Do You Have a DC Dialect?
September 22, 2014鈥擸our dialect says a lot about you鈥攚hich is why linguists at Georgetown are studying the Washington, DC, dialect and what it can tell us about residents of a city in the midst of change.
(LCDC) was founded in 2006 by and . According to Schilling, scholars have done little sociolinguistic study of Washington, DC. There鈥檚 an incorrect assumption, she says, that 鈥渘o one is actually from DC.鈥�
The city鈥檚 transitory and international populations have also made the study of the DC dialect more difficult. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more complicated to look at dialects in contact with other dialects,鈥� Schilling explained.
A dialect includes many aspects of speech: pronunciation, word choice, and sentence structure. Researchers in the Minnie Annan and Anastasia Nylund have spent time in the field listening to DC residents and documenting how they use language.
In their research, Georgetown linguists have found use of particular words such as lunchin鈥�, meaning not paying attention or 鈥渙ut to lunch鈥�; cised, meaning excited; and bama, meaning a person who is unkempt or uncool.
While linguists at LCDC have documented these lesser-known words, they’ve also discovered how individuals use the DC dialect in everyday life. The topic of a DC dialect stirs a lot emotion in the community.
鈥淧eople use the idea of a DC dialect to either claim identity from [the] area or distinguish themselves from it,鈥� Nylund, the interim director of the , explained. The DC dialect also illustrates 鈥渨hat DC means to people,鈥� she says, referring to the disconnect between 鈥淒C鈥� and 鈥淲ashington.鈥�
A dialect can also serve as a way for individuals to make connections and navigate their communities, Annan said. Annan is LCDC鈥檚 project coordinator and conducted some of her fieldwork at Ben鈥檚 Chili Bowl in the U Street neighborhood.
鈥淲hen I want to make [a] connection with certain people, I turn on Southern features [of my speech],鈥� Annan explained. But other times, Annan shifts away from certain aspects of her speech to avoid misconceptions about Southerners. Likewise, a person who wants to connect with fellow DC residents may use more of the 鈥淒C words,鈥� while others may avoid those words in order to distance themselves from the crowd.
We all make these choices when speaking, although we may not be aware of it. 鈥淭here are no single-style speakers,鈥� Nylund said. 鈥淓very single person has an array of styles of language and ways of connecting,鈥� she continued.
Studying the DC dialect not only provides insight into individual perceptions and interactions, but it also allows linguists like Natalie Schilling the opportunity to see how Washington, DC, has changed over time. Schilling is particularly interested in language variation and change. Her work focuses on how 鈥減eople tell stories about growing up in a neighborhood that鈥檚 changed over decades,鈥� she explained. In addition to mapping changes in neighborhoods and demographics, the DC dialect is another way to understand significant changes in the city鈥檚 recent history.
According to Schilling, sociolinguists always have two goals: one academic and one social. Schilling hopes that LCDC鈥檚 research helps individuals gain a better understanding of others in their community. When The Washington Post covered LCDC鈥檚 research, Schilling and her colleagues saw that many people commented that a DC dialect was simply 鈥渋ncorrect,鈥� 鈥渟loppy,鈥� or 鈥渂roken.鈥� But that鈥檚 not the case, Schilling explained. Dialects have regular patterns, and there are many unconscious rules.
鈥淲e would really like people who don鈥檛 study linguistics [for] a living to understand that dialect variation is normal and natural,鈥� Schilling said. 鈥淚t can be a very important part of peoples鈥� identity, culture, and personality.鈥�
Annan, who also works at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington, teaches young children about the differences between dialects and how people use language for particular reasons. It鈥檚 a stark contrast from the prescriptive view of language frequently taught in schools鈥攖hat one type of speech is good and one type of speech is bad.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 language has value and everybody鈥檚 language is wonderful, [but] everybody鈥檚 language is different,鈥� Annan explained. 鈥淚f you understand and acknowledge that language is different, we can move on to the next thing. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to do with linguistics.鈥�
Related Information
Read more about LCDC鈥檚 research on the DC dialect at and .
Curious about dialects? The Department of Linguistics offers many courses that delve into these aspects of sociolinguistics:
- Introduction to Language
- Language and Society
- American Dialects
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