Definition and Discussion of General American English

General American English is a somewhat vague and outdated term for a  variety of spoken American English that seems to lack the distinctive characteristics of any particular region or ethnic group. Also called network English or newscaster accent. The term General American (GA, GAE, or GenAm) was coined by English professor George Philip Krapp in his book The English Language in America (1925). In the first edition of History of the English Language (1935), Albert C. Baugh adopted the term General American, calling it the dialect of the Middle States and the West. General American   is sometimes broadly characterized as speaking with a midwestern accent, but as William Kretzschmar observes (below), there has never been any single best or default form of American English that might form the basis for General American (A Handbook of Varieties of English, 2004). Examples and Observations The fact that I conjugate my verbs and speak in a typical Midwestern newscaster voice--theres no doubt that this helps ease communication between myself and white audiences. And theres no doubt that when Im with a black audience, I slip into a slightly different dialect.(U.S. President Barack Obama, quoted by Dinesh DSouza in Obamas America: Unmaking the American Dream. Simon Schuster, 2012)The term General American is sometimes used by those who expect for there to be a perfect and exemplary state of American English . . .. However, in this essay the term Standard American English (StAmE) is preferred; it designates the level of quality (here of pronunciation) that is employed by educated speakers in formal settings. StAmE pronunciation differs from region to region, even from person to person, because speakers from different circumstances in and different parts of the United States commonly employ regional and social features to some extent even in formal situations.(William A. Kr etzschmar, Jr., Standard American English Pronunciation. A Handbook of Varieties of English, ed. by Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider. Mouton de Gruyter, 2004)[T]he standard assumption for American English is that even educated speakers, from certain regions at least (most notably New England and the South), at times use regional pronunciation characteristics and thus speak with an accent; hence, despite the persistent belief in a homogenous General American accent or notions like network English there is in fact no single norm of pronunciation that corresponds to RP [received pronunciation] in England, being a non-regional class dialect.(Edgar W. Schneider, Introduction: Varieties of English in the Americas and the Caribbean. A Handbook of Varieties of English, ed. by Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider. Mouton de Gruyter, 2004) Variants in Network English It is important to note that no single dialect--regional or social--has been singled out as an American standard. Even national media (radio, television, movies, CD-ROM, etc.), with professionally trained voices have speakers with regionally mixed features. However, Network English, in its most colourless form, can be described as a relatively homogenous dialect that reflects the ongoing development of progressive American dialects (Canadian English has several notable differences). This dialect itself contains some variant forms. The variants included within this targeted accent involve vowels before /r/, possible differences in words like cot and caught and some vowels before /l/. It is fully rhotic. These differences largely pass unnoticed by the audiences for Network English, and are also reflective of age differences.(Daniel Jones, English Pronouncing Dictionary, 17th ed. Cambridge University Press, 2006) ​​General American vs. the Eastern New England Accent A few examples of differences between some regional dialects and General American or Network English are in order here, though these are necessarily selective. In the characteristic speech of Eastern New England, for instance, rhotic /r/ is lost after vowels, as in far or hard, while it is retained in all positions in General American. A rounded vowel has been retained in Eastern New England in words like top and dot, whereas General American uses an unrounded vowel. Another Eastern New England characteristic is the use of /É‘/ in words like bath, grass, last, etc., where General American uses /a/. In these respects the New England accent shows some similarities with British RP.(Diane Davies, Varieties of Modern English: An Introduction. Routledge, 2013) Challenges to the Concept of General American The belief that American English consists of General American and the Eastern (Northern) and Southern dialect varieties was called into question by a group of American scholars in the 1930s. . . . In 1930 [Hans] Kurath was named the director of an ambitious project called The Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Canada. He patterned the project on a similar European undertaking that had been completed some years before the American project started: Atlas linguistique de la France, which ran between 1902 and 1910. Given the results of their work, Kurath and his co-workers challenged the belief that American English had the varieties Eastern, Southern, and General American. Instead, they suggested that American English is best viewed as having the following major dialect areas: Northern, Midland, and Southern. That is, they did away with the elusive notion of General American and replaced it with the dialect area that they called Midland.(Zoltà ¡n Kà ¶vecses, American English: A n Introduction. Broadview, 2000)Many Midwesterners are under the illusion that they speak without an accent. They may even believe that they speak Standard American English. But most linguists understand that there is not a single, correct way to speak English. So, yes, even Midwesterners speak with an accent.(James W. Neuliep,  Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 6th ed. SAGE, 2015)It should be emphasized that everyone speaks with an accent; it is as impossible to speak without an accent as to speak without making sounds. When people deny they have an accent, this is a statement of social prejudice and not linguistics.(Howard Jackson and Peter Stockwell, An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language, 2nd ed. Bloomsbury Academic, 2011) Also see: Standard American EnglishAccent PrejudiceEthnic Dialect,  Idiolect,  Regional Dialect, and  Social DialectMarkednessPrestigePronunciationStandard English

Harriet the Spy - Controversial Classic Childrens Book

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh has delighted kids and outraged some adults for more than 50 years. Spying is a serious business that requires concentration, patience, and an ability to think fast and write faster. Meet Harriet M. Welsch, 11-year-old girl spy and irreverent rebel. Fitzhugh’s classic novel Harriet the Spy, first published in 1964, introduced realism in the form of a flawed main character to an unsuspecting audience. Controversial and charismatic, Fitzhugh’s Harriet was a revolutionary personality bound to stir up dynamic discussion. The publisher recommends the book for ages 8-12. The Story Harriet M. Welsch is an 11-year-old sixth grader with a vivid imagination, a bossy attitude, and a freakish ability to hide in one spot for hours while observing her targets. The only child of a well-to-do New York couple, Harriet lives with her parents, a cook and a nurse named Ole Golly. She has two best friends, Sport and Janie, who are used to Harriet’s take-charge attitude and play along with her imaginary games. Although independent in her spy adventures, Harriet is a girl who depends on routine. Each day follows a schedule including coming home after to school for cake and milk before she takes off on her spy route. After school, she puts on her spy gear and canvases the neighborhood. Whether hanging out in a dark alley listening to the Dei Santi family, clinging to a window ledge to spy on Mr. Withers and his cats, or wedging herself tightly into a dumbwaiter to hear Mrs. Plumber’s theatrical phone calls, Harriet will wait for hours to hear something she can write down in her precious notebook. Life is neat and predictable for Harriet until the day she discovers that Ole Golly has a boyfriend! Dependent on Ole Golly for stability and routine, Harriet is distraught when the nurse announces that she’s getting married and leaving Harriet to start a new life in Canada. Harriet, shaken by this change in routine, focuses more on her spying and writes copious hateful notes about friends and neighbors. Meanwhile, she is fighting with her parents and finding it difficult to concentrate in school. Her troubles come to a head during a game of tag when she realizes her spy notebook has fallen into the hands of her classmates. The classmates’ revenge combined with Harriet’s personal world upheaval put into motion a roller coaster of disastrous events. Author Louise Fitzhugh Louise Fitzhugh, born October 5, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee, did not have an ideal childhood. Her parents divorced when she was two and she was raised by her father who funded her attendance at Hutchins, an elite all-girl boarding school. Fitzhugh attended college to study painting and started her career as an illustrator. Harriet the Spy, which she also illustrated, debuted in 1964. Louise Fitzhugh died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm at the age of 46 in 1974. In addition to Harriet the Spy, Fitzhughs Nobodys Family is Going to Change, a realistic novel for middle-grade readers 10 and up, remains in print. (Source: Children’s Literature Network and Macmillan) Controversy Harriet M. Welsch is not only a girl spy; she’s a girl spy with spice and that type of character didn’t find favor with some parents and teachers. Besides being brash, self-centered and prone to throwing full-blown tantrums, Harriet was not the polite demure spy like Nancy Drew with whom most readers were familiar. Harriet cursed, talked back to her parents, and didn’t care that her words were hurtful. According to the NPR feature â€Å"Unapologetically Harriet, the Misfit Spy, the book was banned and challenged by many parents and teachers who felt Harriet was a poor role model for children because she exhibited delinquent tendencies. Harriet, the early critics argued, didn’t spy, but rather gossiped, slandered, and hurt other people without feeling sorry about her actions. Despite the early controversy, Harriet the Spy was listed as #17 on the list of Top 100 Children’s Novels in a 2012 poll of School Library Journal readers and is considered a landmark novel in realistic children’s literature. Our Recommendation Harriet isn’t exactly a paragon of virtue. Spying on her neighbors and friends, writing down mean and hurtful comments, she doesn’t seem truly sorry for her words or actions. Today these characteristics in a fictional children’s book character are not atypical, but in 1964 Harriet was unrivaled as a snarky character who was unafraid to speak her mind or talk back to her parents. Children’s book expert Anita Silvey, who included Harriet the Spy in her book 100 Best Books for Children, describes Harriet as a solid character who stays the same. She doesn’t metamorphose into a nice little girl who is deeply repentant for the harm she’s inflicted. Instead, she’s learned to be a bit more tactful in expressing herself. Harriet is a rebel, and it’s easy to believe that she’s a real person because she stays true to herself. Harriet the Spy is an engaging book for reluctant readers as well as for readers who enjoy stories with unique characters who think and speak outside the box. We recommend this book for readers ages 10-up. (Yearling Books, an imprint of Random House, 2001. Paperback ISBN: 9780440416791) The 50th Anniversary Edition In honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 publication of Harriet the Spy, a special hardcover edition was published in 2014, with a number of special additions. These include tributes by a number of well-known childrens authors, including Judy Blume, Lois Lowry, and Rebecca Stead and a map of Harriet’s New York City neighborhood and spy route.  The special edition also includes some of the original author and editor correspondence. Edited by Elizabeth Kennedy, Childrens Books Expert

Ryan White was the most prominent HIV/AIDS activist. He...

Ryan White was the most prominent HIV/AIDS activist. He had become the national poster boy for HIV/AIDs in the United States. Ryan educated the public with knowledge about his disease. Because of Ryan’s experience being broadcasted across the nation, the discrimination of those who had HIV or AIDS was exposed and he spoke out for the rights of those who were living with AIDS. The programs started in his name today are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. What is HIV/AIDS? HIV stands for â€Å"human immunodeficiency syndrome,† while AIDS stands for â€Å"acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.† AIDS is the final stage of HIV, which causes severe damage to the immune system. In our world today, over 35.3†¦show more content†¦In an interview with People Magazine nine years after his death, Ryan’s mother Jeanne described the types of hardships Ryan had to deal with once news of his disease spread. First, he was banned from Western Middle School. After a nine-month long court battle, Ryan was allowed to return to school, but the decision wasn’t favored by much. Students would spray paint obscenities inside his locker and scatter the hallways whenever he was approaching. Outside of school, the family would receive tons of hate letters, have garbage dumped on their lawn, and would be shunned by restaurant patrons whenever they would eat out. They were even treated poorly at the church they attended, St. Luk e’s United Methodist, where the pastor would have the family sit in the first or last pew so the congregation knew where they were at all times of the service. â€Å"He inspired the nation with his fight to live a normal life and his precociously eloquent advocacy of AIDS awareness, which left a legacy of saved and lengthened lives†¦ When he died at 18 in 1990 of complications from AIDS, Ryan was Americas kid, the innocent face of a plague that many people until then, had dismissed as being the result of irresponsible or sinful behavior† (Jerome). After being banned from his school, Ryan would fight for the right to return. All he wanted was to continue his life as a normal boy, but he wasn’t given that. Eyes were opened nationwide when

Communication and Correct Answer free essay sample

Response Feedback: Communication skills are critical to job placement, performance, and career advancement because the need for well-written messages has increased, oral and written communication skills are the top skills demanded by employers, and digital communication has replaced business letters and memos. . Question 5 . 0 out of 1 points Working with people from other cultures will require tolerance. One of the best ways to become more tolerant is by Answer Selected Answer: a. knowing your communication style. Correct Answer: b. practicing empathy. Response Feedback: Tolerance requires you to have sympathy for and appreciation of the customs of other cultures. You develop this tolerance through practicing empathy, which helps you to see the world through anothers eyes. If you are more individualistic or ethnocentric, you will probably have less tolerance. . Question 6 . 0 out of 1 points Which of the following is a common trait of a business communicator from a low-context culture? Answer Selected Answer: c. We will write a custom essay sample on Communication and Correct Answer or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Assuming listeners require little background information Correct Answer: a. Keeping business and social relationships separate Response Feedback: Communicators from low-context cultures keep business and social relationships separate, assume listeners know little and present information directly, value independence, rely on facts, and value getting down to business and achieving results. . Question 7 . 1 out of 1 points Which of the following statements about todays business environments is most accurate? Answer Selected Answer: b. Many employees today no longer need an office; they can work anytime and anywhere. Correct Answer: b. Many employees today no longer need an office; they can work anytime and anywhere.