Thursday, August 06, 2009
Say Ya To Da U.P.
Wil Rankinen is studying the unique dialect of yoopers. So far it seems the English spoken in the U.P. is a combination of Finnish, Italian, and some Canadian influence. From the IU Linguistics Department: Michigan's Upper Peninsula Vowel Systems: Finnish- and Italian- American Communities (only a PDF of the abstract is available)
The data from the Finnish-American sample show a strong Canadian influence with perhaps some lingering Finnish characteristics. The current study among Italian Americans in the UP will reveal if similar developments show up in other immigrant subgroups.
Labels: canada, history, people
