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Tony Rondinelli-The most prevalent language other than English is Spanish at 5.8%. The dialect of English spoken is Western American English which is pretty neutral overall with unique features like vowel shifts and glottal stops.

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Alina Severson- English is the most spoken language in Highlands Ranch area, while Spanish and Chinese follow behind with a percentage of 71.12 and English at 83.24% spoken in Colorado areas. The dialect and pronunciation around these areas are neutral without any different kinds of ways when speaking.

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This is a picture of Old Town Arvada which is a small shopping district in Arvada with some of my favorite places to visit!

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Maddie Lyon

I chose Arvada, CO (part of Jefferson County), which is my hometown and somewhere I'd consider teaching in the future. Based on what I saw on the map, other than English, the most common languages spoken in Arvada are Spanish and German. The census reported that 2,911 individuals (or 0.56%) spoke German and 31,708 (or 6.07%) spoke Spanish. I think Spanish being this common is very accurate. I know lots of people who speak Spanish in Arvada, and I'm not surprised to see this is the second most common language.

Aside from Spanish, Denver (which is close to Arvada) is known for its more neutral, Western American English dialect. From the videos provided, I hear a very flat way of speaking that will sometimes omit consonants in the middle of a word, like the t in mountains. According to the website, we pronounce "cot" and "caught" alike, which is true. Our dialect is not very discernible from neighboring western states like Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, etc., but we definitely sound different from Southern States, Eastern States, and other areas around the country.

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Lily Goostree: The geographic area I chose to focus on is Jefferson County in Colorado, my home county. The most prevalent language other than English that is spoken by residents in Jefferson is Spanish and the percentage of residents in the county that speak Spanish is 10.45%. The variety/dialect of North American English that is spoken in this region is called Western American English. A couple examples of unique features of this variety of English include the same pronunciation of ‘pin’ and ‘pen’, long o fronting, and r dropping.

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Brooklyn Byerly

The geographic area I decided to focus on was Littleton, CO (my hometown), and I could see myself teaching here in the future. In addition to English, the most prevalent languages are Spanish (79%) and American Sign Language (48%). I am surprised that ASL is a top language! After ASL, Japanese is the next most common language (30%). As for dialects in Littleton, it is mostly with the pronunciation of "pin" and "pen" and r dropping.

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Phoebe McGown- lopez island is predominant language is english and then the second predominant  is spanish and then french. the dialect and prouncition is western american english but are mostly neutral.

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Sienna Whitcher- The geographic area I focused on was Centennial, Colorado which is a part of Douglas County. I chose this because it is my hometown and would like to teach here someday. Other than English, the most prevalent language spoken is Spanish, which was 3.70% and Chinese with 0.79%. English makes up 90.91% of Douglas County. This surprises me a little because at my school there were a handful of students who spoke bilingual with Spanish and English. But this statistic also doesn't surprise me because there isn't a big population of multilingual students or even schools with multilingual learning options. The dialect of North American English thats spoken in this region is Western American English. This type of dialect is pretty neutral especially in pronouncing different words.

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In the summer of 1998, Randy Pye, John Brackney, Brian Vogt, Ed Bosier and Pete Ross gathered at a pancake house to consider the advantages of incorporating the City of Centennial. They established a volunteer organization known as the Arapahoe Citizens for Self -Determination and an incorporation steering committee that filed a petition in the District Court in October 1998 requesting an election to determine whether the City of Centennial should incorporate. The District Court conducted hearings and determined the petition was invalid. On December 12, 1998, the volunteers corrected the petition and in six hours, obtained more than 2,500 signatures on a second petition known as the "Centennial Petition."

Colorado Legislature Gives Credence to the Movement

While the Centennial Petition was pending in District Court, House Bill 99-1099 was drafted and introduced in the Colorado Legislature to clarify existing law that established a priority for forming large cities, such as Centennial, over more minor competing municipal annexations. House Bill 99-1099 passed out of the Colorado House of Representatives without a single dissenting vote, and out of the Colorado Senate with only six dissenting votes. This Bill was the first piece of legislation signed into law by Governor Bill Owens on February 1, 1999.

Colorado Courts Approve an Election

On April 8, 1999, the District Court found the Centennial Petition valid and took precedence over competing annexation proposals and ordered an election on whether Centennial should be incorporated. Still, interveners in the District Court case appealed the ruling. The Colorado Court of Appeals transferred the Centennial case directly to the Colorado Supreme Court for determination. The Colorado Supreme Court held oral arguments on May 3, 2000, where the Centennial volunteers once again turned out in mass to support the principles of self-determination and the formation of Centennial. In a unanimous opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court announced on July 21, 2000, that an election should take place to determine if the City of Centennial should be incorporated.

Election Scheduled, Incorporation Approved

The volunteer Election Commission for Centennial was appointed and convened and scheduled an election for September 12, 2000, to determine if the voters within Centennial wished to form a city. On September 12, 2000, 77% of voters approved the formation of the City of Centennial.

City of Centennial Established

The first officers of the City of Centennial government were elected on February 6, 2001. Following their taking of oaths of office at approximately 12:15 p.m. on February 7, 2001, the City of Centennial was finally legally established as a Colorado city.

First Election

As one of the City's founding fathers and president of the incorporation committee, Randy Pye was widely considered the front-runner for the City's first elected mayor. After shepherding the movement to create the metro area's fourth-largest city (at the time), Randy Pye captured 81% of the vote, making him Centennial's first mayor.

During the election, 30 candidates ran for eight new seats on Council and Mayor, Treasurer, and City Clerk's roles. The top Council vote-getters were elected to serve four-year terms, and the second-highest Council vote-getters were elected to serve two-year terms.

Home Rule

In 2001, Centennial incorporated as a statutory city governed by state laws. On November 6, 2007, Centennial's citizens elected 21 residents to serve on the Home Rule Charter Commission to draft a Home Rule Charter in 120 days. On June 10, 2008, the citizens of Centennial voted to approve a Home Rule Charter, making it possible for Centennial to have control over local matters of local concern, including sales tax collection and audit. The approved charter serves as a "constitution" for the City. Read the Home Rule Charter(PDF, 1MB) .

Tax Payers Bill of Rights (TABOR) Measures

TABOR is an amendment to the Colorado Constitution requiring governments to refund specific unspent revenue unless voters grant permission to keep it through so-called "de-Brucing" measures.

In 2006, 73% of residents voted in favor of the City's "de-Brucing" measure. Once passed, the City kept an estimated $2.2 million in 2005 through 2007 tax revenue. Approval of this measure was in place through 2013. As the 2013 deadline approached, the City placed another TABOR exemption on the ballot in 2012. TABOR Ballot Measure 2D passed, allowing the City to retain and spend City revenues from all current and existing funding sources.

Contract City Model

The City of Centennial operates under a hybrid model of public and private services. The founding vision for Centennial was one of limited government, with a relatively lean staff and cost saving contracts for a variety of services from public works to law enforcement. In addition to the contracted services, the City partners with a variety of special districts. The City was founded from an unincorporated area with many special districts providing service ranging from water and sanitation to fire protection which remain in place now.

Land Use Brought in-house

In 2008, the City Council decided to end a four-year contract with URS, an engineering, design, and construction company that provided land use services. It was determined it was more cost-effective and efficient to bring land use services in-house, resulting in 10 new City employees hiring.

The City continues to provide land use services through its in-house Community Development Department.

Splitting Public Works and Public Safety into two contracts

Initially, the City had a contract with Arapahoe County for Public Works and Public Safety. However, in 2008, the City and Arapahoe County agreed to a short-term deal through July 1, 2008, with two separate Public Works and Public Safety contracts. Then, in what was thought to be the most significant public-to-private transfer of its kind in the United States, the City transitioned its contract for Public Works to CH2M Hill. The new contract included a fixed annual budget and specific performance standards. During that same time, the City and Arapahoe County signed a new 10-year contract for public safety provided by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.

The City continues to provide Public Works services through a contract with Jacobs Engineering (formerly CH2M Hill) and Public Safety Services through an agreement with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.

Additional Contracted Services

The City contracts for the provision of a variety of other services as well. In addition to Public Works, Jacobs Engineering is the City's contracted provider for the 24/7 Call Center and Code Compliance services. In addition, Animal Services are available to Centennial residents through a contract with the Human Society of the Pikes Peak Region (HSPPR).

Strategic Planning Projects

In 2007, the City announced its first strategic project: Our Voice, Our Vision, Centennial 2030. During this process, a group of residents volunteered their time and helped develop the City's first strategic plan. The 20-year plan included recommendations on infrastructure, safety and community.

In 2019, the City launched a strategic planning process and City Council officially adopted the City's Mission, Vision & Values. The Goals and Strategies provide direction for the immediate outcomes desired by Council to move toward the vision. Departmental and individual work plans reflect how an individual position or division works to accomplish the strategic plan's goals. View examples of department work plans tied to strategic objectives in the City's budget.

City Facilities

Office space needs have evolved. Over the years, the City transitioned from renting space to purchasing the building and land for Centennial Civic Center and the future Centennial Center Park.

First Office Space

One of the first actions made as a City was acquiring office space for the newly formed City. The City paid Arapahoe Bank & Trust $1 to rent a transitional office space. The rental space included a separate entrance, three offices, a reception area and access to a conference room.

Mayoral front-runner Randy Pye hands Frank Peterson, President of Arapahoe Bank & Trust, $1 for the City of Centennial's new office space (left).

Rented Office Space

In 2006, the City rented a larger space at 12503 E. Euclid Drive (right), conveniently located off Arapahoe Road in the City center.

Purchased Civic Center Building and Surrounding Land

In 2008, the City purchased a 34,000 square-foot building at 13133 E. Arapahoe Rd. for a new Civic Center (left) the adjacent 11-acre open space to develop a park. As a debt-free City, nearly $7 million was accepted in cash for the property.

On April 27, 2012, Centennial Center Park opened to the public and is now a central location to host events.

In 2012, the City purchased a second property at 7272 Eagle Street. The new facility was acquired to house the City's Public Works, Code Compliance and Animal Services contractors, and make available a new rentable community room.

The Census

In 2010, residents completed the first census since the City's incorporation in 2001. The official 2010 Census listed the City's population at 100,377, making it the 10th largest city in the State. Also, by reaching the 100,000 mark, the City was given entitlement status. The new position allowed the City to receive Federal grant funding without going through the County directly.

In 2020, residents completed the second census since the City's incorporation. With a self-response rate of 87%, Centennial finished with the highest response rate for a city with over 100,000.

The Fiber Master Plan

In 2013, Centennial voters overwhelmingly supported the City's intention to create a new fiber broadband infrastructure. The passing of ballot question 2G allowed the City to indirectly provide services through competitive and nonexclusive partnerships with private businesses. Then, City Council developed goals, adopted a Fiber Master Plan, and allocated $5.7 million to implement the City's Fiber Master Plan and begin constructing a 50-mile fiber backbone.

In 2018, the City completed a 432-fiber strand backbone connecting key City sites and providing opportunities for community anchor institutions. Learn more about FiberWorks.

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Are you curious about the history of the City of Centennial? How did the City begin? When did we become a City? Get quick facts about a place we call home.

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The region I chose is the state and city where I was born and raised—Santa Rosa, CA, which is located in Sonoma County. The most common languages spoken in the United States, aside from English, are Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog. With Spanish at 62.13%, Chinese at 2.96% and Tagalog at 2.70%. The most common language other than English in Santa Rosa is Spanish at around 42%, American Sign Language at about 23%, and French at about 10%. In California, the English dialect tends to elongate some words, but besides that, it is hard for me to hear a huge difference in dialect. One word that I hear said a lot in Northern California that is not as common in other parts of the country is “hella”. It was something said so often where I lived, and when I moved to Colorado, I noticed it wasn’t as common.

Ruby Trione

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Camilla Musgrave.

1. Geographic Area: I chose to focus on Jefferson County, Colorado, which is also my home town.

2. Most Prevelant Language (other than english): Based on the Washington Post map, the most commonly spoken language other than English in Jefferson County is Spanish, with about 10.45% of residents speaking it at home.

3. English Variety/ Dialect: The variety of English spoken in this area is called Western American English. Some unique features of this dialect include how the "t" sound is softened or barely pronounced in words such as mountain, kitten, or water. This makes the prononucation sound more like moun'n, ki'en, and wa'er.

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Jayla Montoya - The geographic area I chose to focus on was Highlands Ranch, Colorado, more specifically Douglas County (The county I attended grades K-12). I chose this area because I grew up here and would definitely consider becoming a teacher there someday. After English, the most prevalent language spoken is Spanish, with around 9,274 students(3.70%), then Chinese with 1985 students(0.79%), then German with 1,452(0.53%), and so on. The dialect around my area has no notes in the provided resource; however, closely surrounding areas like Pueblo have interesting pronunciations like “pin” and “pen”. I've actually noticed that I myself say the same thing even though I am not from Pueblo. I was not necessarily surprised by these statistics, as there wasn't a large number of multilingual students in my classes/schools.

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1. The geographic location that I chose was my hometown of Andover, Massachusetts, which is outside of Boston.

2. Based on the Washington Post article, the other most common languages are Spanish and French

3. From the information on the North American English Dialects map, the dialect in Andover is called a "single hatch" where the words cot and caught are pronounced the same, but father and bother are not pronounced the same. We also say "rum" instead of "room'

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I focused on the San Francisco Bay Area, More specifically Contra Costa County which is where I am from and also where I would like to teach after graduation.

English is the predominant language spoken in this area. Excluding English, Spanish and Spanish Creole are the predominant languages spoken in the area. About 13.7% of the United States population speaks Spanish at home and less than 1% of the population speaks Spanish Creole. Excluding English and Spanish, Chinese is the predominant language spoken in this area, around 1% of the United States population speaks Chinese.

The dialect of North American English spoken in this region is called Urban Coastal California English which is part of Western American Dialect.

I listened to Dave Brubeck, a Jazz Musician from Concord. I heard how “On” rhymes with “Dawn”, not “ Don”.

In this type of English we say our “R” very clearly in words, meaning people from here are typically rhotic speakers. Also vowels are usually pushed together when pronouncing words.

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Brenna Walsh

1. The geographic location that I chose was my hometown. Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.

2. The Washington Post article states that the other most common languages are Spanish or Spanish Creole and Chinese

3. The North American English Dialect map describes Oyster Bay as the “Greater New York City”. There are various unusual vowels like “bad” and ‘had” don't rhyme and “father” and “brother” dont rhyme.

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Mia Frazier- The area I chose to focus on was Highlands Ranch Colorado, where I am from. I think that growing up all the way from pre-school to 12th grade influenced who I am today. I plan to give back to the teachers who educated me by coming back and being a teacher within the county. Although there is not much linguistic diversity, after English, the prevalent language is Spanish with around 3.70%/ 9,274 students, then Chinese 0.79% with around 1,985. The dialect around Douglas County had not provided anything specific but with a little bit of research I found that the language is very western traditional neutral English. There are multiple times that when continuing on to college I think about how different people pronounce the same word that I have heard all my life growing up so differently. Linguistic diversity brings so much identity into a classroom and education system and it is important to celebrate every aspect of that!

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Abbey Kunz. Contra Costa County, CA. The primary language in Contra Costa County is English. The primary non-English language is Spanish, with 13.1% of residents speaking it. This region is called the Midland. One example of the dialect is "on rhymes with don, not dawn." There are a few unique features, including vowel fronting/raising. This means the back vowel of a word is moved to the front of the word.

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The geographic area I chose is Littleton, Colorado, because it is my hometown and I could possibly see myself teaching there in the future. The predominant language spoken is English (89.7%), with Spanish being spoken the second most (7.0%) and German being spoken the third most (1.7%). The dialect used in Littleton is Western American English and is described as a pretty generic American accent. There are some changes in vocabulary, though, including some people dropping the 't' when pronouncing "mountain."

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1 : I decided to focus on Austin, Texas because that is the city I grew up in.

2 : The most prevalent language other than English is Spanish. About 24.40% or 221,019 people primarily speak Spanish in Austin.

3 : The dialect that the American English Dialect resource shows is the most prevalent dialect is something called a Lowland Southern Accent. What I've noticed about this accent after growing up in a city where I heard this accent a lot is that people talk with a drawl, and tend to elongate certain parts of words. Another characteristic is the vocabulary that is used by Texans. For example, "y'all" is a very common word that everybody uses, including myself.

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Julian Morales

1. I focused my exploration on Aurora, CO (and Arapahoe County). Aurora is where I grew up and went to school, I would also prefer to come back here and teach.

2. The most prevalent languages other than English in Aurora are Spanish and African languages, Spanish speakers making up about 12.49% and speakers of African languages about 1.18%. This is not a surprise to me because of the diversity I grew up with and because I made up part of the statistic on Spanish speakers.

3. The dialect of the more general region is Western. After listening to a few of the audio samples, I did notice the emphasis on "ou" in words such as "sound," and the tendency to emphasize "t" sounds. Some unique features to the English spoken in Colorado are like the way we pronounce Colorado as Color-ad-o.

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Carina Hall

I focused on Centennial/Aurora, as this is the area where I went to high school. The predominant language in this area is English, while the predominant language spoken, excluding English, is Spanish and African languages. About 14.14% speak Spanish, and about 3.5% speak African languages. In the Centennial/Aurora area, the primary dialect spoken is Western American English, also known as Western U.S. English. Listening to audio samples, the accent sounds pretty neutral compared to other regions, with the cot–caught merger making words like cot and caught sound the same, and t sounds, like in mountain, said as mou’in. Unique features include pronunciation patterns such as the cot–caught merger, vowels like u in goose, and flapping of t so metal and medal sound alike. The vocabulary appears to reflect outdoor life, with words like "trailhead" and "range," while the grammar aligns with General American English, exhibiting few unique differences.

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Kikian Vien - In Louisville, Colorado (Boulder County), English is the most commonly spoken language, followed by Spanish and then Chinese. English speakers make up about 83.82% and Spanish and Chinese make up about 9.71% and .95%. I think that the most commonly spoken language, besides English, being Spanish, makes a lot of sense because growing up in classes, there were more Spanish-speaking students than any other language-speaking students. After watching the video, I notice that we tend to have a Western American English dialect. We tend to have a "flatter" way of speaking, and makes us pronounce words differently. Words such as "Colorado" or "mountain" sound normal to us, however for outsiders like people from the South, we sound very different.

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Hadley Smith:

Geographic Area:

I focused on Austin, Texas, mostly within Travis County. This is my hometown and one of the places I have in mind to teach in the future. I would like to teach here after graduation because of Austins' cultural diversity and good educational system.

Language Data:

Based on the Washington Post article "Mapping Where English Is Not The Language At Home," the language spoken at home most other than English in Travis County is Spanish. Roughly 1,200 (28%) of residents speak Spanish at home.

English Dialect in the Area:

According to the North American Dialects map, the English spoken in Austin is primarily Southern American English, with influence from Southwestern and General American dialects due to the city's growth and migration patterns.

Dialect Features and Observations from Audio Samples:

Listening to audio samples from the region, I noticed a slight drawl in vowel sounds and frequent use of regional expressions. Some examples of this were:

Phonology: Monophthongization (e.g., "ride" sounding like "rahd"), and the pin/pen merger, meaning both words sound extremely similar if not the same.

Lexicon: Words like "Y'all" (you all), "fixin' to" (about to), and the use of "coke" meaning any soda.

Morphosyntax: Occasional use of double modals (e.g., "might could" or "might should" in sentences such as "I might could see you tomorrow"), which is characteristic of the Southern dialect region.

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Caroline Bartlett. I focused on where I am from, Orange County, California. The most prevalent non-English language is Spanish, with ~24.3% of residents speaking it at home. It is located in the western region on the map, so Western American English/California English, is predominantly spoken. There is often vowel fronting; for example, the vowel of “too” is much more fronted than the vowel of “toe”. Common Californian slang: “dude” (widely used across SoCal), and in northern parts, “hella”

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Mandy Machen

1. I focused my exploration on Jonesboro, Louisiana, since that's where I lived from ages 4 to 10.

2. The most prevalent languages other than English in Jonesboro are French (Patois, Cajun) 1.298% and Spanish or Spanish Creole 1.075% I'm not surprised by this number because the majority of people who live in this vip code are white or African American.

3. The dialect of this area in north-central Louisiana (Jackson Parish), a region that patterns with Southern American English, is known to Southern Vowel Shift & drawl: short front vowels may develop glides.

Lexicon & grammar common to Southern English examples: "y’all" (2nd-person plural), fixin’ to (be about to), occasional double modals (might could), completive done (We done told y’all).

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Keely Walsh

I decided to do the location where I grew up which is lone tree, Colorado, which is in Douglas county. The most prevalent language excluding English in this area is Spanish but only 1.9%/2,432 of the people in this area speak Spanish. The next language that is spoken the most in the Lone Tree area is Hebrew (0.77%/958). The Spanish didn't really surprise me as I know a lot of Spanish speakers live in Colorado but not many around my area, but I do hear them from time to time so this number makes sense to me! The Hebrew really surprises me because I don't know anyone that speaks Hebrew and I don't think I have ever heard it being spoken around this area. The dialect for this area is Western traditional English. Looking at all the areas in Colorado surprised me because there are so many different types of pronunciations between counties. Like in Pueblo pin=pen but another area in Colorado has a very western/country sounding accent. I feel like I hear all types of accents and variations of language in Colorado so it's fun to see which areas differ from the rest!

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Fifi Smith

1) I chose my hometown, Rye, to focus on for this. It is a suburb about 40 minutes from New York City.

2) The other prominent languages spoken there other than English are Spanish Creole and Italian.

3) The North American English Dialects calls Rye "The North." When saying things like "car," someone may say "cah" instead due to people often dropping the "r" in words.

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My name is Kaylyn Guy and I chose to focus on Centennial, Colorado. I picked Centennial because I was born and raised here, went to schools in both Centennial and Aurora, and it’s a place I would like to teach in one day. The most common language spoken at home other than English in this area is Spanish, with about 11% of people speaking it in Colorado. I was a little surprised by this percentage because even though I grew up hearing Spanish often in schools and the community, I didn’t realize just how many people actually speak it at home. The kind of English spoken here is called Western American English. This dialect sounds a lot like General American and doesn’t have strong accents compared to other parts of the country. Some things that stand out are that people here say the “r” sound very clearly, words like “Dawn” and “Don” sound the same, and some vowels are spoken more toward the front of the mouth. I listened to recordings of people from Colorado and noticed their speech sounded clear and neutral, which is what I hear growing up here.

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I chose Weld County since its where I am from, and will most likely start off my teaching career. Weld county of the northern bit of Colorado, mainly speaks English. Second is Spanish and Spanish Creole, about 14%, and the fourth most spoken language is German, according to mla.org. The language linguistic diversity stems from Mexico migrant workers in the past century, due to the agriculture areas in Colorado. The German speakers stem from the immigrants that were in Mexico, and then migrated to Colorado.

Weld county is in the west region of the US, and it mostly is known for its standard American English dialect, with little to no accent. Sometimes a hard r dialect is identified, alongside a Spanish accent spoken into some words.

Meilani Cano

https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/H000480.pdf

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Hannah Efron

1. I decided to focus on Hennepin County, Minnesota because I grew up in the Twin Cities.

2. Other than English, Spanish and African languages are the most prevalent. 5.75% percent of the population speaks Spanish, and 3.05% of the population speaks an African language.

3. Minnesotans typically lengthen their vowels when speaking, and I could see this in the Baffin Island expedition video with the word "those." Another example of this is seen in the word "know" in the Jesse Ventura video. The North Central dialect of English is spoken in Hennepin County.

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Minneapolis to celebrate the reopening of the Stone Arch Bridge

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The Minnesota Department of Transportation is gearing up for a reopening celebration this Saturday, Aug. 9. The Stone Arch Bridge reopened weeks ahead of schedule in late July after structural…

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Genevieve Vellequette:

I focused on Glynn County, Georgia a coastal area because it's far from home, and I think it would be fun to move somewhere new. The most common non-English language spoken here is Spanish, with about 6% of residents using it at home. From the North American English Dialects map, this region is part of the Southern Coastal dialect area, which falls under Southern American English. Listening to audio samples,I noticed the speech has a gentle drawl and a slower, more melodic rhythm. Unique features of this variety include drawn-out vowels, the use of “y’all." In some parts of the coast, there is also influence from the Gullah language, which adds to the region’s distinct linguistic history.

Here is a link to a map of the county I explored: https://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/states/georgia/counties/glynn-county-map.html

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Glynn County Map, Map of Glynn County Georgia

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Glynn County Map, Georgia shows county boundaries, major highways, and many other details of Glynn County, Georgia.

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Elizabeth Westhoven

1. Alexandria, Virginia, where I am from! (More specifically, Fairfax County)

2. The most predominant language spoken other than English was Spanish or Spanish Creole, about 14% of the population. The most predominant language spoken, excluding English AND Spanish, was Korean, about 3.1%.

What is the variety/dialect of North American English that is spoken in this region called?

The dialect spoken in Fairfax County is Mid-Atlantic/Greater Washington, D.C. English, which sounds similar to General American. There is also a local D.C. African American English present in the county as well.

If there are audio samples of the variety/dialect in your chosen area, listen to a few and note what you notice or heard.

What I heard was mainly your typical General American-sounding Mid-Atlantic dialect. There’s definitely some local slang that I know personally from growing up there, but the slang mostly picks up the closer you live to the city of D.C.

What are some unique features of this variety of English? (pronunciation/phonology, words/vocabulary/lexicon, grammar/morphosyntax, etc.)

General American is in much of NoVA (Northern Virginia): rhotic /r/ (“car” with /r/), little to no Northern Cities or Southern Vowel Shift, and fairly neutral “short-a.” There are also D.C. vowel quirks, especially in long-time local communities: e.g., a merger that can make “Maryland” ~ “Muriland” and “very” ~ “vury.” Patterns like final consonant changes (e.g., bed sounding closer to bet, bag → back) is also something that comes within this variety.

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I chose Santa Barbara, CA because it is where I am from. English is the dominant language and Spanish is the second most widely spoken with roughly 40% Spanish speakers. This is due to lots of immigration from Latin America, specifically Mexico. There are many common slang words like “hella” (slang for very) and “dude” as a casual form of address. It’s also common to pronounce “t” as “d” for many words or not pronounce “t” at all. For example “Santa Barbara” is most often pronounced “Sanna Barbara”.

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My name is Zoe Helphand. I chose to focus on Los Angeles, California, because I was born and grew up in LA my whole life. I also plan to move back to California to teach when I graduate from college. The most common spoken language in LA is English, with 58% percent of the population speaking it. With no surprise to me, the second most spoken language, with 42% is Spanish. This isn't surprising, given California's history and its proximity to Mexico. I am also aware of numerous dual-immersion school programs in my area, where students can learn both English and Spanish from a young age. The dialect spoken in Los Angeles includes California English, which is a dialect of Western American English.