SITE: Language in Baltimore
What’s there to learn about language in and around Baltimore? I answer this question in a short video for the Co-Create UMBC blog.
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So, why is it important to study language variation? Language variations and language differences occur naturally and are part of how we define ourselves, individually as well as socially. Whether we drink soda or pop, whether we pronounce the word aunt as “ant” or “ahnt,” whether we use isn’t or ain’t, language tells us something about who we are as speakers of the ever-changing English language.
There is much yet to be learned about the accents, dialects, varieties, and languages found in Baltimore, Maryland. In Spring 2011, the students and faculty of the “Language in Diverse Schools and Communities” graduate seminar, offered through the Language, Literacy, and Culture Program at UMBC, produced four podcasts on language in Baltimore to begin to uncover some of the linguistic charm of Charm City.
Check out my website Baltimorelanguage.com, or follow these links to listen to these podcasts and learn more about the authors.
- “‘It’s a Language Variation, and It Has Its Own Structure’:K-12 Educators in Maryland and Virginia Talk about Language Variation in the Classroom,” by Dr. Christine Mallinson, Laura Strickling, and Dr. Anne H. Charity Hudley
- “‘Welcome to Baltimore, Hon!’ Exploring Hon as a Linguistic and Identity Marker in Baltimore,” by Holly Britton and Heidi Faust
- “‘Baldamor, Curry, and Dug’: Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans,” by Inte’a DeShields
- “Multilingualism and Ethnicity in Baltimore, Maryland,” by Daniel Morales and Panthea Parang
Please leave comments and let us know what you think about language in Baltimore!
