"Not everyone knows it, but everyone speaks some form of regional dialect, and everyone has some kind of accent. But what are the accents of American English? Where do its regional dialects begin and end? What sorts of quirks and variations can be expected in particular localities? Language researcher Allan Metcalf answers these and many other questions in this entertaining and informative look at our language today. Moving region by region, and state by state, Metcalf identifies key features that give American regional speech its distinctive character and expressiveness. Join Metcalf on his tour of America's linguistic landscape, and be ready to be surprised at how much you didn't know about your native tongue."--BOOK JACKET.