The Dialect Of Surfer Dudes And The Valley Girls

The way people speak has to do with the community they grew up in, along with the phrases and accents that they use, which is affected by the region that an individual lives in. In America, there are many diverse dialects possibly because of the numerous cultures brought from the immigrants that came to America. As Walt Whitman said, “Viewed freely, the English language is the accretion and growth of every dialect, race, and range of time, and is both free and compacted composition of all.” There are many different regions of American English. One of them is called the Pacific Southwest, a region that covers California. The dialect is commonly known to be the accent of Surfer Dudes and the Valley Girls. However, there is more to the dialect than the stereotype created by Hollywood. The Pacific Southwest has interesting origins of the dialect, influences that helped create the dialect, and how the dialect is perceived by others. The origins of the Pacific Southwest dialect started when settlers came

Although Hollywood has created a stereotype for the accent, it is not exclusively spoken by blondes. Penelope Eckert and Norma Denton explained this in the article “American Varieties California English”. The real California, with a population of 34 million, is only 46,7% white. Most of them are not blonde and don’t spend their days at the beach. California has a large Latino population that currently accounts for 32.4% of the state’s numbers. Also, the state recently has a large Chinese-American and Japanese-American population. California now has a large and diverse Asian-American population that accounts for 11.2% of the population. (Eckert, Penelope, and Norma Denton, “American Varieties California English.”, pbs.org ) The Pacific Southwest’s cultural multifariousness gives the area a fascinating linguistic style. Because of Hollywood, the dialect is recognizable and is perceived negatively by