The Pacific Northwest English Study

The Northwest is the product of a rich history of Native American, European and Asian influence. The Pacific Northwest English project explores the extent of English dialect development in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.


The story of the Pacific Northwest is one of constant settlement and immigration. Although a few pockets of historically-isolated communities can be found, most of us live in places where our voices intermingle with people of different backgrounds.


Have Northwesterners been established long enough to have unique dialect features? Has the history of ongoing settlement made the Pacific Northwest the truest of American melting-pots? What is the extent of Native American, Scandanavian, Asian and other linguistic influences on the speech of this region?