I love language. The written word and the spoken word tell us a great deal about the people, the places, and the way they live. One of my favorite solo games to play is to listen to how people speak or the words they say to determine where they are from. Even an hour difference can change the accent or add words to the vernacular... the "mother tongue" of any place.
I recently watched several videos about an island off the shore of North Carolina. Ocracoke Island in North Carolina is known for its unique dialect. The Ocracoke Brogue, a distinctive form of English, has roots in Elizabethan English, but has been shaped by influences from Native Americans, English sailors, and pirates over centuries. The dialect is characterized by its unique vocabulary and pronunciation, making it one of the few American dialects not easily recognized as American by outsiders. It has a cadence similar to other island languages.
Growing close to Chicago, in a rural setting, made me acutely aware of minor but significant differences in pronunciation, expressions, and word choices. The etymology of a word is as fascinating to me. Language can be shaped by many things including the kind of work the people do. Fishing villages use phrases that might be unfamiliar to grain farmers and vice-versa. The same would be true for mining and manufacturing communities. Language is part family of origin and part all of the places we go, work, and live.
Today, I am grateful for unique expressions.
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