Newswise — Several University of Mississippi professors gather Nov. 28 to discuss the impact of Hurricane Katrina on dialects and languages in and around New Orleans.
The free, public roundtable "On the Displacement of New Orleans Speakers: Linguistic Consequences of Hurricane Katrina" is set for 4 p.m. in the Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory. The discussion is to focus on Mississippi Gulf Coast French, New Orleans Isleno Spanish and the New Orleans dialect of English.
"Linguists often discuss language death and the shaping of dialects, but rarely do they see such phenomena unfold right before their eyes," said Donald Dyer, interim chair of modern languages and panel moderator. "The linguistic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has affected thousands of people who were forced to move out of the New Orleans area and into surrounding areas and beyond."
Panelists are English department faculty members Allison Burkette, instructor, and Susan Major, adjunct instructor; Felice Coles, associate professor of modern languages; and independent scholar Rebecca Larche Moreton of Oxford.
The discussion is sponsored by the Department of Linguistics, with support from the College of Liberal Arts, Department of Modern Languages and Department of English.
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