wolfram schilling estes american english wolfram walt schilling estes natalie 1998 american english oxford u k blackwell isbn 0631 20846 5 hardcover rrp us 59 95 hardcover 16 99 us 29 95 rich phonology american accents appreciated instantly identifiable non american speakers english worldwide television radio perhaps internet however perceived homogeneity american way speaking something uniquely american speakers english lies stark contrast diversity american english domestic reality exciting revision wolfram classic dialects american english wolfram schilling estes attempt provide detailed account geographical sociocultural distribution certain kinds american english distinct dialects grammar usage also attempt dispel number urban notso urban myths common among native american english speakers book begins contrasting popular definition dialects relative social desirability otherwise perceived native speakers often feel speak dialect technical definitions linguistics context socalled desirabilitydeficit debate work schilling estes documenting ocracoke english north carolina particular places unique position comment language variation social issues involved linguistic minorities especially attempting dispel myths regarding social desirability dialects second chapter contrasts linguistic sociohistorical explanations processes different dialects arise languages generally languages change time whilst latter explanation sees languages dialects arising interaction social historical conditions migration settlement language contact former view sees languages dynamical systems inherent capacity impetus change arises structure although linguists directly concerned sociohistorical factors language change authors successfully integrate viewpoints examining general processes grammaticalization context specific examples new york city vernacular however interested solely comprehensive review distinctive american grammar independent social factors look elsewhere book taxonomic however third chapter discusses levels dialect useful understanding strata dialects contemporary american speech fourth chapter provides historical overview development american dialects elizabethan influences prerevolutionary dialects rise west coast twentieth century accents chapter successfully uses geographical diagrams maps demonstrate localised changes distinctive dialect features rlessness rfulness occurred throughout history united states also demonstrate flow influence dialects settlement interior changes related issues language contact language borrowing native americans chapter 5 continues process developing examples regional dialects variations many areas united states chapters 6 7 develop idea dialects beyond regional geographical differences encompass dialect change differences based social class ethnicity gender chapters consider key issues patterning social difference language context specific examples african american vernacular english aave interesting note example even though least eight distinctive grammatical features distinguish aave anglo american dialect variation within group sufficient make comparisons difficult linguists general case examined respect interactions three languages case robeson county nc native americans constitute 40 county population accent clearly dominant chapters 8 9 moves away group analysis dialects language questions individual language use style social distribution usages theories style shifting attention speech model speech accommodation theory audience design model reviewed research methods understanding individual speech acts within paradigms focus groupbased methods discussed including corpus methods group exclusive dialect features dialect patterning discussed context research methods implicational arrays relate specific grammatical features different dialects book concludes discussions relevance understanding accents dialects applied linguistics issue clearly important historically desirabilitydeficit debate contemporary education english second language particular use standardized tests based around recognition standard english usage grammar criticized unrealistic well violating assumptions content validity one solution might use dialect consistency achievement measure developing culturally linguisticallyappropriate testing situations make assumptions language learner accent social demographics authors recognise kinds aims difficult implement certainly recognising systematic biases language testing encouraging dialect awareness schools first step wolfram schilling estes explicitly accommodate pedagogical usage book introducing key concepts capitals including exercise students new section text conclusion chapter useful reading section also useful students glossary common linguistic terms end book skeletal phonetics chart accompanied appendix sociallydiagnostic structures useful working clinical linguistics criticism could levelled teaching material book solutions provided exercises perhaps development separate teacher guide especially foreign tesol instructors might appropriate future inclusion otherwise impressive account american english reviewed paul watters department computing school mathematics physics computing electronics macquarie university nsw 2109 australia tel 61 29850 9541 fax 61 29850 9551 e mail pwatters mpce mq edu au paul watters research officer macquarie university australia currently working computational representations semantics models language speech production working regional issues language usage especially online language use associate editor south pacific journal psychology