Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks - by Walt Wolfram & Natalie Schilling (Paperback)

About the Book

Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks: The Story of the Ocracoke Brogue

Book Synopsis

As many visitors to Ocracoke will attest, the island's vibrant dialect is one of its most distinctive cultural features. In Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks, Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes present a fascinating account of the Ocracoke brogue. They trace its development, identify the elements of pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax that make it unique, and even provide a glossary and quiz to enhance the reader's knowledge of 'Ocracokisms.' In the process, they offer an intriguing look at the role language plays in a culture's efforts to define and maintain itself. But Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks is more than a linguistic study. Based on extensive interviews with more than seventy Ocracoke residents of all ages and illustrated with captivating photographs by Ann Ehringhaus and Herman Lankford, the book offers valuable insight on what makes Ocracoke special. In short, by tracing the history of island speech, the authors succeed in opening a window on the history of the islanders themselves.

Review Quotes

"[A] truly informative and enjoyable book." -- North Carolina Libraries

"A welcome treatise on the culture of one of the state's most distinctive regional legacies." -- North Carolina Historical Review

"A work of learning animated by a sense of fun." -- Islands

"Eminently readable and unfailingly interesting, the book is accessible to general readers as well as language specialists." -- CHOICE

"This book is an inspiring effort for those interested in the preservation of culture, for not only does it provide the most comprehensive record to date of the Ocracoke language and culture, but it will also serve as a guide for those who undertake comparable preservation projects." -- Southern Cultures

About the Author

Walt Wolfram is William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English at North Carolina State University and founder of the North Carolina Language and Life Project. Natalie Schilling-Estes, who holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the project's coordinator.