “dictionary” of morphemes and their meanings within a language. Some examples are soda/pop/coke or hoagie/sub/hero/grinder. Syntax is how we put words together and arrange them to form sentences. Examples are "He said" in the south and "suffer your father's fate, you will", which is Yoda's syntax in Star Wars. Pragmatics is the effective use of language in various situations. Due to the ever-changing nature of the language, there will never truly be a standard American English. Mergers and channel changes are two crucial types of sound changes that influence the success rate of...... middle of paper... ...Appalachian is also a southern form and is made famous by the TV show “The Beverly Hillbillies.” New Orleans, Louisiana has a very distinct accent that has been heavily influenced by the French and West Africans; many call this accent Cajun. The pronunciation may be difficult for some to understand due to its harshness. The onion is pronounced "un-yon" and the natives pronounce their town as "Nawlns" with only one syllable. Another distinct accent is heard in Southern California called "Valley Girl" or "Surfer Dude". This is known for the extreme exaggeration of colloquial phrases such as "gag me with a spoon" and "like OMG can you believe he did that!?" It's really stupid. Black English Vernacular is another accent in America. It is spoken by many, but not all, young African-Americans. It is characterized by the omission of –ed and –s at the end of sentences..