Wolfram speaks the language

Once a young man aspiring to be a missionary, Walt Wolfram became deeply interested in linguistics, a necessary tool for translation of religious text. That interest took his career and his life above and beyond what he expected. Now, over four decades later and authoring and co-authoring over 300 published articles and 20 books on the study of language and dialects, he walks the campus of N.C. State.
Wolfram did not know that linguistics was what his future held when he started out. His love for the subject began as he worked to become a missionary to travel the world to study and translate religious texts. He earned his B.A. at Wheaton College in Illinois, but got his M.A. and Ph.D. in the trade from Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
Wolfram quickly ran into some problems when he first started his missionary work. Missionary work does not pay a salary; missionaries must gain their own funding. His group of bible translators found hardship too difficult to overcome. Wolfram and his wife had a family to support, so they decided to do something with more income.
"I turned my missionary zeal into fervor for dialect," Wolfram said. "I'm passionate in what I study. I believe strongly in it."
Originally from Philadelphia, Wolfram has studied various forms of the English language and different dialects all over the United States. He published one of the first linguistic descriptions of African American Vernacular English after studying it in Detroit and Washington, D.C. and he studied Native American English in reservations in New Mexico.
"I'm kind of a dialect nomad," Wolfram said.
Wolfram has studied languages in many areas, but he came to North Carolina in 1992, drawn by the rich diversity in dialect offered across the state.
North Carolina is a dream state for sociolinguistics like Wolfram because it has three areas across which dialect and speech varies widely. From the eastern coast, to the piedmont, to the mountains of western North Carolina, the dialect of the natives is easy to identify.
"North Carolina is like dying and coming to dialect heaven," Wolfram said.
N.C. State offered Wolfram a position as an endowed chair, which first lured him to the university, but he has stayed on board for 16 years because of the language diversity he finds here.
"I love N.C. State because it affords me the luxury of being with students who represent the dialects I study," Wolfram said.
Wolfram works hard to try and change the perception of language differences in North Carolina.
"I love opening people's eyes to understand language," Wolfram said. "It changes a person's perception for life."
Wolfram even works to begin opening the eyes of the younger North Carolinians. He has developed a highly acclaimed 8th grade social studies curriculum available to public schools. He also served as the linguistic consultant for the Children's Television Company, the producers of Sesame Street, to help them decide what different dialect the characters should
have.
Professor Wolfram urges students to take a linguistics class.
"It opens people's eyes to understand the role of language in society. Twenty years from now they might not remember what they learned in English 220 (Intro to Language and Linguistics), but they will see language from a different perspective."
Besides linguistics, Wolfram is interested in sports. He has been an avid Wolfpack fan since joining the university. He is the proud owner of season football tickets and also a big family man.
"I have the coolest grandchildren in the world."
Wolfram is still working in North Carolina and planning to focus his studies more on urban areas in the future. He has about 17 research sites being setup in areas like Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro to examine the dialect there and the differences between urban and rural areas.
Professor Wolfram has been able to retire for years, but has not, and does not plan to.
"I love getting up in the morning and going to work. If you can say that at my age, that's saying something."