Do You Speak American?

Why is the English spoken by Maine lobstermen so different from thatscene from the broadcast spoken by cowboys in Texas? Does Spanish pose a threat to English as the dominant language in America? And what on earth do yins, wickety wack, ayuh, catty whompus, and stomping it clean mean?

Robert MacNeil travels cross-country to answer these questions and examine the dynamic state of American English – a language rich with regional variety, strong global impact and cultural controversy.

Overview Seasons Similar

Created By
Status	Ended
Original Name	Do You Speak American?
First Air Date	January 5, 2005
Last Air Date	January 5, 2005
Seasons	1
Episodes	3
Episode Runtime	0min
Language	English
Original Language	English
Production Countries	United States of America
Production Companies	MacNeil-Lehrer Productions Thirteen
Networks	PBS

S01E03

Episode 3

Now on the left coast, the series spotlights Spanglish – a hybrid of Spanish and English – with a segment on Patricia López, a video jockey on the local Latino television program Mex to the Max. It also explores Chicano – the thriving, distinct street talk of the Los Angeles Latino community – taking a trip to an inner-city park packed with urban teens accompanied by linguist Carmen Fought. MacNeil visits classrooms in which young students learn to translate Ebonics and the informal versions of English spoken at home into the classroom English they will need to succeed in the workforce. MacNeil gets a lesson himself in surfer-, skateboarder- and skater-speak. He meets up with screenwriters Amy Heckerling and Winnie Holtzman for a discussion about the impact of Hollywood on our language; comedian Steve Harvey, who says he sounds silly speaking anything other than “African-American,” but well understands the need for African-American children to be “bilingual”; and Cliff Nass, a Stanford University professor who poses thoughtful questions about the potential societal impact of voice-activated computers.

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