Screenplay: | William Cran & Robert MacNeil |
Director: | William Cran |
Starring: | Robert MacNeil |
Theme Music Composer: | Paul Foss |
Country: | United States |
Language: | English |
Producer: | William Cran, Christopher Buchanan |
Editor: | Joe Frost |
Runtime: | 180 minutes (3 episodes, 60 minutes each) |
Company: | Thirteen/WNET |
First Aired: | [1] |
Do You Speak American? | |
Author: | Robert MacNeil & William Cran |
Language: | English |
Genre: | Non-fiction |
Publisher: | Nan A. Talese (hardback), Mariner Books (paperback), Nan A. Talese, Random House Digital, Inc. (E-book) |
Release Date: | December 28, 2004 (hardback), November 14, 2005 (paperback), December 18, 2007 (E-book) |
Media Type: | Print (hardback and paperback), Digital (E-book) |
Pages: | 240 |
Isbn: | 978-0-385-51198-8 |
Asin: | B000XUAD2M --> |
Do You Speak American? is a documentary film and accompanying book about journalist Robert MacNeil's investigation into how different people throughout the United States of America speak. The book and documentary look at the evolution of America's way of speaking from the English language to various ways of speaking in regions throughout the country. Divisions of ethnicity, geography and social status and how they affect how Americans communicate are addressed. As part of the project, MacNeil traveled across the country conducting interviews with ordinary people as well as experts such as William Labov.
In the United States, the documentary was broadcast in several parts on PBS. The companion book was co-authored by MacNeil and William Cran.