Yooper is a form of North Central American English mostly spoken in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which gives the dialect its name (from "U.P." for Upper Peninsula). The dialect is also found in many northern areas of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and largely in Northeast Wisconsin.
Yooper differs from standard English primarily because of the linguistic background of settlers to the area. The majority of people living in the Upper Peninsula are of either Finnish, French Canadian, Flemish, Scandinavian, German, or Native American descent. Yooper is so massively influenced by these areas' languages that speakers from other areas may have difficulty understanding it. The Yooper dialect is also influenced by the Finnish language making it similar in character to the so-called "Rayncher speek" of the Mesabi Iron Range in northeast Minnesota.
Some common features of English in the UP
- Canadian raising
- Use of German/Scandinavian "ja" as "yeah" or "yes," spelled "ya."
- Tendency towards intonation that stresses the first syllable of each word, which is an influence of Finnish spoken by many immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- /w/ sometimes becomes /v/, for example, /ˈkiːvənɔː/ for Keweenaw. This is an example of language transfer, where immigrant languages have affected the variety of English spoken in the area. This feature is especially found among residents born before 1950 and in the western region of the UP.
- Ending of sentences in "Eh." Used at end of sentences with the expectation of receiving an affirmative response or as another word for "huh." ("So, you're /jɛr/ goin' out t'nide, eh?"), or to add emphasis to a statement, "That's a pretty dress, eh." "Eh" is often associated with Canadian English. "Heh" is used interchangeably and perhaps more often among younger speakers.
- Replacement of dental fricatives, /ð/ and /θ/, like in "this" and "thigh," with alveolar stops /d/ and /t/, so then (/ðɛn/) becomes den (/dɛn/) and thigh (/θaɪ/) often becomes tie (/tʰaɪ/), etc. (This is also traceable to Native American pronunciations, specifically Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potowatomi, sister languages, which have no "th" sounds.)
- In some cases, deletion of "to the" has been observed, e.g., "I'm going store," "We went mall," and "We go Green Bay." This is an influence from Finnish, which doesn't have the articles "a," "an," or "the", and the preposition "to" is replaced by the illative and allative cases, which, being absent from English, are simply deleted (cf. Finnish Menemme Green Bayhin).
- The word "boat" is sometimes given two syllables. (bo-ut)
- Words such as "pank" (to make compact, pat down), "chuke" or "chook" (a knit winter cap, from Canadian French "tuque" [tsʏk]), "choppers" (long-sleeved mittens, sometimes with removable finger flaps, often made of deerskin), "swampers" (boots with rubber bottoms and leather uppers), "pasty", "bakery" (baked goods), "make wood" (cut or chop wood), "snow scoop" or "yooper scooper" (a metal implement for "moving snow"), "wa" (instead of wow) and pronunciations such as "grodge" (garage), "crick" (creek), "ruts" (roots)
- Replacing the "-ing" at the end of certain words with "-een" (doing becomes "do-een", happening becomes "happen-een", something becomes "some-theen")
- Deletion of the object of the preposition. Example: Instead of saying "Would you like to come with us?" A Yooper might say "Would you like to come with?" This may be an influence from German, which has similar structures available in its grammar.
- Saying "I'm gonna go by your house" when really meaning they are going to come visit.
- Use of the word "bubbler" for a drinking fountain, especially in Wisconsin.
Although these features are found in the UP, they are primarily in the western UP, and not all residents use these features. Equally important is the fact that many of these features are found throughout the upper midwest, especially in northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota.
References
- Remlinger, Kathryn A. (2007). "The intertwined histories of identity and dialect in Michigan's Copper Country."". New perspectives on Michigan's Copper Country. Hancock, MI: Quincy Mine Hoist Association. pp. 62–84. OCLC 166351721.
- —— (2006). "What it means to be a Yooper: Identity, language attitudes and variation in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula". In Filppula, Markku; Palander; Klemola, Juhani et al. Topics in dialectal variation. Joensuu, Finland: University of Joensuu Press. pp. 125–144. ISBN 9789524588294.
- —— (August 2002). "Talking the talk of the Copper Country" (Feature article). Marquette Monthly: pp. 22–25.
- Simon, Beth (2005). "Dago, Finlander, Cousin Jack: Ethnicity and Identity on Michigan's Upper Peninsula". In Joseph, Brian D.; Preston, Carol G.; Preston, Dennis Richard. Language Diversity in Michigan and Ohio : Towards Two State Linguistic Profiles. Ann Arbor, MI: Carvan Books. pp. 129–152. ISBN 9780882061108.