Dialects in the United States
Directions:
• Read summaries that are provided
• Click to access websites when directed
• Answer questions that are asked on your
assignment sheet.
Dialects: Arthur the Rat
• Listen to the story of Arthur the Rat read
by several people with different dialects.
Match the reader to the correct dialect.
• Answer the questions on the worksheet
Arthur the Rat Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
A
E
B
C
I
G
H
D
F
Dialects: American Regional
• Go to http://accent.gmu.edu/
• Click on browse, then atlas/regions
• Click on the USA, by clicking on the red
flags, choose a person from five different
regions in the United States then
complete the table.
• Listen to a few non-American dialects.
Most of the Gullahs' early ancestors in what is
now the United States were brought to the South
Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry through the
ports of Charleston and Savannah as slaves.
Charleston was one of the most important ports
in North America for the Transatlantic slave
trade. Up to half of the enslaved Africans
brought into what is now the United States came
through that port. A great majority of the
remaining flowed through Savannah, which was
also active in the slave trade.
http://www.beaufortsc.org/attractions-culture/gullah-history.stml
A Gullah performance at Boone
Hall Plantation
Announcing the 2010
Gullah/Geechee Festival
The Gullah are known for preserving more of
their African linguistic and cultural heritage than
any other African-American community in the
United States. They speak an English-based
creole language containing many African
loanwords and significant influences from African
languages in grammar and sentence structure;
Gullah storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs,
crafts, farming and fishing traditions, all
exhibit strong influences from West and
Central African cultures.
Weaving baskets
Gullah
• Go to
http://www.knowitall.org/gullahnet/main/index.ht
ml
• Under “Gullah History” click “What is Gullah?”
– Where is the Gullah Culture?
– What is the difference in Gullah and Geechee?
• Continue by clicking “Learn more about..”
– Which area of Africa are most of the Gullah from?
– What were the major crops grown in the Gullah area
of South Carolina before the Civil War?
• Continue by clicking “Learn more about…”
– After the Civil War, what situation provided an
opportunity for the Gullah culture to be
preserved?
– After 1950, how did life on the Sea Islands
change?
• Continue by clicking “Learn more about…”
– Describe the roots of the Gullah language.
– Which languages influenced Gullah?
– In which language family would you place
Gullah?
• Continue by clicking “Learn more
about…,” then click on “Storytelling and
Song"
• Watch the video of Auntie Pearl Sue
– Can you understand the whole story? Could
you follow part of the story? Which part was
harder to follow?
• Click “Gullah Tales” Choose a story and let
Auntie Pearl Sue tell you another story in
Gullah (click the right arrow at the bottom
of the screen to advance the story)
– Did the story differ from the traditional English
story? How?
Gullah Culture
• Go to
http://www.pbs.org/now/arts/gullah.html
• How has the language and dialect of
Gullah people had the opportunity to be
preserved historically?
• Click to read the transcript “Gullah Culture”
• How many Gullah people are there, and on what
islands do they live?
• Why were the ancestors of the Gullah people,
slaves, more isolated than other slaves in the
South?
• How has their physical and cultural landscape
impacted the maintenance of their culture (ex.
Language, lifestyle, food, etc)?
• Why is the Gullah culture in jeopardy?
• How has the value of the land changed?
• How has this culture turned into a commodity?