My dissertation research focuses on how race and place shape language variation and change in Baltimore, MD. Though distinct in many respects, the dialects of white and Black Baltimoreans share a number of distinctive local and regional features. I am interested in Baltimoreans' views of the city shapes their use of these features, and whether this happens in the same way for Black and white speakers.
Comparison of earlier and more recent descriptions of Baltimore in linguistic atlases suggests that Baltimore English has changed dramatically over the course of the 20th century, from a more “Southern” dialect with many similarities to Richmond, VA to a more "Northern" dialect with many similarities to Philadelphia. I am working with Peggy Renwick on an investigation of Baltimore English as represented in the Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project, a collection of oral history recordings collected between 1978 and 1981. The interviewees were largely born in the late 19th and early 20th century, representing an earlier stage of Baltimore English than we see in the popular stereotypes of today.
Since the 1990s, there has been an annual "Best Hon Contest," where contestants dress up as "Hons" (exaggerated renditions of working-class women from post-WWII Baltimore) and put on Baltimore accents to compete for the title of "Baltimore's Best Hon." I am researching what Hon performers actually do when they adopt a "Baltimore accent" and what it reveals about their knowledge and awareness of Baltimore's linguistic features. I have also given presentations on how Hon performances are changing and how performances vary across racial lines.