ACTIVITY 1

New Orleanians vary across the city in how they pronounce certain words – ask 5-10 locals how they pronounce the following words/street names, and note the variation you observe:

1.  Praline

2. Pecan

3. Mirliton

4. New Orleans

5. Mayonnaise

6. Melpomene (St.)

7. Calliope (St.)

8. Burgundy (St.)

9. Foucher (St.)

10. Carondelet (St.)

11. Clio (St.)

ACTIVITY 2*

*Activity adapted from Wolfram/Pippin

In some dialects of English, including some in New Orleans, the ‘r’-sound in words like car or park can be dropped so that these words sound like ‘cah’ and ‘pahk’ – this is called r-lessness or variable nonrhoticity. However, not all ‘r’-sounds can be dropped. By comparing lists of words where the ‘r’ may be dropped with lists of words where it may not be dropped, you can figure out a pattern for ‘r’- dropping, and the rules that users of these features employ in their grammar to determine whether ‘r’ can be dropped or not.

List A: Words that can drop r

car

father

card

bigger

cardboard

beer

court

List B gives words where the r sound may NOT be dropped. In other words, speakers who might

sometimes drop their ‘r’s in the words presented in List A would ALWAYS pronounce the ‘r’ in the words in List B.

List B: Words that cannot drop r

run

bring

principal

string

okra

approach

April

What rule/hypothesis explains why ‘r’ can be dropped in List A but not List B? (It can be helpful to formulate this as an ‘if/then’ statement – ‘if X, then ‘r’ can(not) be dropped’).

 ACTIVITY 3

Watch the classic film on New Orleans dialects, ‘Yeah, You Rite!’ (Alvarez & Kolker 1985). Though this short film was made in the 1980s, some of the features and dialects in it can still be heard in the city.  After watching, consider:

1.  What patterns mentioned in the film do you think still reflect dialects in the city nowadays? What things do you think have shifted or changed?

2. What social patterns were identified distinguishing different ways of speaking in the city? Why do you think that is the case?

 ACTIVITY 4

Check out the website Online Resources for African American Language (ORAAL). The website has links to videos and podcasts, as well as activities for learning more about African American Language. Choose one video/podcast to listen to on your own time, and consider how the info you gain from it could be integrated into your teaching.