Wisconsin Englishes -- Perceptual Dialectology -- Wisconsin Vowels


WISCONSIN ENGLISHES
Exploring the English we speak in Wisconsin

Statewide public events !
The Max Kade Institute and Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures have just been awarded a major grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council to take our earlier series of public events statewide.

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin hosts multimedia public discussions to investigate the unique aspects of English spoken in Wisconsin—its distinct vocabulary, pronunciations, idioms, and ethnic influences. Opportunities for audience participation will be included!


PAST EVENTS

2008
February 24, Manitowoc Public Library
April 13, Mead Public Library, Sheboygan
April 20, Old Royal Inn, Mineral Point
April 21, Gateway Technical College, Kenosha
April 26, La Crosse Public Library
May 19, Rhinelander District Library
May 29, Appleton Public Library

2007
June 7, Community Library in Beaver Dam
June 21, at the Public Library in Watertown
October 17, at the UW–Marathon County Theater in Wausau
October 23, in UW-Superior's Rothwell Student Center
October 23 in UW-Superior's Multicultural Center
October 25, at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland
November 13, at the Portage County Public Library

The Wisconsin Humanities Council supports public programs that engage the people of Wisconsin in the exploration of human cultures, ideas and values.

Wisconsin lies at the edge of many of the most significant changes currently underway in American English.
Learn more about what makes Wisconsin English remarkably distinctive and worth studying!

Special Lecture

Saying Ya in a Keveenaw:
The Whys and Hows of Copper Country English

Kathryn Remlinger, Ph.D.
Grand Valley State University

Memorial Union
(see Today In The Union for room)
7:00 pm
Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Kathryn Remlinger, Ph.D., from Grand Valley State University will discuss how ethnic and local identities—what it means to be from the Copper Country—are directly linked with the local dialect and its development since the late 1800s. Dr. Remlinger will present study findings demonstrating that meanings associated with being local connect identity with language use, in other words that the most “authentic” locals are those who have the “best” dialects.

Sponsored by Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, with the Max Kade Institute, and the Folklore Program

Investigators into the dialects of Wisconsin Englishes include:

Erica Benson (English, UW–Eau Claire): Perception of dialect differences and boundaries, grammatical differences
Jennifer Delahanty (German, UW–Madison): German influences on Wisconsin English
Joan Houston Hall (Chief Editor, Dictionary of American Regional English, UW–Madison): Regional words
Greg Iverson (Foreign Languages & Linguistics, UW-Milwaukee): Sounds, language change  
Julia Plier (freelance lexicographer): Words
Tom Purnell (Linguistics, UW–Madison): Sounds, ethnicity, dialect
Eric Raimy (UW-Madison, English): Sounds, language change, language acquisition
Kate Remlinger (English, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI): Language and identity, language and ethnicity, the Upper Peninsula
Joe Salmons (Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, UW–Madison): Sounds, language, immigration
Luanne von Schneidemesser (Senior Editor, Dictionary of American Regional English, UW–Madison): Regional words, German influence

For additional information contact Antje Petty: apetty@wisc.edu or 608-262-7546
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Humanities Council

Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures

List of past podcasts