Writing Lessons & Advice: Dialects
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
I’m a casual, low-key sports fan at best, but I can appreciate the cultural magnitude and impact that the 2026 World Cup is having! FIFA’s data shows that through forty-four matches, “attendance topped 2.85 million and stadiums were 99.6% full”! Reuters additionally reflects that it's possible that political travel restrictions and negative sentiments have not slowed many down. And while we Americans may not be the biggest fans of soccer--be it for our own teams or the sport in general--we’re here for it out of our love for global spectacle if nothing else! More still, the shock, surprise, and/or delight international tourists are experiencing as they encounter U.S. culture and their celebrations in the major city streets has crept into my social media feeds, providing a refreshing change and affirming my belief in what a special country we can be!
The World Cup influx could be somewhat reminiscent of the country’s last two hundred and fifty years of immigration and growth. The United States has long been a melting pot, basically meaning our general culture embraces a huge variety of other cultures. Even within our social conglomeration, some cultural aspects have been spread across the country enough to be recognized by most--like some international cuisines and pop culture--or firmly rooted into a few locales, like West Virginia’s pepperoni roll or the heavy rodeo culture in Texas. However, one common denominator across all corners of the U.S. is the prevalence of the English language. It may be “flavored” by dialects of a given region, but the essence is still there. I wanted to create some Lessons & Advice related to these, inspired by a combination of the country’s history and the World Cup’s spirit of unity and healthy cultural collisions.
To start, dialect and accent may be used interchangeably at times, but a dialect is a little more than an accent. Merriam Webster defines dialect as a regional variety of spoken language among certain groups of people, distinguished from others by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Oftentimes a dialect is defined by what is said as much as how it's said. The United States actually has many; some sources claim thirty at most, so I’ll just try to touch on some highlights.
Northeast/New England
Perhaps some of the most iconic speaking mannerisms reside in places like Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Incidentally, their dialects are influenced by the United Kingdom. As port cities, nearly all of them were historically the first stops, if not the end point, for working-class immigrants from that side of the pond. As such, levels of distinctness even exist among themselves, but Babbel notes that most speakers in these camps will likely “drop” r sounds and speak vowels in a raised or nasally way. They may also lean into slang or colloquialisms that stem from a mother tongue--like Scot-Irish, Yiddish, or Pennsylvania Dutch-- and slur together words like “fuhgeddaboudit”.
South
The American south accent/dialect is just as distinct, often characterized by a “drawl” that either elongates vowels or splits syllables. Some influence still comes from the United Kingdom as immigrants travelled south, but history and culture also recognize Spanish, French, and African roots as well, especially along the gulf coast and Florida Keys.
This is an interesting camp to look at for some of their vocabulary and grammar. Most famously, many will say y’all to refer to a collective of individuals or they express intention by saying “fixin’ to” or “I reckon”. For something they’ve done already they may say, “I done told/ran/worked/etc.”, utilizing done as an auxiliary verb. Some might also use multiple modals, like might could, might better, or oughta could. Linguists can’t decide if this comes from modern English, middle English, or the Scots Irish. The south is also one side of a more cultural debate on what some things are called. For instance, a carbonated beverage in the south is coke while in the north its soda. In the south, the wheeled contraption at the store that holds your groceries is a buggy but in the north is a shopping cart.
Unfortunately, the southern ways of speaking is a bit of a black sheep in some eyes; the perceptions negatively view this camp as less intelligent/educated, sophisticated, or professional. The stigmas may stem from a mix of historical and socioeconomic factors alongside misconstruing/misconstrued media. During America’s Civil War, much of the south was pro-slavery, Confederate territory and by extension, the region with more of an African American population. The south also is/was largely agricultural, which to some people conjures up misconceived images of simpleton country folk, if not the more derogatory hicks and hillbillies.
Central
A large swath of the country’s center are in more general, midland or middle America accent/dialect camps, making it a little more difficult to define according to Babbel. Some in this region may not think of themselves even having an accent, but it’s just not as thick or heavy as other dialects can be. Some of the historical influences come not only from German, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, and occasionally even Canadian settlers, but also likely the fact that parts of the region were settled by internationals later and less closely than the north or south where more time, activity, and people nurtured the speech patterns. Much of this dialect pronounces all its r’s --though maybe throws in an occasional “intrusive r”--and bears only subtle vowel shifts from place to place. Much like with the New England port cities, certain speaking mannerisms have come to be associated with the heartlands’ major cities of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and other regions around the Great Lakes. Many see this accent/dialect as most pleasant and correct (if not superior) to the point of holding it as something of a standard in voice-heavy industries like radio, newscasting, and acting.
While a little bit of an aside, the pre-European residents of the continent have even made their linguistic mark in one way or another. Babbel cites a Thought Catalogue article explaining that over half of the fifty states take their names from (Anglicized) Native American people group names, several of which are in the south, west, or central regions. Further still, nearly every state may have municipalities and/or geographic landmarks that reflect indigenous names. Tying back into dialects, many native Americans have been found to have one of their own, which is unique from others so far in that it connects more to personal identity rather than region. Their native tongues were likely more tonal and sing-songy and likely carried over as they were forced to learn the less-tonal English. It’s possible they developed their own accent during this indoctrination, learning it one way in boarding schools and taking it home--to their reservations--to use, thus cultivating what is called a reservation or “rez” accent.
West
The middle America dialect spans through the west again in part for being internationally settled later and less densely. However, a few outliers are the Pacific Northwest and California camps.
With the Pacific Northwest mannerisms, an ae sound comes up in words like bag and egg, which could harken from the historical presence of the British, French, and Canada. They may also have more vocal fry in their voices. And like the buggy/cart situation, some might talk about going to the coast rather than the beach. A slang term unique to the area is “hella” which is used like “very” or “many”.
As to the California camp, the initial thoughts of some might imagine hearing surfers or white upper-class teenage girls, but that’s a bit of media perpetuation. Some elements, like the slang, do persist, but a hint of the south does too due to southern farmers migrating to the state during the 1920s Dust Bowl. Not to mention, the Irish brogue used to preside in San Francisco as they came from New England before that. Conversely, a Spanish-English hybrid--called Chichano English--sprang up with the Mexican American population.
Writing with Dialects
Dialects are like communication fingerprints, reflecting a good deal about us through speaking. They can hint at where one comes from, be it a specific U.S. region or from the U.S. in general. As I’ve made a point to highlight, most have been shaped by those who came before us and sometimes even shape how we see each other--for better or worse. These qualities can also be expressed and respected through writing, playing a considerable part in the aspect of voice, in fact.
The Famous Writing Routines explains one of the keys to writing with dialects is in striking a balance between authenticity and readability. Too few considerations or details may lead to inadequate or hurtful/unintentional representation. But on the flipside, too much can be too confusing or difficult to follow. Famous Writing Routines claims the middle ground is found in:
Researching and understanding the dialect. From the post: get a good idea of the “culture, history, and people behind the dialect...listen to native speakers or read works by authors from the region.”
Incorporating it sparingly and strategically. Some further considerations here:
Consider using dialects with worldbuilding, providing context, or showing character development
Focus on essence rather than exact replication
Rhythm of speech
Seek feedback from editors or beta readers. They can gauge how reader-friendly your dialect incorporation is.
Legally, English is the country’s official language, but at the same time, several generally accepted ways of articulating it persist, thanks to the cultural--and communication--clashes and collaborations that took root in the U.S. over two hundred and fifty years ago. Could there be a better bookend to the country’s milestone than the biggest soccer tournament in the world bringing us together again?
Hope you’re enlightened by these reflections and give dialect the thorough consideration it deserves in writing and literature!
This will be a bigger shoutout--To my U.S. based readers: whereabout are you from? Have you ever considered your dialect/accent? To my international readers--my analytics have found you in Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Singapore, Japan, Germany, and Poland--have you ever visited the United States? Perchance was it for the World Cup? Whatever the case, were any American cohorts easy or difficult to understand? Did some of their speaking mannerisms seem a little like yours? All feel free to share your thoughts, experiences, or Lessons & Advice ideas in the comments, with the chat feature, or on the socials!
Sources/further reading
Facts and stats:
Research:
Dialects in writing
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