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| Tangier Island dialect | |
|---|---|
| Hoi Toid accent[1] | |
| Native to | United States of America |
| Region | Tangier Island, Virginia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
 Tangier Island's location within the U.S. state of Virginia | |
| Coordinates: 37°49′30″N 75°59′42″W / 37.825°N 75.995°W | |
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
The Tangier Island dialect describes the variant of English spoken by natives of Tangier Island, Virginia, in the Chesapeake Bay.
Phonological features
[edit]The most apparent feature of pronunciation within the Tangier Island dialect is that of vowels in stressed syllables,[2] though there are a variety of other unique pronunciations within the vernacular.
| English diaphoneme | Tangier | Example words |
|---|---|---|
| /ɪ/ in monosyllables | [ɪə̯] | fish, creek |
| /ʊ/ | [ʊə̯] | wood, coop |
"Talking backwards"
[edit]Residents of both Smith and Tangier Islands practice a method of speech in certain expressions that involves saying the exact opposite of what one means. Referred to both as "talking backwards" and "over the left talk", expressions of this type are only indicated by a slight change in voice intonation and inflection which (unlike the usual sarcasm often found in vernacular English) can be difficult for non-islanders to distinguish.[5] Such expressions were once followed by the phrase "over the left (shoulder)" (e.g., "No, I don't want to go, over the left", indicating that the speaker is actually excited to go),[6] but as of 2000 this addendum was generally no longer used.[7] Anne Hughes Jander, who moved to the island and lived there for nearly five years, stated that she still occasionally confused the meaning of a statement towards the end of her stay in her 1994 memoir.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Preeshl & Johns (2022), p. 330.
- ^ Shores (2000), p. 173.
- ^ Shores, David (March 1984). "The Stressed Vowels of the Speech of Tangier Island, Virginia". Journal of English Linguistics. 17 (1): 37–56.
- ^ Shores, David (October 1985). "Vowels Before /l/ and /r/ in the Tangier Dialect". Journal of English Linguistics. 18 (2): 124–126.
- ^ Shores (2000), pp. 189-191.
- ^ Shores (2000), p. 191.
- ^ Shores (2000), p. 190.
- ^ Jander (1994), p. 103.
Print Sources
[edit]- Jander, Anne Hughes (1994). Crab's Hole: A Family Story of Tangier Island. Literary House Press. ISBN 0937692115.
- Preeshl, Artemis; Johns, Foster (2022). "The American Elizabethan Accent: Sea Island Residents Talk". Voice and Speech Review. 16 (3): 330–340.
- Shores, David L. (2000). Tangier Island: Place, People, and Talk. Associated University Presses. ISBN 0874137179.