Yooper Talk: Dialect As Identity in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Languages and Folklore of the Upper Midwest) - Softcover

Kathryn A. Remlinger (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0299312542 ISBN 13: 9780299312541

Publisher: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2019

Synopsis

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan―known as “the U P”―is historically, geographically, and culturally distinct. Struggles over land, labor, and language during the last 150 years have shaped the variety of English spoken by resident Yoopers, as well as how they are viewed by outsiders―and themselves. Drawing on sixteen years of fieldwork, including interviews with seventy-five lifelong residents of the UP, Kathryn Remlinger examines how the idea of a unique Yooper dialect emerged. Considering UP English in relation to other regional dialects and their speakers, she looks at local identity, literacy practices, media representations, language attitudes, notions of authenticity, economic factors, tourism, and contact with non-English immigrant and Native American languages. The book also explores how a dialect becomes a recognizable and valuable commodity: Yooper talk (or “Yoopanese”) is emblazoned on t-shirts, flags, postcards, coffee mugs, and bumper stickers.

About this title

About the Author

Kathryn Remlinger is a professor of English at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

Edition details

• Publisher: The University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0299312542
• ISBN 13: 9780299312541
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176