1. Should there be an Official Language of the United States? *Address this question in notebooks for 5 minutes free write *

2. Dialects of American English “The rain in Maine falls mainly on the plain” “How ya doin’ y’all?” “Pahk the Cah in Hahvud Yahd”

3. Official vs National  America does not have an Official Language  Almost every session of Congress has an amendment proposed to make English the Official Language  The ACLU believes that English-only laws can violate the U.S. Constitution's protection of due process (especially in courts where no translation service would be offered) and equal protection (for example, where English-only ballots would be used where bilingual ones were available in the past).  The debate goes on

4. Official vs National  Right now, English is the National Language of the United States  the federal government is directed to "preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language of the United States of America." It does not go as far as proposals to designate English the country's official language, which would require all government publications and business to be in English.

5. The Debate Continues… 2008 Democratic Debate 2008 Democratic Debate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS24s4p YY28

6. Review 1.Slang 3.Jargon 5.Dialect 7.Accent 8.Regional Dialect 2.Style 4.Register 6.Speech Community 9.Sociolect

7. American Tongues Documentary clip Documentary clip