Answer the following questions in about three double spaced pages. You can answer each
question directly, or craft a general essay that touches on all the questions. Use standard
English in your essay; grammar and spelling count! Be sure to cite specific examples from
the film.
- Why do people speak differently in different parts of the United States?
- People seem to speak bluntly and be highly opinionated about accents. They also seem sensitive to comments about their accent or dialect. Why?
- What region of the country seems to have the most diversity in dialects (that is it has a lot of dialects in a relatively small area)? Why might this be the case?
- Based on what you learned in the movie, what factors tend to determine how you will speak?
- How are race and dialect related? What examples from the film highlight the role that race plays in the social, economic and cultural life of the country?