American Dialect Links

Evolution

Evolution Publishing
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Merchantville NJ 08109, USA

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American Dialect Links

General Interest

The American Dialect Society. The primary organization dedicated to the study of regional American speech. There are searchable archives of the ADS-L listserver, an electronic index to the journal American Speech, as well as information on membership and upcoming conferences.
Linguistic Atlases Main Page. This page contains information on all the various Linguistic Atlases of the U.S. The geographical coverage of each atlas can be seen on the map on the main page.
Dictionary of American Regional English. The main page of one of the more recent national linguistic projects, compiled under the direction of Frederic Cassidy, from field work carried out in 1965-1970. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 have been published by Harvard University Press/Belknap.
The Atlas of North American English (formerly The Phonological Atlas of North America). The first national effort to systematically describe the phonology of the U.S. and Canada. Contains a William Labov paper entitled The Organization of Dialect Diversity in North America , with informative maps and charts showing the distribution of phonological variables in the mainland U.S.
IDEA - International Dialects of English Archive was created in 1998 as a repository of primary source recordings for actors and other artists in the performing arts. Here you will find recordings representing the English language accents/dialects spoken by people from North America. For ease of browsing, recordings are listed by country and/or region.
Varieties of English (with sound samples) This dialect site has a good overview of general linguistics (phonology, IPA, etc.) with some practice exercises. Features information on: African-American English, American Indian English, British English, Canadian English, Chicano English, Northeast U.S. and the Southern States English.
American Slanguages. Brief samples of dialect usage from 39 American cities, states, and regions rendered in common English spelling. Also contains examples from 5 other English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and South Africa.
English Based Creoles. From the Ethnologue Database.
American Tongues Home Page The video about dialects and accents by Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker. Includes ordering information.

United States

The Dictionary of American English by Brian Carling A Compendium of equivalent words and phrases used in the "American English" and the "English English" languages

Black English
Black English Vernacular
Black Vernacular English A Bibliography
Description of African American Vernacular English A Bibliography
Black English? Its origins in old Virginian dialect, by Walter E. Williams
Black English Vernacular by Monica Frazer Anderson
Da Ebonics Page
Ebonics or African-American English What's In A Name And Can School Systems Ignore It? By Salikoko S. Mufwene

NORTHEAST

northeastern states Maine
The Wicked Good Guide to Mainah English

Vermont
Talking Country phrases from the border between Vermont and Quebec.
How They Talk in Happiness, Vermont
Vermont Only: A Manner of Speakin'
Vermont Only: The Last Yankees: Archaic Words and Terms

Massachusetts
The Wicked Good Guide to Boston English
Local Lingo - TONITE in Boston
A Student's Guide to Bawstin for all of you who weren't bon heah
Learn to tawk Bostonian
How to Pronounce Worcester Mass and other Massachusetts Names

Rhode Island
Talking the talk in Rhode Island
The Roe Dylin Vocabulary Quiz (To see if you can pass for a true Rhode Islander)

Mid-Atlantic
American in the Mid-Atlantic An on-site resource covering NY, NJ, PA, DE, and MD.

New York
Tidbits about Upstate New York from RoundTheBend's Online Travel Guide
Western New York Travel Guide: Erie Canal Glossary
The Guide to Buffalo English
The New York City Dialect
On Language: New Yorkese by William Safire
New York Speak
It's Da Tawk of Da Town (New York City)
New Yawkas have der own woids for things
Newsie Talk (NYC)
To Be Young in New York (including a paragraph on "Newyorkese")
New Yawk Tawk
Loin ta tawk, youse! (New York City)
Lawn Guyland talk is curable Long Island and NYC article from the Washington Post. Tuesday, December 16, 1997; Page A03
Even Long Islanders prove they can't stand their accent Chicago tribune Nov. 29, 1996
Long Island vowels

New Jersey
The Jersey Accent
Jersey Speak for Beginners a few phrases
Introduction to New Jersey Phraseology To show differences among Northern and Central New Jersey and Southern New Jersey's phraseology.
Piney talk New Jersey Pine Barrens.. courtesy of the book Pine Barrens, Legends, Lore and Lies.
A Scand'lus Mixture of History and Folklore General article with some Jersey Pinelands expressions by Lilli Lopez

Pennsylvania
The Lingo of Northeast PA ~ A Traveler's Dictionary by Mike O'Hara
How To Speak Like A True Native Of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Language of the Hayna Valley
Hayna Valley-English Dictionary (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre)
The Scrantonese Dictionary
...You're From the Valley! A look at Northeastern PA and the Wyoming Valley (Language)
CoalSpeak The (un)official Schuylkill County, PA lexicon
Easton Slang (Easton, PA...a handful of phrases from an entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
Philly Tawk
Philly Speak - The new age of language
How to Tawk Like a Philadelphian A few tips from Stu Bykofsky's Little Black Book
The Philadelphia Dialect My own contribution to this mix.
Phillyspeak an article by Jim Quinn
Yo!: Tawkin' Fluffyan (Hey! Speaking Philadelphian) Including a short NPR radio piece on speaking "Fluffyan"
The Philly Slango List
Pennsylvania Dutch (Deitsch)
Pam's Pennsylvania Dutch Home Page
On the Trail of our Ancestors: Pennsylvania Dutch Quiz
Ferhoodled English
York Language (York, PA)
An El-Speak Glossary (Gettysburg, PA)
You Know You're From Hollidaysburg If....
Thomas H. Twine's Translating Pennsylvanian A guide to the charming language spoken in Western Central Pennsylvania, mostly around Altoona and Johnstown
A Guide to Translating The Western Pennsylvania Language
Pittsburghese
The Pittsburgh Dictionary
An Adventure in Pittsburghese
Pittsburghese: Professor teaches in the parlance of his peers
Pittsburghese
Pittsburgh Speech
Pittsburghese Translation Page
Pittsburghese: "Yinz guys wanna go dahntahn and git a Primanti's sammich n'at?"

Maryland
Youz in Maryland talk funny... The "Merlin" Dialect
Hey HON! The Bawlamerese Lexicon Baltimore, MD
Lexicon of Bawdamorese
Bawlamerese
Lexicon of Bawlamerese
Baltimorese
Eastern Shore Speak
Life in Kent County (a language not spoken by outsiders)
Smith Island

MIDWEST

midwestern states General
"Canadian" raising in the Northern Midwest

Ohio
Slang, A Second Language Differences between Northern and Southern Ohio speech. Jan. 17, 1996 opinion column from the Findlay Courier.
Southern Ohio Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary -- Darke County, Ohio Supplement

Indiana
How's To Speak Likes A Hoosier Without Moving To Indiana A brief lesson on hows to be Hoosier-like

Michigan
Michigan Accent Pronunciation Guide
Da Yoopers Glossary Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Illinois
Chicago speak
Chicagospeak: How to be in the loop
Chicago "L" org: Vocabulary Chicago Transit Authority jargon
Chicago Vocabulary

Missouri
You know you're a St. Louisan if... A few words and pronunciations
The Ozark to English Online Dictionary Southwest Missouri Slang--Stone & Barry Counties

Wisconsin
Wisconsinese: Sound Bytes From Sheboygan Wisconsin
Speak 'Scansin (Wisconsin)
Cameron, Wis. Wisconsin Dictionary
Dave's Edited Wisconsin Dictionary and Stories
Wisconsin's words (examples of Wisconsin dialect in the Dictionary of American Regional English:)

Minnesota
Fun Facts: Minnesota Lingo
MinnesotaSpeak

North Dakota
Communicating with North Dakotans
How We Talk a collection of you-must-be-from-North-Dakota sayings dealing with regional speech

Nebraska
Your guide to Nebraskaspeak A book by Paul Fell. J&L Lee Publishing, ordering info

SOUTH

southern states General
How To Speak Southern
How To Speak Southern, Take 1 & 2
A Southern Dictionary
Suthern Dikshunary
Ron Collins' Southern Dialect Converter
Bubba and Clem's Southernese Dictionary
Suthern Speak
Southern Talk
The Southern Accent: We're Losing It
Southern Tawk
More Than Y'all: The New Southern Language
Southern Lingo
Hickphonics

Appalachians
Appalachian Dialect
Southern Highland Speech
Mountain Speech (Appalachians)
Southern Terms:Let’s Talk Hillbilly

Ozarks
This Speech of Ours (Ozark dialect)
The Ozark to English Online Dictionary (Southwest Missouri Slang)

Virginia
Black English? Its origins in old Virginian dialect, by Walter E. Williams

West Virginia
West Virginia Dialect Project
Hillbonics: Learn to Speak Southern West Virginian
Mountainspeak: WVU linguist fights stigma of Appalachian speech oddities (article from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph 12-13-99)
Expressions: Studying Dialects in the Mountain State (article from the Fall 1999 issue of WVU Alumni magazine)
Harts Creek dialect, superstitions and expressions (Lincoln County)

Kentucky
Appalachian Dialect of Eastern Kentucky
Wallins Creek Kentucky--Dictionary of Mountain Dialect, Euphemisms and Sayings

Tennessee
How to Talk Like a Nashvillian
Dictionary of Mountain Talk Appalachians list from Franklin County, TN

North Carolina
Ocracoke Island extensive site by Ocracoke dialect researcher Walt Wolfram
Ocracoke dialect endangered by tourism increase Ocracoke island, North Carolina
Lumbee dialect Lumbee Indians of Robeson County, NC

South Carolina
Gullah Dr. Virginia Geraty Gullah webpage
The Survival of Africanisms as seen in Gullah
De Good Nyews Bout Translayshun? "Gullah" Version of Luke's Gospel Raises Questions
of Fidelity to Text. Adoremus Bulletin Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy, September1997

Georgia
Mountain Speech of North Georgia

Louisiana
Louisiana Sayings Yat-speak A Lexicon of New Orleans Terminology and Speech
A New Orleans Glossary
Say What? A Lesson in "New Orleansese"
New Orleansese Made Easy
Do You Speak Noo Awlins??
The Cajun Dialect

Texas
Texas Talk
Whut Makes You Thank Teksuns Tawk Funny? Some selections from a dictionary of the Texas language by Ken Rigsbee
Texas Sayings
How to talk Teksun (Texan)
Texas Dictionary
Texas Vocabulary
How to act like a texan so no one will notice you've got a degree
Texans losin' some of the twang thang
Let's all talk turkey about speaking Texan Steve Blow Dallas Morning News 8/6/1999
"I'm aimin' to tell you how we talk here" Virtual Texan -- Horned Toad, Texas (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Say it the Austin Way
Talk Like a Local: Austin Speak

WEST

western states General
Cool Western Slang

Colorado
Say It Like a Native: Colorado Toponymy (or placenames)

Montana
Talk Like a Native - A MontanaCyberzine Article A guide to Montana pronunciation and usage.

Utah
Utah Folklore Contains a short paragraph on the Utah dialect.
Utonics
Dialect differences in vowel perception A comparison of Connecticut and Utah pronunciation
The relation between dialect attribution and vowel judgments Another comparison of Connecticut and Utah pronunciation
Utah's Colloqualisms - Salt Lake City

Nevada
Las Vegas Lingo

Oklahoma
Oklahoma Dictionary
The Okie Language

New Mexico
Santa Fe Local Lingo

Pacific Northwest
Westernisms - Dialect Words of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest
A Northwest Pronunciation Guide

Washington
A Seattle Lexicon: Lingo from the Far Corner
The Chinook Trade Jargon - Introduction Trading pidgin of Northwest Indians and pioneers; inside slang of contemporary Seattle

Oregon
Early Oregoniana and Local Sayings
Traditions and Willamette Lingo from Willamette University in Salem, OR

California
How to Talk Like a California Dude
Talk like a local Los Angeles speak.

Alaska
Alaskan Lingo
Dictionary of Alaskan English publisher info from the Denali Press Book Catalog
Alaskan slang words

Hawaii
"Extreme Hawaii Fun" PIDGIN
The Local Lingo

Canada

An American's Guide to Canada: Canadianisms
"Canadian" raising in the Northern Midwest
Review of "The Oxford Dictionary of Canadian English." with some sample Canadianisms
Cornerstone's Canadian English Page
CANADA - Speaking Canadian
The Canadian Way... how we talk
How to Speak Canadian eh?
Canadianisms - Canadian English Vocabulary
The Canadian Language
Canadian Word of the Day

Atlantic Provinces/Maritimes
Newfoundland Word Game
Newfoundland Expressions
Dictionary of Newfoundland English Online
Phrases of the Restigouche or Gaspé area
Local Expressions of Northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula
Carleton County Colloquialisms Carleton County, New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island: A Bag of Rubber Hammers by T.K. Pratt, author of the Dictionary of Prince Edward Island English, and with Scott Burke Prince Edward Island Sayings
Island Sayings PEI sayings by Terry Pratt
Prince Edward Island English
Nova Scotian Facts and Trivia a few Nova Scotia expressions

Quebec
Phrases of the Restigouche or Gaspé area
Local Expressions of Northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula
Quebec City English excerpts from the article "Dialect Topography of Québec City English," by J.K.Chambers and Troy Heisler
Talking Country phrases from the border between Vermont and Quebec

Ontario
Ottawa Valley Expressions
Examination of Four Features of Toronto English

Prairie Provinces
Guts and Grit in Manitoba Words

British Columbia
Westernisms - Dialect Words of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest

Bermuda and the West Indies

Oh Gawd, I vish dis ig'rance vud stop! Bermudian dialect
De Bermewjun Dicshunairy
Speak Jamaican
Speak Jamaican
Talk Jamaican
Rasta/Patois Dictionary
Local Lingo of Anguilla
Local Lingo of Anguilla
Montserrat Creole - an Irish brogue?
Discover Trinidad and Tobago: So they say...
Trini Talk: A Dialect Poem by Miguel Browne
Tankalanka: Trinidad and Tobago Dictionary
Learn How to Talk Like a Trinidadian
Speakin' Terms Trini Dialect
Writing Trini Talk

Apologies if many of these links are now disconnected. Keeping them up to date can be an arduous task. If you know of or maintain links dealing with regional English, or if any of these links are defunct, please let me know .

Last Modified: 8/21/2006

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