Show-Me Dialects: Missouri English in Historical Perspective

Missouri has long been a crossroads of regional cultures. American settlement in the nineteenth century brought English speakers from various Eastern states as well as immigrants from Europe and elsewhere. One result was a complex pattern of dialect mixing that is not effectively captured with the usual isoglosses. This talk will explore the dialect picture in the state from a century ago as well as examples of how Missouri English has evolved since. The research draws on archival recordings featuring Missourians from across the state who were born around the turn of the twentieth century and on survey data collected from later generations. We will consider cases of traditional dialect features dying out and of innovations reinforcing longstanding linguistic divides.