Are Regional Dialects Homogeneous?
The boundaries between the major regional dialects tend to correspond to major geographical barriers. For example, the Ohio River separates the Midland Dialect from the Southern Dialect. Within the major dialect regions are sub-regional dialects. Although many people refer to them by state (e.g., Ohio dialect, Wisconsin dialect), their boundaries rarely correspond to political boundaries. As an example of sub-dialects, consider the myriad varieties of Southern. These include Appalachian English; the speech of Tory cities such as Savannah and Charleston; the speech of the Mid-South (Virginia, North Carolina); the speech of the Deep South (Alabama, Mississippi); the speech of Texas; the speech of the Hoi Toiders of the Outer Banks; the French-influenced English heard in Louisiana; the speech of the Bluegrass region (Kentucky), and so forth. These dialects—like all dialects—have changed over time and continue to change, but all remain distinctly different from each other. Although televis
