West Virginia University - News and Information Services
WVU English professor wins national endowment to study Appalachian dialects
The accent will be on research this summer for West Virginia University English professor Dr. Kirk Hazen.
Hazen, who is known nationally for his study of dialects across Appalachia and the American South, will use his $5,000 stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities to continue his research in the ways West Virginians talk – today and in generations past.
After all, he says, it’s not just “talking” – it’s tradition.
“Federal support of this research,” he said, “should help our land-grant mission of understanding how West Virginia changed in the 20 th century, and how our traditions might be preserved.”
Hazen’s research on language has previously been funded by the West Virginia Humanities Council, the National Science Foundation and WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences – the home of the Department of English.
Info: kirk.hazen@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-3107, ext. 33414.
Office: (304) 293-6997