Utah English

Is English in Utah truly unique? If so, what makes it different? What stereotypes about how Utahns speak are completely off base?

Which are accurate? To answer these questions, linguist David Ellingson Eddington surveyed more than 1,700 Utahns in an effort to better understand and systematize the peculiarities of English spoken in the Beehive State.

This resulting book is sophisticated, accessible, and often humorous; it’s the kind of work that professional linguists, students, and general audiences can use and enjoy. Utah is linguistically interesting for a variety of reasons, including the massive numbers of immigrants who flocked to Utah Territory in the first years of its settlement; its relative isolation from 1847 until the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869; and the fact that so many Utahns belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—giving them greater commonality than is often the case.

Notably, the book argues that particular religious affiliation, or lack thereof, might play a part in how you use the features that make up Utah English. An accessible study of dialect in Utah, this book explores how social and geographic factors influence the pronunciations and regional expressions that characterize Utah English.

Reflecting years of dealing with misconceptions about dialect both in and out of the classroom, Eddington covers vocabulary, individual words, syntax, vowels, and consonants, blending a serious and sometimes humorous approach to his research.