Do You Speak American?(2005)

Do You Speak American? is a documentary series that explores the vast regional dialects and variations shaping English across the United States. Host Robert MacNeil travels the country investigating why lobstermen in Maine speak so differently from Texas cowboys, and whether Spanish threatens English's dominance in America. Along the way, he decodes regional slang and expressions—from "ayuh" to "catty whompus"—revealing how American English remains dynamic, culturally contested, and deeply influenced by geography, immigration, and local tradition. The series examines both the richness of linguistic diversity and the anxieties surrounding language change in contemporary America.