THIS BOOK PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION OF DIALECTOLOGY AS A DESCRIPTIVE SCIENCE AND OF MAJOR ASPECTS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH DIALECTS. THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS DEFINE WHAT DIALECTS ARE AND HOW REGIONAL AND SOCIAL DIALECTS DIFFER FROM ONE ANOTHER IN TERMS OF PRONUNCIATION, VOCABULARY, AND GRAMMAR. CHAPTER 3 NOTES THE PATTERNS OF SETTLEMENT HISTORY, POPULATION SHIFT, AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY WHICH ACCOUNT FOR DIALECT DIFFERENCES. CHAPTER 4 DESCRIBES CURRENT AMERICAN DIALECTS AND ILLUSTRATES THE MANNER IN WHICH DIALECTOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ISOLATE GEOGRAPHICALLY AND DESCRIBE DIALECTS. CHAPTER 5 ASSESSES THE INFLUENCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ON AMERICAN DIALECTS, AND CHAPTER 6 SHOWS THE USE OF DIALECTS IN LITERATURE. EXTENSIVE FIELD RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR TEACHERS TO CONDUCT WITH THEIR CLASSES ARE SUGGESTED AND WORD LISTS, INTERVIEW FORMS, DIALECT MAPS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF SPEECH SOUNDS ARE PROVIDED. CHAPTER 7,