Investigating the Yooper Dialect : A Study of the Dialect in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Abstract: This paper aims to explore the linguistic features of the dialect in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The study sets out to define what the distinct features of the dialect are, and investigate frequencies among Upper Peninsula natives, specifically from Marquette County. The research conducted for this thesis is based on multiple recordings of a small number of native dialect speakers from this area. The results show that features such as pronunciation, and the vowel sounds in particular, as well as dialectal expressions play a large part in defining this characteristic dialect. Furthermore, analyses of consonant sounds, lexical items, dialect expressions such as eh and ya, and the matter of stress, are included in the study as well as a brief discussion on how age- grading may affect the dialect.