Date: Sat, 25 Nov 1995 23:49:05 -0600

From: Daniel S Goodman dsg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAROON.TC.UMN.EDU

Subject: Separate dialects?



According to dialect maps, the Hudson Valley has a dialect of English

distinct from the dialect of the rest of Upstate New York and Western

Vermont. Since I grew up in Ulster County NY, I presumably speak one of

these dialects. Trying to figure out which one, I've realized that I

hear more variation within what are supposed to be two dialect areas than

I do between them -- in pitch, pronunciation, and vocabulary.



For that matter, Montreal English sounds almost accentless to me.

(Though if I were to spend much time there, I would probably run into

vocabulary differences.)



I'm not a trained observer. But I do wonder whether 1)The differences

between Upstate New York and Hudson Valley have lessened; or 2) the

people who made the original dialect maps were biased toward finding two

distinct dialect areas; or 3) my hearing is worse than I thought it was.



Dan Goodman dsg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]maroon.tc.umn.edu