This is one of a series of articles about the differences between and ''' British English ''', which, ''for the purposes of these articles'', are defined as follows:
Written forms of American English are fairly well standardized across the United States. An unofficial standard for spoken American English has developed as a result of mass media and of geographic and social mobility. This standard is generally called a General American or Standard Midwestern Accent and Dialect , and it can typically be heard from network Newscasters , although local newscasters tend toward more colourful forms of speech. Despite this unofficial standard, regional variations of American English have not only persisted, but have actually intensified, according to William Labov. Regional dialects in the United States typically reflect the elements of the language of the main immigrant groups in any particular region of the country, especially in terms of pronunciation and Vernacular vocabulary. Scholars have mapped at least four major regional variations of spoken American English: Northern (really north-eastern), Southern, Midland, and Western (Labov, Ash, & Boberg, 2006).Labov, William; Sharon Ash; & Charles Boberg. (2006). Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 311-016746-8.
Compare with Labov, Ash, & Boberg. (1997). ''A national map of the regional dialects of American English.'' Linguistics Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania. {Link without Title} . Accessed 16 April 2007. After the American Civil War , the settlement of the western territories by migrants from the east led to dialect mixing and levelling, so that regional dialects are most strongly differentiated in the eastern part of the country that were settled earlier. Localized dialects also exist with quite distinct variations, such as in the Southern Mountains and New York City.
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