By Carolyn Sterling-Deer

America has long been known as the world’s melting pot since it is home to so many immigrants of so many different nationalities. In his text on language in America, John McWhorter (1998) describes America as a “linguistic melting pot.” Though bilingualism is considered unusual by many Americans, it is nevertheless a fact of life in this country for many newcomers. No doubt, the new immigrants who have arrived since the 1960s have elected to maintain their native languages while also learning English.

In addition to its status as a melting pot of languages of the world, America is home to many English dialects. The types of English spoken by native-born Americans are as varied as the languages of the world. Differences in language are also the result of regional differences. In fact, even within specific regions there is a great deal of language variation. Language variation is what makes Americans in other parts of the country sound different to people learning English. At times, an unfamiliar dialect makes it difficult for English language learners to understand spoken English. A person living in Boston does not pronounce words in the same manner as a resident of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Northern dialects differ from southern dialects. For example, New Yorkers have a distinct way of reducing the pronunciation of r. A 1966 study by linguist William Labov compared speech of New Yorkers shopping at Klein’s (discount), Macy’s (mid range), and Saks (high end) department stores. He determined that Saks shoppers (those who presumably belonged to a higher social-economic class) pronounced their r’s more than Macy’s and Klein’s shoppers.

In addition to regional dialect differences, there are also differences in English among different ethnic groups. As these groups learn English, they develop a unique manner of speaking. African-Americans have traditionally spoken a form of English that does not require plural s or third person s at the end of nouns and verbs. In the same manner, many Spanish dialects follow the same patterns of eliminating s at the end of words.

In Maus, Vladek Spiegelman is a refugee who speaks a form of English dialect. The most interesting feature of English dialect speakers is that they can be understood by almost all English speakers who speak a formal variety of English, known as Standard English, which follows all the prescribed grammar rules with greater regularity. Dialect speakers such as Vladek Spiegelman often change the word order of English sentences (syntax) or use uncommon words to express common ideas. This form of English can also be described as informal style versus formal style in which grammar rules are strictly followed. The linguistic exercise below cites some examples of informal English dialect taken from Vladek Spiegelman’s speech. In a small group, collaborate on alternative ways of expressing the same ideas and rewrite them in formal Standard English. Word order, word choice and other linguistic differences are in italics.

A Lingustic Exercise

p. 35, “And she was so laughing and so happy, so happy, that she approached each time and kissed me, so happy she was.”

p. 45, “… and there they took youfor 25 years… to Siberia!”

p. 58, “I didn’t want they should see me much.”

p. 59, “Always they did everything very systematic.”

p. 63, “These I saved from a Red Cross package. Always I saved just in case!”

p. 67, “But I haven’t with whom else to talk!”

p. 80, “He survived me my life that time.”

p. 84, “What was Anja doing at around this time?” “Houseworks… and knitting… reading… and she was writing always her diary.”

p. 84, “It was easier to hide than clothings. I kept things hidden in the child’s stroller, and I made a few zlotys.

p. 86, “We didn’t yet know of Auschwitz – of the ovens – but we were anyway afraid.”

p. 91, “One from three they kept at the stadium… maybe 10,000 people – and with them, my father.”

p. 110, “The Germans started to grab out anybody if he had papers or no.”

p. 111, “We survived there a few actions. But others, what didn’t have such a good place like what I made, they kept being taken away.”

p. 112, “All the time we were hungry. We just didn’t have what to eat.”

p. 113, “What had we to do? We took on him pity.”

p. 122, “It was also around this time that we heard first the bad news from Zawiercie – about Tosha and Richieu.”

p. 222, “To die, it’s easy.”

p. 222, “This always I told to her.”

p. 134, “If I say only one word to her, she makes right away an argument.”

p. 135, “It’s chilly… Take also here a blanket.”