Upper Peninsula English

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Upper Peninsula (U.P.) English, [1] also known as Yooper English, [2] or colloquially as Yoopanese, [3] is an advanced variety of North Central (or Upper Midwestern) English native to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (locally abbreviated as "U.P." and the basis for the endonym "Yooper"). [4] Although spoken throughout the U.P., not all residents use these features.

Contents

Yooper English differs from standard English primarily because of the linguistic background of settlers to the area of Finnish, French Canadian, Cornish, Scandinavian, German, or Native American descent. The Yooper dialect is also influenced by the Finnish language making it similar in character to the so-called "Rayncher" dialect (an eye spelling of "Ranger") [5] spoken in the Mesabi Iron Range in northeast Minnesota. Almost half the Finnish immigrants to the U.S. settled in the Upper Peninsula, some joining Scandinavians who moved on to Minnesota.

Phonology and phonetics

Ethnic makeup of the US in 2000; the western Upper Peninsula is the only region in the U.S. where Finnish Americans (light green) form the plurality. Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.jpg
Ethnic makeup of the US in 2000; the western Upper Peninsula is the only region in the U.S. where Finnish Americans (light green) form the plurality.

The Yooper accent follows the local North Central (Upper Midwest) pronunciation system, but with the following noticeable additions:

Lexicon and grammar

Notes

  1. Rankinen, Wil (Fall 2014). "The Michigan Upper Peninsula English Vowel System in Finnish American Communities in Marquette County". American Speech. 89 (3): 312–347. doi:10.1215/00031283-2848989. eISSN   1527-2133. ISSN   0003-1283. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  2. Remlinger, Kathryn; Salmons, Joseph & von Schneidemesser, Luanna (Summer 2009). "Revised Perceptions: Changing Dialect Perceptions in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula". American Speech. 84 (2): 176–191. doi:10.1215/00031283-2009-014. eISSN   1527-2133. ISSN   0003-1283 . Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  3. Zimmerman, Karla (2010). "Great Lakes: Lake Lovers' Trail". In Benson, Sara; Balfour, Amy (eds.). USA's Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America. Oakland: Lonely Planet. p. 350. ISBN   9781741797350. OCLC   668112230 . Retrieved January 30, 2016 via Google Books.
    Kleine, Ted (June 18, 1998). "Turning Yoopanese". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  4. Jenkins, Richard (May 21, 2015). "Linguistics Professor Provides Insight into 'Yooper' Accent Trends". The Daily Globe. Ironwood, MI. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  5. Kalibabky, Mike (1996). Hawdaw Talk rayncher, and Iron range Words of Wisdom. Chisolm, Minnesota: Moonlight Press.

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