American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast

Ever wanted to yak with the Yankees or speak the Big Easy? Well, travel with American Voices across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean to experience both familiar and little–known dialects that are thriving despite the homogenizing pressure exerted by our mass–communication culture. Edited by acclaimed linguist, Walt Wolfram, and consultant editor of Language Magazine , Ben Ward, this collection gives readers a new understanding of language diversity through an engaging look at regional, ethnic, and sociocultural dialects such as African American, Chicano, Cajun, and Jewish English.

List of Illustrations. Preface. 1. Language Evolution or Dying Traditions. The State of American Dialects. (Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling–Estes). Part I The South. 2. Sounds of the South. (Guy Bailey and Jan Tillery). 3. Defining Appalachian English. (Kirk Hazen and Ellen Fluharty). 4. If these Hills Could Talk (Smoky Mountains). (Christine Mallinson, Becky Childs, Neal Hutcheson, and Bridget Anderson). 5. Doing the Charleston (South Carolina). (Maciej Baranowski). 6. The Lone Star State of Speech (Texas).(Guy Bailey and Jan Tillery). 7. Speaking the Big Easy (New Orleans, LA). (Connie Eble). 8. Sounds of Ole Man River (Memphis, TN). (Valerie Fridland). Part II The North. 9. Yakking with the Yankees (New England). (Julie Roberts, Naomi Nagy, and Charles Boberg). 10. Beantown Babble (Boston, MA). (Jim Fitzpatrick). 11. Mainely English. (Jane Smith). 12. Steel Town Speak (Pittsburgh, PA). (Barbara Johnstone and Scott Kiesling). 13. New Yawk Tawk (New York City, NY). (Michael Newman). 14. Expressions of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia, PA). (Claudio Salvucci). 15. Maple Leaf Rap (Canada). (J.K. Chambers). Part III The Midwest. 16. An Introduction to Midwest English. (Timothy C. Frazer). 17. Straight Talking from the Heartland (Midwest). (Matthew Gordon). 18. Words of the Windy City (Chicago, IL). (Richard Cameron). 19. Different Ways of Talking in the Buckeye State (Ohio). (Beverly Flanigan). 20. Spirited Speech (St. Louis, MO). (Tom Murray). 21. Saying Ya to the Yoopers (Michigan’s Upper Peninsula). (Beth Simon). Part IV The West. 22. Getting Real in the Golden State (California). (Penelope Eckert and Norma Mendoza– Denton). 23. Desert Dialect (Utah). (Davie Bowie and Wendy Morkel). 24. Dialects in the Mist (Portland, OR). (Jeff Conn). 25. Arizona’s not so Standard English. (Lauren Lew–Hall). Part V Islands. 26. Topics from the Tropics (Hawai’i). (Miriam Meyerhoff). 27. Speaking Strictly Roots (West Indies). (Renee Blake). 28. Gullah Gullah Islands (Sea Island, SC, GA). (Tracey Weldon). 29. Islands of Diversity (Bahamas). (Walt Wolfram, Becky Childs, Jeffrey Reaser, and Ben Torbert). 30. Dialect in Danger (Outer Banks, NC). (Walt Wolfram). 31. Fighting the Tide (Smith Island, MD). (Natalie Schilling–Estes). 32. From Cod to Cool (Newfoundland, Canada). (Sandra Clark). 33. The World’s Loneliest Island (Tristan de Cunha). (Daniel Schreier). Sociocultural Dialects. 34. Bridging the Great Divide (African American English). (John Baugh). 35. When Languages Collide (African American English). (Walt Wolfram and Benjamin Torbert). 36. Talking with mi Gente (Chicano English). (Carmen Fought). 37. Stirring the Linguistic Gumbo (Cajun English). (Megan Melancon). 38. From the Brickhouse to the Swamp (Lumbee Vernacular English). (Walt Wolfram). 39. More than just yada, yada, yada (Jewish English). (Cynthia Bernstein). 40. Fading Future for Ferhoodled English (Pennsylvania German). (Lois Huffines). Notes on Contributors.

Walt Wolfram is William C. Friday Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University. Ben Ward is Consultant Editor of Language Magazine , the Journal of Communication and Education.

“This is a terrific book! Its geographical and sociocultural coverage is impressively broad, and its contributors include the leading experts on each variety. Authoritative content, accessible writing, jazzy titles and copious photographs combine to make this a volume that linguistic professionals, college students, and the general public will find equally inviting.” John R. Rickford, Stanford University “Walt Wolfram must be a very persuasive man. He and Ben Ward have persuaded some of the world’s greatest experts on North American varieties of English to appear between the same covers to create a state–of–the–art, but also extremely accessible and highly enjoyable, book on these fascinating dialects, their pasts, and their futures.” Peter Trudgill, University of Fribourg