I feel a little bit slighted.

I just read in the paper that one of my professors from Franciscan has been doing research on the Ohio Valley Dialect. There was a whole big article about him and he explained the history of the dialect and the different influences on it. He said he’ll be having students do some research on the Ohio Valley Dialect in the Fall, which is pretty exciting because I’m in his Phonics and the History of Language class next semester. I’d love to have the opportunity to do some research on my native dialect.

Oh wait. I already did that research.

I also already wrote that paper my first semester and published that article in the Local Yokel, the newsletter I run, almost a year ago. The article in the paper today sounded just like my paper from two years ago, except shorter.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not accusing anyone of plagiarism; that would be hubris, not to mention rude. I just feel a little left out because when I did my paper, there was no literature on my dialect. I had to do my own research and study three different dialects and form my own conclusions about the intricacies of the Ohio Valley Dialect (there wasn’t even a name for it). And now because a professor decided to study it, it’s a big deal. No one cared when a nerdy college freshman was so excited about her research that the ten page limit wasn’t enough. Now that a guy who has a doctorate wants to talk about it, the newspaper’s publishing stories about him.

I wonder if he read my article. Probably not. He probably thought of studying the dialect all on his own because we all talk funny (he’s from Buffalo) and he wanted to know what that was about. I would. So my original research wasn’t original at all. He might think I stole his idea.

In any case, I’m excited for my Phonics and the History of Language class next semester. This professor’s one of my favorites at school, so it should be worth the 8 am time. Maybe I’ll get to help with the research (that I already did) and since I actually speak the dialect, I might get to share my thoughts or pronunciations.

I’m looking on the bright side, but I’m still a little miffed.

Hey, at least I know my research was accurate. Everything he’s found out is what I found out. But no one calls it a “shopping buggy.” It’s just a buggy.

Some letters are like ninjas and spies.

We all know that the English language is chock full of silent letters. They just appear to be hanging out in a word, with no real purpose, kind of like that one friend you all had in high school that just stuck around uninvited. You don’t remember having a friend like that? Odds are it’s because you were that person.

But I digress. My point is these little hangers-on were once vital and useful. Take the word “knight” for example. The K, G, and H are all essentially useless, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t serve a purpose once upon a time. Long ago, every letter in just about every word in English was pronounced. It would have made life much easier for those small children who were learning to read at the time. However, things change, and language evolves. As humans, we tend to rush things, always wanting to get to the end faster and faster. Eventually, words like knight dropped the pronunciation of some of their sounds, but retained the spellings.

Another sneaky little word with a stealthy silent letter is “often”. You might be wondering which letter’s silent, yes? If you are, then you’re probably one of those people who pronounce the T. Don’t worry, a lot of people do it, especially if they’re reading aloud. But that doesn’t make it right. The reasoning behind pronouncing the T is that it makes it sound more proper or formal. However, just as it’s no longer proper to pronounce all those silent letters in “knight,” it’s also not recommended that you pronounce the T in “often.” It’s just there for moral support.