Wisconsin 12

Listen to Wisconsin 12, a 27-year-old man from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 27

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 11/12/1992

PLACE OF BIRTH: Port Edwards, Wisconsin

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Caucasian/White (of European descent)

OCCUPATION: technical-support representative at a call center

EDUCATION: associate’s degree in Applied Science in Industrial Automation and Controls Engineering Technology

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject has lived in Wisconsin his entire life, most of that time in either Port Edwards or Wisconsin Rapids. (He attended university in Platteville, Wisconsin, for approximately two years before moving back to Wisconsin Rapids.)

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject’s parents were both born and raised in the Wisconsin Rapids area. Nearly all of the subject’s close friends were born in central or northern Wisconsin. However, some spent time in California and brought back West Coast slang, which the subject now uses.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: subject

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 06/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I was born in Port Edwards, Wisconsin. Um, I lived there until I was about age nine. Um, shortly after, we moved to Wisconsin Rapids just a few miles over across the river, and, uh, that was in about fourth grade. Um, I, uh, went to college in Platteville, Wisconsin, for two years before moving back to Wisconsin Rapids to finish off my degree, and I’ve lived here ever since.

Um, I only vaguely know my family’s origins: uh, France, Germany, and Switzerland primarily, although, uh, I only know that through word of mouth and, um, what I’ve been told by my grandparents. I haven’t done any actual research into it.

Many people in our area call a drinking fountain a “bubbler,” but I prefer “water fountain” or “drinking fountain.” Um, I understand “bubbler” is primarily a southeast Wisconsin thing, but it seems to creep up into this area as well.

Um, I have a, uh, tendency of calling traffic lights “stop-and-go lights” or sometimes just “stop lights.” Uh, in Wisconsin, stop-and — calling it a “stop-and-go light” is a pretty common occurrence as well.

TRANSCRIBED BY: subject

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 06/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.

• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here, please go to Other Dialect Services.