Regan Chewning 9/25/00 The video American Tongues is an illustration of the aspects of geographical linguistics within the United States, mainly dealing with dialects. A dialect is a regional variation of a particular language, and in this case the language is American English. Variations of English that result in local dialects are discussed, reasons for dialect differences are given, and attitudes about dialects are shown in the video. There are several ways that dialects form from "…showed first 75 words of 465 total…

…showed last 75 words of 465 total…more proper and accepted style of English is looked down upon by her peers as being a “momma’s girl.” The way we speak reflects the way we live making the different dialects found in the United States important components in the study of our culture. By showing how dialects form and the attitudes that stem from their different variations, American Tongues certainly illustrates the importance of linguistics within the study of anthropology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**