Select a recognized dialect or variety of American English and prepare a report on it. It may be a regional, social, or stylistic variant. Good choices include AAVE, Gullah, regional variants (e.g., Appalachian English, New York English), Standard English, or English variants associated with particular ethnic or religious groups. Prepare an 800 word report on this dialect, based on reliable linguistic sources (not newspaper or magazine articles, unless they’re citing professional linguists). Your report should address at least the following:
Where, when, and/or by whom is this variety spoken? How does the speech community differ from other American speech communities? What makes it a cohesive group?
How did the dialect develop? Is it a prestige variety or a stigmatized variety?
Describe several ways in which it differs from other varieties of English in terms of its phonology, morphology, vocabulary, or syntax.
List a few interesting lexical items that are specific to this dialect.
