North Carolina dialects will be subject of Old Dobbs meeting
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on January 15, 2017 1:45 AM
Members of the Old Dobbs Genealogical Society invites the public to join them on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 10:30 a.m. for their first meeting of the new year The meeting will be at the Wayne County Public Library at 1001 E Ash St. in Goldsboro. The program for this meeting is "Talkin' Tarheel." The speaker will be Walt Wolfram of N.C. State University.
North Carolina is well known for its range of natural and cultural resources. But one of its richest resources often goes unrecognized -- its linguistic heritage. From the unique Outer Banks Brogue to the Scots-Irish sounds of Mountain Speech and the ethnic traditions of African Americans, American Indians, and Latinos, the Tar Heel State encompasses more dialect variation than any state in the Union.
Based on more than 3,500 audio interviews and more than 10 television documentaries produced by the North Carolina Language and Life Project over the past two decades, this presentation highlights this rich linguistic heritage. His latest is "Talkin' Tarheel", a study of NC's rich heritage of accents.
Walt Wolfram is the William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor at North Carolina State University, where he also directs the Language and Life Project. He has pioneered research on social and ethnic dialects since the 1960s and published more than 20 books and over 300 articles.