California English

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California English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the US state of California . As the most populous state in the United States , California is home to a large number of very diverse population groups, which has had an impact on the regional development of English. As with any language spoken in multiple countries, not all properties of English are understood by every speaker in a particular country. Nevertheless, there are a number of linguistic peculiarities that can be described as originally Californian.

history

In what is now known as California, English was first spoken on a large scale during the gold rush (circa 1848-1850), when numerous immigrants from the eastern parts of the United States and English-speaking immigrants from Europe poured into the area Country. Until the First World War , the different dialects and accents of the immigrants in California still strongly reflected their countries of origin. After the First World War there was a strong immigration of farmers from the American Midwest. This was due to the difficult economic conditions for hundreds of thousands of smaller farms in the 20s and 30s as well as recurring droughts in the states of the Midwest.

Phonology

As with most other subspecies of American English, California English has a rhotic pronunciation, which is distinct from other forms of English, e.g. B. British , Australian and New Zealand English . The following graphic shows the relative position of stressed monophthongs in California English:

California English vowel chart.svg

vocabulary

Many words have been taken from Spanish . This becomes particularly clear with place names and other geographical names, but also with many foods and recipes. This tendency of California English reflects on the one hand the Spanish and Mexican history of the country before 1848, as well as the fact that 36% of the population describe themselves as Hispanic or Latino .

Valspeak

A typical, originally regionally limited sociolect of California is the so-called Valspeak , which is spoken mainly in the San Fernando Valley , but more generally in the more inland parts of the greater Los Angeles area. Valspeak became known nationwide in the 90s through a series of films such as B. Clueless and Wayne's World . The special features of the Valspeak vocabulary include: B. the use of certain words that goes far beyond their actual meaning.

"Like"

  • Use: Particle
  • Example 1: "She was like 'Oh my god, you have to see this,' but I was like, 'Shut up! You're kidding!'"
  • Example 2: "Her new hat is like a greeny-brown color."

"why"

  • Usage: emphasis, without meaning of its own
  • Example: "Oh! Why that came out of nowhere!"

"As if!"

  • Usage: Stressed negation
  • Example: "You expect me to wear that? As if!"

Other popular California English sociolects include Surfer Slang , Spanglish, and Chicano English .

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