U.S. Regional Variation in the English Language
Wisconsin Dialect
The state of Wisconsin is unique because it has such a variety of language dialect throughout the area. For example, the maps below and the other ones available on this site portray how the Southeastern part of the state, like Milwaukee, often pronunces words differently and uses different vocabulary than the rest of the state. One common example is that the Southeastern area most often uses the term soda while the majority of the state says pop according to recent studies. This variation throughout Wisconsin only adds to the uniqueness of the Midwest region as a whole. The maps below portray a small sample of words used in Wisconsin in order to show variation of word usage within the state and a few linguistic topics like pronunciation. All maps were produced b Evan Applegate at the University of Wisconsin-Cartography Lab.
Dialect at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
To see what Wisconsinites think, look at the work of Erica Benson from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The following map portrays judgment from people of Eau Claire as to how similar the English spoken in different locations in Wisconsin compared to the English spoken in Eau Claire, with the scale being from 1 (the same) to 4 (different). According to the results, the English in Milwaukee is the most different from that of Eau Claire while La Crosse is considered to be most similar.
Adapted from maps created by Erica Benson, UW-Eau Claire, for the Wisconsin Folk Linguistics Project. Purnell, Thomas. WISCONSIN TALK. © 2013 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Reprinted by permission of The University of Wisconsin Press. http://csumc.wisc.edu/wep/perceptionsofenglish.html