This 11th-grade language unit focuses on dialectology, the regional variations of American English, and the causes for the differences and similarities in language usage in the United States. Issues surveyed in the unit are (1) the historical basis for dialect differences from the time of the early colonists, (2) current speech characteristics of major dialect areas--their differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and meanings assigned to words, (3) influences of other languages on American English, (4) the purposes and methods of linguistic geographers, and (5) the use of dialects in the literature of such writers as James Russell Lowell, Joel Chandler Harris, Bret Harte, and John Hay. Included to supplement classroom presentation are lists of audio-visual materials,"Americanisms" and the writers who first recorded them, American-British equivalents, selected reference works on American English, and literary works using dialects. Lectures, discussion questions, worksheets, and suggested student activities are also provided. (JB)