Do you speak American?

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Do you speak American?
After watching all the three episodes of Journalist Robert MacNeil’s series, “Do you speak American?” below is what I learned and what I found to be of particular interest. It makes connections between the concepts presented in chapter ten and the information provided in the videos and also uses examples and evidence to support the points. Robert travels across the United States of America purposed at observing the current state of the spoken American English language. He examines the major linguistic areas and predominant influences on American English today (McNeil 2).
Do you Speak American is a great documentary series on the state of American English in 2005 (Levinson 221). I think that Robert is sensitive to his subjects and he takes an earnest and warm interest in learning more on the roots of the American dialects. He shows us as his viewers the wide range of accents, dialects, speech patterns as well as the methods of communication used throughout the US. One will definitely learn a lot from this series. It can help in cultural sensitivity and understanding and especially when communicating with people from diverse social/cultural/regional backgrounds (Jony, 8).
The English language is basically not just a thing but a process, it is not an outdated institution but rather an experiment that is constantly evolving (Orosco 723). According to MacNeil, no one should understand this fact better than the Americans, who immersed in a culture of diversity are equipped to appreciate the independent and colorful nature of language.

It is horrifying that most people today still do not understand the difference between whom and who, and this is sufficient evidence that language is ever-changing. Therefore, Robert’s series enables the viewer to better understand the diversity of American English by embarking on a fascinating journey across the US with the sole purpose of studying the conversations of Boston natives and rural Texans, valley girl teenagers and inner-city African Americans.
Works Cited
Cran, William. Do you speak American?. Harcourt, 2005
Jony, Funny B. “Do You Speak American? [Learn English] – Episode 1.” YouTube, 25 Apr. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOTzkejL7ks. Accessed 1 Nov. 2018.
.MacNeil, Robert, and William Cran. Do you speak American?. Nan A. Talese, 2007.
Levinson, Martin H. “Do You Speak American?.” et Cetera63.2 (2006): 221.
Orosco, Michael J. “Do You Speak American?.” Bilingual Research Journal 29.3 (2005): 723.
Uther, Maria, Monja A. Knoll, and Denis Burnham. “Do you speak E-NG-LI-SH? A comparison of foreigner-and infant-directed speech.” Speech Communication 49.1 (2007): 2-7.