Do You Speak American?,   ISBN:9780156032889

Customer Rating: 

Deserving of ongoing mention is a fun companion to the PBS TV special which stands well on its own and promises lasting lending value: a survey of American grammatical standards and how they are being influenced by both other cultures and media. The authors co-wrote THE STORY OF ENGLISH, which was a historical overview; DO YOU SPEAK AMERICAN shares the discoveries they made while interviewing native speakers and observing everyday verbal interactions. A fascinating account evolves.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Customer Rating: 

Language is not constant. It is continually evolving with cultural and ethnic influences impacting a region's speech. Authors Robert MacNeil and William Cran have examined the English language through interviewing native speakers and observing the verbal interactions of people across the country.

I found Do You Speak American? fascinating. As a native speaker from the Midwest, it always surprises me when I'm traveling that people can pinpoint where I'm from. Being from the Midwest, I always thought that I didn't have an "accent." Wrong! My speech patterns, class, choice of words, word order, pronunciation (vowel changes) and perhaps the media's affect on speech, give me away.

The authors' journey across the country, studying regional conversations, is interesting and enlightening and offers explanations that might surprise the reader. I particularly enjoyed the sections on teaching computers to speak American; the one on Hispanic immigration and its impact on American language; and the section on bad-mouthing black English.

While Do You Speak American? is not an in-depth study, it is a wonderful beginning for those who are interested in the subject.

Armchair Interviews says: If you enjoy words and are curious about how Americans speak, you'll enjoy Do You Speak American?

Customer Rating: 

While this may be an okay companion to the television series, it is not well organized and tries to cover too much ground without enough depth and structure. Anything by Bill Bryson (or the author's own Story of English) would be better. Not really recommended unless you can get a super clearance deal and want something to read on a quick flight.

Customer Rating: 

Language is one of my interests, and so I found this to be a fascinating book on the English language as Americans speak it. As previous readers mentioned, it is an easy read, with a narrative style. The authors relate some of the origins of our accents, how they are evolving, combining, and differentiating, including what linguists are looking at in the future of our language.

Having read the book, I have a new appreciating of dialects different from my own (Midwestern). However, this book is far from comprehensive. I'd like to have seen more about deviations from the Standard Midwestern accent in the Midwest, and I think Canadian accents should have been given a more systematic treatment, rather than just mentioned in examples. After all, Canada can be considered American by virtue of its location, and the fluidity with which people move across the border make it easy to argue that English as Canadians speak it is as American as the English I speak, eh.

One thing the authors could have left out, in my opinion, is the chapter on getting computers to speak and understand speech. As a book on English as Americans speak it, it seems out of place. While informative, I feel it deserves a separate treatment.

Customer Rating: 

I read this book because I am fascinated by words and dialects and how (some) linguistics experts can tell where you grew up just from the way you speak.

"Do You Speak American" satisfied my craving to learn more about dialect in the United States but it went WAY beyond my expectations.

In addition to presenting and discussing a FASCINATING map of major dialect regions and changes in the U.S., this book addresses two key current social issues: The (unfounded) phobia that Spanish will take over from English as the dominant language of the United States, and the (still valid) issue that even as "African American English" contributes to our culture, it separates many kids from economic mainstream access through linquistic prejudice (e.g., "if you sound like THAT you must be DUMB")

The book doesn't stop there but continues addressing MORE fascinating topics including the origins of "Valley Girl/Surfer Dude" California dialects (like, totally!) and computer speech recognition efforts by BMW and Microsoft.

I found the overall tone of the book UPBEAT. The research findings and interpretations presented show it's quite possible and quite HUMAN to be "bilingual" in DIALECTS as well as languages. So that we can maintain our language-based identity (where we grew up) AND claim our stake in the mainstream economy.