Linguistics Program

May 31, 2012

Walt Wolfram discusses dialects on ‘CBS This Morning’

Linguistics professor Walt Wolfram recently appeared on "CBS This Morning" as part of a report by correspondent Mo Rocca about homogenizing American accents. Wolfram, a William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor, has been studying dialects for almost than 50 years and has been at N.C. State for the past 20. "Studying dialects in North Carolina is like dying and coming to dialect heaven," Wolfram told Rocca. "It's incredible. There's no state that has a richer tradition."

Apr 11, 2012

Keeping a Dialect Alive on Ocracoke

Professor Walt Wolfram has taken students to the Outer Banks for spring break for 20 years. The annual expedition at first involved conducting research on the Outer Banks brogue. Now the trip aims to teach young Ocracokers about a tongue rarely spoken by anyone but the elderly. Wolfram says coming back to teach each year brings linguistic insights gleaned from Ocracoke back home.

Jul 11, 2011

Walt Wolfram Appears on History Channel’s “Mouthing Off” Episode

Tune in to the History Channel at 10:00 pm, Tuesday, July 12, to hear Professor of English Walt Wolfram in the “Mouthing Off” episode of “How the States Got their Shapes.” The episode looks at dialects across the country and answers such questions as why the southern accent didn’t exist until after the Civil War,…

Apr 8, 2011

Coastal Dialect Fades

The sounds of the “hoi toid” are beginning to ebb along much of the Outer Banks. The distinctive dialect of area residents is fading as younger generations adopt more mainstream grammar and pronunciation, says Dr. Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor of English. It’s a slow process, but language was never meant to…

Feb 25, 2011

Language Patterns Are Roller-Coaster Ride During Childhood Development

Why, and when, do we learn to speak the way that we do? NC State University linguist Dr. Walt Wolfram’s research on African-American children presents an unexpected finding: language use can go on a roller-coaster ride during childhood as kids adopt and abandon vernacular language patterns. “We found that there is a ‘roller-coaster effect,’ featuring…

Feb 22, 2011

B – E – E there: CHASS co-hosts spelling bee

Remember how your grade-school knees knocked as you stood in front of your whole class to try to spell “ridiculous” or “parfait”? Relive those nerve-racking moments this Saturday at the Wake County Spelling Bee, co-hosted by NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Education. Students from 83 schools will gather…

Feb 21, 2011

Hutcheson Wins NC Folklore Prize

Neal Hutcheson has been awarded the Brown Hudson Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society for 2011. The announcement notes: ‘Neal Hutcheson is a documantary film-maker who has done extensive work on traditional culture in North Carolina. He has worked on films with N.C. State Professor Walt Wolfram for the North Carolina Language and Life…

Feb 7, 2011

New Dialect Developing in Raleigh

English Professor Robin Dodsworth was featured in the News and Observer for her research about Southern dialects: Southern accent in danger?By Chelsea Kellner A new dialect is forming in Raleigh, and Scarlett O’Hara it ain’t. There’s a gradual shift toward a less distinctive regional accent, and our vowel sounds are leading the way. “Language is…

Oct 18, 2010

Deep-fried food and NC dialects at 2010 State Fair

Carrie McGaha CHASS Communications InternFunnel cakes, corn dogs and cotton candy – you can taste them all at the North Carolina State Fair. This year’s fairgoers got some extra flavor when they visited a CHASS exhibit celebrating the state’s richly-flavored stew of dialects. The language and dialect booth, sponsored by the North Carolina Language and…

Aug 3, 2010

Walt Wolfram Introduces Chancellor Woodson to southeastern NC

When it comes to dialects, North Carolina is one of the nation’s richest states. Dr. Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University professor and director of the North Carolina Language and Life Project recently introduced new NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson to some of that linguistic diversity as they toured around Pembroke, where Wolfram has…