Faculty

Staff

Neal Hutcheson
Charlotte Vaughn

Walt Wolfram

William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English
Tompkins 208
919/515-4151 (office)
wolfram at social dot chass dot ncsu dot edu

Education

B.A., Wheaton College, 1963
M.A., Ph.D., Hartford Seminary Foundation, 1966, 1969

Research Interests

Language variation, Ethnic dialects of American English, African American English, Dialect recesssion, Dialect awareness and education, Dialect and the public interest

Bio

Walt Wolfram is William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English Linguistics at North Carolina State University, where he also directs the North Carolina Language and Life Project. He has pioneered research on social and ethnic dialects since the 1960s, authoring or co-authoring 20 books and more than 250 articles on social and ethnic dialects of American English. Professor Wolfram is also vitally concerned with the application of sociolinguistic information to social and educational problems and the dissemination of knowledge about dialects to the public. In this connection, he has been involved in the production of television documentaries on dialect diversity, the construction of museum exhibits, and the development of dialect awareness curricula for the schools and general public. Wolfram is former President of the Linguistic Society of America as well as the American Dialect Society.

Recent Publications

Selected
BOOKS

Adger, Carolyn, Walt Wolfram, and Donna Christian. Dialects in Schools and Communities, Second edition. Mahweh: Erlbaum. (forthcoming)

Wolfram, Walt, and Natalie Schilling-Estes. 2006. American English: Dialects and Variation. Second edition. Cambridge/Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Pp. 452

Wolfram, Walt, and Erik R. Thomas. 2002. The Development of African American English. Malden/Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Pp. 237

Wolfram, Walt, Clare Dannenberg, Stanley Knick, and Linda Oxendine. 2002. Fine in the World: Lumbee Language in Time and Place. Raleigh: NC State Humanity Extension Program/Publications. Pp. 93

ARTICLES

Forthcoming

______. forthcoming. African American English. In Braj B. Kachru, Yamuna Kachru, & Cecil L. Nelson (eds.), Handbook of World Englishes. Malden/Oxford: Blackwell.

______. African American English and the Public Interest. In Jo Anne Kleifgen and George Bond, eds. Multiple Language and Literacies: Symposium on African and Diasporic Languages and Education.

_____. forthcoming. The evolving language of the Outer Banks People. Wright Brothers’ Symposium.

_____. forthcoming. The supra-regional development of African American Vernacular English. In Arthur K. Spears, James de Jongh, Carole M. Berotte Joseph (eds.). Language and African Diaspora Culture.

_____. forthcoming. LAVIS: A review and critique. In Michael Picone and Catherine Davies, (eds.), Language Variation in the South III. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

_____. forthcoming. Sociolinguistic engagement in community perspective. In Michael Picone and Catherine Davies, (eds.), Language Variation in the South III. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

_____. forthcoming. Studying vernacular dialects. In Marianna Di Paolo and Arthur K. Spears (eds.), Increasing Language Diversity in Linguistic Courses: Practical Approaches and Materials. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

_____. The North Carolina Language and Life Project. In Michael Montgomery (ed.). Language, in The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Oxford: University of Mississippi Press.

_____. The Outer Banks. In Michael Montgomery (ed.). Language, in The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Oxford: University of Mississippi Press.

____. Language diversity and the public Interest. In Natalie Schilling-Estes and Kendall King (eds.), GURT 06. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Download arrow Download article [ PDF 71KB]

____. Sociolinguistic myths in the study of African American English. Linguistic and Language Compass 1. Download arrow Download article [ PDF 555KB]

2007

Wolfram, Walt. Ethnic varieties. In Carmen Llamas, Louise Mullany, Peter Stockwell (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics. Routledge. 77-83.

2006

Wolfram, Walt. 2006. Variation in language: overview. In Keith Brown (chief ed.), Encyclopedia of Languages and Linguistics II. Oxford: Elsevier, 333-40. Download arrow Download article [ PDF 136KB]

2004

Wolfram, Walt, and Natalie Schilling-Estes. 2004. Remnant dialects in the Coastal United States. In Raymond Hickey (ed.), The Legacy of Colonial English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 172-202. Download arrow Download article [ PDF 601KB]

Wolfram, Walt. 2004. The grammar of urban African American Vernacular English. In Bernd Kortmann and Edgar Schneider (eds.), Handbook of Varieties of English: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 111-132. Download arrow Download article [ PDF 392KB]

_____. 2004. The grammar of rural and ethnic varieties in the Southeast. In Bernd Kortmann and Edgar Schneider (eds.), Handbook of Varieties of English: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 74-94. Download arrow Download article [ PDF 414KB]

Complete CV

Download arrow Download CV [ Word document 214KB ]

Courses

ENG 525: Variety of English
ENG 523: Language Variation Research Seminar
ENG 210: Introduction to Language and Lingusitics
Specific seminars of language and ethnicity

Course Syllabi

See the courses page for sample syllabi from courses in years past.

Interests

NC State football and basketball, yo-yoing, babysitting young 'uns

Awards and Honors

Selected

Linguistic Society of America Fellow (inducted in inaugural class of Fellows, 2006)

Honorary member, Golden Key International Honour Society, North Carolina State Chapter, 2003

NC State Alumni Outstanding Research Award, 1995-96

College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) Distinguished Research Award 1995-96

CHASS Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professorship Award, NCSU 1994-95

» linguistics program The academic program in sociolinguistics at NC State University » ncllp The North Carolina Language and Life Project, devoted to studying the state's diverse dialects and culture » talking nc media Outreach efforts of the NCLLP, including documentary films and museum exhibits » staff tools	Home Page \| NCSU Home \| Contact Us \| Print View
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	Faculty Agnes Bolonyai Robin Dodsworth Jeffrey Reaser Erik Thomas Walt Wolfram Staff Neal Hutcheson Charlotte Vaughn Walt Wolfram William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English Tompkins 208 919/515-4151 (office) wolfram at social dot chass dot ncsu dot edu Education \| Research Interests \| Bio \| Recent Publications Complete CV \| Courses Taught \| Interests \| Awards/Honors Education B.A., Wheaton College, 1963 M.A., Ph.D., Hartford Seminary Foundation, 1966, 1969 back to top Research Interests Language variation, Ethnic dialects of American English, African American English, Dialect recesssion, Dialect awareness and education, Dialect and the public interest back to top Bio Walt Wolfram is William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English Linguistics at North Carolina State University, where he also directs the North Carolina Language and Life Project. He has pioneered research on social and ethnic dialects since the 1960s, authoring or co-authoring 20 books and more than 250 articles on social and ethnic dialects of American English. Professor Wolfram is also vitally concerned with the application of sociolinguistic information to social and educational problems and the dissemination of knowledge about dialects to the public. In this connection, he has been involved in the production of television documentaries on dialect diversity, the construction of museum exhibits, and the development of dialect awareness curricula for the schools and general public. Wolfram is former President of the Linguistic Society of America as well as the American Dialect Society. back to top Recent Publications Selected BOOKS Adger, Carolyn, Walt Wolfram, and Donna Christian. Dialects in Schools and Communities, Second edition. Mahweh: Erlbaum. (forthcoming) Wolfram, Walt, and Natalie Schilling-Estes. 2006. American English: Dialects and Variation. Second edition. Cambridge/Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Pp. 452 Wolfram, Walt, and Erik R. Thomas. 2002. The Development of African American English. Malden/Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Pp. 237 Wolfram, Walt, Clare Dannenberg, Stanley Knick, and Linda Oxendine. 2002. Fine in the World: Lumbee Language in Time and Place. Raleigh: NC State Humanity Extension Program/Publications. Pp. 93 ARTICLES Forthcoming ______. forthcoming. African American English. In Braj B. Kachru, Yamuna Kachru, & Cecil L. Nelson (eds.), Handbook of World Englishes. Malden/Oxford: Blackwell. ______. African American English and the Public Interest. In Jo Anne Kleifgen and George Bond, eds. Multiple Language and Literacies: Symposium on African and Diasporic Languages and Education. _____. forthcoming. The evolving language of the Outer Banks People. Wright Brothers’ Symposium. _____. forthcoming. The supra-regional development of African American Vernacular English. In Arthur K. Spears, James de Jongh, Carole M. Berotte Joseph (eds.). Language and African Diaspora Culture. _____. forthcoming. LAVIS: A review and critique. In Michael Picone and Catherine Davies, (eds.), Language Variation in the South III. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. _____. forthcoming. Sociolinguistic engagement in community perspective. In Michael Picone and Catherine Davies, (eds.), Language Variation in the South III. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. _____. forthcoming. Studying vernacular dialects. In Marianna Di Paolo and Arthur K. Spears (eds.), Increasing Language Diversity in Linguistic Courses: Practical Approaches and Materials. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. _____. The North Carolina Language and Life Project. In Michael Montgomery (ed.). Language, in The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Oxford: University of Mississippi Press. _____. The Outer Banks. In Michael Montgomery (ed.). Language, in The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Oxford: University of Mississippi Press. ____. Language diversity and the public Interest. In Natalie Schilling-Estes and Kendall King (eds.), GURT 06. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Download article [ 71KB] ____. Sociolinguistic myths in the study of African American English. Linguistic and Language Compass 1. Download article [ 555KB] 2007 Wolfram, Walt. Ethnic varieties. In Carmen Llamas, Louise Mullany, Peter Stockwell (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics. Routledge. 77-83. 2006 Wolfram, Walt. 2006. Variation in language: overview. In Keith Brown (chief ed.), Encyclopedia of Languages and Linguistics II. Oxford: Elsevier, 333-40. Download article [ 136KB] 2004 Wolfram, Walt, and Natalie Schilling-Estes. 2004. Remnant dialects in the Coastal United States. In Raymond Hickey (ed.), The Legacy of Colonial English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 172-202. Download article [ 601KB] Wolfram, Walt. 2004. The grammar of urban African American Vernacular English. In Bernd Kortmann and Edgar Schneider (eds.), Handbook of Varieties of English: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 111-132. Download article [ 392KB] _____. 2004. The grammar of rural and ethnic varieties in the Southeast. In Bernd Kortmann and Edgar Schneider (eds.), Handbook of Varieties of English: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 74-94. Download article [ 414KB] back to top Complete CV Download CV [ 214KB ] back to top Courses ENG 525: Variety of English ENG 523: Language Variation Research Seminar ENG 210: Introduction to Language and Lingusitics Specific seminars of language and ethnicity Course Syllabi See the courses page for sample syllabi from courses in years past. back to top Interests NC State football and basketball, yo-yoing, babysitting young 'uns back to top Awards and Honors Selected Linguistic Society of America Fellow (inducted in inaugural class of Fellows, 2006) Honorary member, Golden Key International Honour Society, North Carolina State Chapter, 2003 NC State Alumni Outstanding Research Award, 1995-96 College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) Distinguished Research Award 1995-96 CHASS Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professorship Award, NCSU 1994-95 back to top
	NCSU Linguistics Program \| Tompkins Hall \| Campus Box 8105 \| Raleigh, NC 27695-8105 919/515-4151 \| wolfram at social dot chass dot ncsu dot edu