languagingHR

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 25: Conversations at ComicCon: Understanding Cosplay, Conlang and moreHosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: Nov. 1, 2026Length: 43 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthIn this episode we explore the world of ComicCon where all things fantasy and sci-fi rule. New to this universe we spend some time learning about the conventions and the people who attend before honing in on the associated language. We combine background research by Carlene Klein-Bennett and a primer from her son, Brendan, a 30-year-old Trekkie, with on-the-spot reporting at the 9th annual Gloucester ComicCon. We start with a brief history of the term (comic convention) and the expanding genre, from Star Trek (1970s) via Pokemon and Harry Potter (both 1990s) to Superman (2025). We learn about the fandom’s lingo – cosplay, conlanging, crossover, kenning, and more. We hear how fans use iconic phrases as shibboleths to recognize one another’s interests and to communicate with friends. We discover the importance of vendors to the experience. And we discover how cosplaying (dressing in character) is an integral part of ComicCon for both observers and participants.We also look at conlangs (constructed or invented languages), such as Vulcan, and their role in both books and movies. ComicCon attendee and Interviewee Jefferson states it succinctly noting that in contemporary productions the appearance of an alien speaking English is a deal-breaker. (So obvious when stated directly!) A fount of information on the topic, Jefferson cited the Language Creation Society (conlang.org) and the Klingon Language Institute (kli.org) – and yes, you can study Klingon just like any other language — as sources for those with an interest in the linguistic aspect.Above all, we discover a world of self-proclaimed nerds living their best life at ComicCon with a family-friendly vibe and a heavy dose of positivity.Send your questions and feedback to [email protected]; and for more information and to listen to previous episodes, check out our website, www.languaginghr.wordpress.com.(Thanks to Gloucester Public Library staff for their assistance, On-site interviews were conducted by Carlene Klein-Bennett, Christopher Newport University intern Emily Sarar, and Prue Salasky.)

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 24: How Hip-Hop Language Shapes the Way We SpeakGuest Host/Producer: Aidan DozierDate: Sep. 9, 2026Length: Approximately 26 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each month How does a word move from a neighborhood, to a song, to social media, and eventually into everyday conversation?In this episode of languagingHR, ODU Media Studies student and LanguagingHR intern Aidan Dozier explores the relationship between hip-hop, language, regional identity, and social media. The episode looks at how words and phrases associated with hip-hop move through communities, music, online spaces, and everyday speech—and how their meanings can change along the way. The episode follows that process from earlier generations of hip-hop to contemporary expressions such as motion, no cap, locked in, aura, mid, cooked, crash out, standing on business, rizz, slime, and twin.Aidan speaks with Janai Williams, a producer from Philadelphia who moved to Virginia. Williams discusses growing up around music, Philadelphia's distinctive hip-hop culture and language, and the culture shock she experienced after moving to Virginia. Her experiences highlight the connection between language and belonging, including the pressure people can feel to change the way they speak when entering a new community.The episode also features Meiyah Maxfield, a lifelong 757 resident and hip-hop listener. Meiyah discusses the influence hip-hop has had on her vocabulary, the way slang moves between generations, and the role social media plays in making new language recognizable almost instantly.The episode also looks specifically at Virginia and the 757, where influences from cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta mix with Virginia's own significant hip-hop history. Artists including Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Pharrell, Pusha T, and Clipse have helped establish Virginia's place in hip-hop, even as the region's linguistic identity can be harder to define than that of  other major hip-hop centers.Ultimately, How Hip-Hop Language Shapes the Way We Speak asks listeners to think beyond slang as simply a collection of trendy words. Language can communicate identity, location, humor, history, community, and belonging. Hip-hop gives that language a powerful platform, but the people who use, repeat, reinterpret, and preserve those words ultimately determine where the language goes next.Send your questions and feedback to [email protected]; and for more information and to listen to previous episodes, check out our website, www.languaginghr.wordpress.com.

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 23 Bonus: Interview with hip hop scholar Dr. Travis Harris, PhD. Hosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: July 24, 2026Length: 37 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthIn this bonus episode, languagingHR shares their interview with Dr. Travis Harris, PhD,assistant professor of English and African American literature at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va.We spoke to Harris,  a hip hop scholar specializing in the intersection of religion and hip hop, for languagingHR Episode 22 on African American English in the 757. In it he spoke about the importance of language to maintaining identity in the face of pressures to conform,  Our interview spanned many topics and ran 90 minutes. Here, edited down to 37 minutes, Harris talks about his childhood and his journey to his academic specialty; his passion for hip hop, both local and international; his research into a displaced black community in Williamsburg; and his favorite African American authors.For those interested in hip-hop, the W&M Hip Hop Collection, started in the 1980s,  is part of Swem Library’s Special Collections and includes recordings, publications, and ephemera from Virginia-based hip hop artists. Local stars include Pharell and Clipse (the brothers Pusha T and No Malice).Send your questions and feedback to [email protected]; and for more information and to listen to previous episodes, check out our website, www.languaginghr.wordpress.com.

Hosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: April 10, 2026Length: 37 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthIn this episode we explore African American English, its history, features, and variations, including in Hampton Roads, aka the 757. We interview three black academics in the region to learn about AAE and what defines it. We talk to Dr. Iyabo Osiapem, teaching professor of Africana Studies and Linguistics at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Founded in 1693, It’s the only university in the state to offer an undergraduate major in linguistics. At Hampton University in Hampton, the city where the first African indentured servants and slaves arrived in North America in 1619, we speak to Dr. Darylyn Dance, a specialist in rhetoric and composition. We also talk to Dr. Travis Harris, a hip hop scholar who teaches at Norfolk State University in Norfolk. From them we learned about the distinctive syntactical and pronunciation features of the AAE dialect; various theories of its development, including from West African languages; some distinctive local vocabulary; the influence of hip hop in its evolution; and its controversial history related to education, including the 1979 Ann Arbor case and the 1997 Oakland decision.We learn about its labels over the years, including “non-standard Negro English” used by white linguist William Labov, “the father of sociolinguistics,” who pioneered research into AAE in the 1960s, We learn about the work of African American linguist John Baugh in exposing linguistic profiling and the development of the ebonics label by educational psychologist Robert Williams,     inventor of the BITCH test which highlighted cultural bias in standardized testing. Finally, we discuss attitudes to language variation. Here are some of the books and authors the three professors recommended for AAE: Olaudah Equiano (18th century)(enslaved, freed, went to UK) slave narratives, letters, poems;essayist and journalist Charles Chesnutt (turn of the 20th century) The Goophered Grapevine;Poetry by Frances Ellen Watkins (19th century); by Paul Laurence Dunbar (19th century); by Countee Cullen (early 20th century); by Langston Hughes (20th century); George Schuyler journalist, columnist, critic (20th century); Phyllis Wheatley, born in Africa, writing in second language; Imami All Mine by Connie Porter (This American Girl series); Zora Neale Hurston,  Their Eyes are Watching God; Alice Childress, Rainbow Jordan;  The Color Purple by Alice Walker;  Dutchman (1964 play) by Amiri Baraka; Sonia Sanchez (20th century) poet, playwright, professor; Maya Angelou; Toni Morrison;Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution will not be Televised” (“godfather of rap”); academic articles by Vershawn Ashanti Young (contemporary); Bernice McFadden, “Sugar” (2000)For those interested in hip-hop, the W&M Hip Hop Collection, started in the 1980s,  is part of Swem Library’s Special Collections and includes recordings, publications, and ephemera from Virginia based hip hop artists. Local stars include Pharell and Clipse (the brothers Pusha T and No Malice).Send your questions and feedback to [email protected]; and for more information and to listen to previous episodes, check out our website, www.languaginghr.wordpress.com.

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 21 Bonus: Interview with Clay Jenkinson (unfiltered) on being Thomas JeffersonHosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: Dec. 15, 2025Length: 45 minutesPublication Frequency: Monthly (approx)In this bonus episode, we talk to Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar and longtime host of The Thomas Jefferson Hour (now Talking with America, ltamerica.org ) on National Public Radio, about how he portrays the nation’s 3rd president and author of the Declaration of Independence.In a 90-minute interview, edited to 45 minutes, Jenkinson describes both his vast admiration for Jefferson, his political ideas and his writings, and the impossibility of reconciling the Founding Father’s words about liberty and equality with the fact that he owned 600 slaves over his lifetime. The hypocrisy and inherent conflict is one reason that Jenkinson finds the character interesting. He has studied and portrayed Jefferson for more than 40 years. He notes that the Virginian who had a 34-year affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, maintained a wall of silence about slavery that his friends and political contemporaries never challenged.Other conflicted characters that Jenkinson portrays include Meriwether Lewis, Robert J. Oppenheimer, and John Steinbeck.Jenkinson explains the 3-part  Chautauquan method he developed in the 1970s to interpret historical figures: an unscripted monologue, followed by a Q and A in character, followed by breaking character and speaking as himself. Three years ago, as Jefferson became increasingly persona non grata with the public, Jenkinson changed the title of his show to Talking to America. He talks of the necessity but also his regret and his belief in the “whole person” approach – and mostly he believes that people today have a lot to learn from Jefferson. He dubs himself a Jeffersonian and expresses deep concern about the current political climate in the U.S. Jenkinson is the director of The Dakota Institute and is teaching courses on the U.S. Constitution and the fall of the Roman Republic.For more on Jenkinson and his use of 18th century language in his interpretation of Thomas Jefferson, listen to Ep. 20: Talk like a Revolutionary! Be Polite! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/languaginghr/id1727246364?i=1000734616760Send us feedback and questions at [email protected]; and for more information and to access all our past episodes, check out our website at languagingHR.wordpress.comLanguagingHR is available free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio. Don’t forget to like, follow, and subscribe!

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 20: How to Talk Like a Revolutionary: Be polite!Hosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: Oct. 31, 2025Length: 43 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthColonial Williamsburg, the restored Colonial capital (until 1780) of Virginia lies at the northwestern edge of Hampton Roads, part of a historic triangle with Yorktown and Jamestown. Since it opened as “the world’s largest U.S. history museum” in the 1930s, it has been telling the story of the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution. To learn about all its tours, programs, activities and educational programs, go to www.colonialwilliamsburg.org.In this episode we explore how CW’s use of 18th century language contributes to understanding the men and women who drove revolutionary change in the turbulent years before and after the American Revolution. We learn about the distinctive features of speech at the time of the Declaration of Independence, whose 250th anniversary is next year, 2026. We talk to Cathleene Hellier, senior historian at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, who authored the book, “18th Century English as a Second Language” (2011, out of print; available online at https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Eighteenth_Century_English_as_a_Second_Language?id=V0N3CAAAQBAJ&hl=en_US&pli=1. )She discusses the hundreds of primary sources she used to understand how language has changed over the past 250 years and its significance.  We shared the book with humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson, host of Listening to America (formerly The Thomas Jefferson Hour) on NPR, https://ltamerica.org/ and the country’s best-known Thomas Jefferson impersonator. He details the textbook’s relevant points and describes his own literature-based method of conveying the thoughts of the nation’s third president.  CW’s  Nation Builders program offers first-person interpretations of 18th century Virginians, both the well-known, such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, and the lesser-known, including a preacher, a teacher, and a barkeep, all of  whose lives impacted the community.We attended a Nation Builders performance at the Kimball Theatre, with Stephen Seals portraying James (Armistead) Lafayette, a formerly enslaved African-American who earned his freedom for his spying services for the Patriots during the Revolutionary War; and Robert Weathers, who represents George Wythe, a jurist, scholar, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hellier addresses the difficulties in portraying African-American history in the Colonial period and details the extensive research she’s done into the language varieties of the time. She’s a contributor to enslaved.org, a database of information regarding enslaved people worldwide. She touts the importance of the Virginia Gazette newspaper as a source (digitized copies are available on the CW website, www.colonialwilliamsburg.org.) We’re reminded too of the newspaper resources collected by the Library of Virginia, https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/digital-collectionsAnd the Valentine Museum in Richmond has a rich repository of African-American history, https://thevalentine.org/Check out our website, languagingHR.wordpress.com. Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]. Visit us on facebook and Instagram, and be sure to like, follow, review! Thanks for listening!

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 19: The Myth of Standard English: 3 profs talk about how language worksHosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: September 6, 2025Length: 46 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthWhat exactly is linguistics? Quite simply, linguistics is the study of language, not the study of one particular language, but language as a whole. So, when we talk about Applied Linguistics, we’re talking about how linguistic theory translates to practice, whether teaching TESOL or a foreign language to English speakers, understanding language variations and dialects, recognizing the bias and power inherent in standardized or normative language, or how language changes and what that tells us about history, culture and identity.For this episode, we returned to interviews we conducted over the past 18 months with three linguists at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Hampton Roads to learn just how linguistics applies in so many aspects of life. And particularly about the standard English bias and its effects. Each professor talks about her linguistic path, her specialty and the broad reach of the field.We revisited our Jan. 2025 talk with sociolinguist Dr. Bridget Anderson, director of the Tidewater Voices oral history archive at Old Dominion University, a  collection of local dialects gathered over more than 20 years, https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/tidewatervoices/. Anderson is an expert in acoustic phonetics and language variation. We also pulled from our spring 2025 conversation with professor emeritus Dr. Janet Bing, a phonologist, and a driving force behind the establishment of the university’s Applied Linguistics masters program (the only one in the region), and teacher of teachers of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other  Languages). And we returned to our dialogue with Dr. Staci Defibaugh, graduate program director of the Applied Linguistics program at ODU, whose research focuses on discourse analysis of speech in health settings. In this episode we discover the shared features of linguistic discovery and what it can teach us about social standing, bias, and much more.In our earlier episodes (see below), we drew on their specific areas of expertise. Ep. #13 Guinea Talk: Gloucester County’s Unique Dialect https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/languaginghr/id1727246364?i=1000688235981, Ep. #16 How do you say Norfolk? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/languaginghr/id1727246364?i=1000706264104,   and Ep. #4 How are you doing? Diagnosing Health Talkhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/languaginghr/id1727246364?i=1000654121382,Here are links to the Great Vowel Shift and the IPA vowel chart for American English, as discussed by Dr. Andersonhttps://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/021dYoM3E3G2qxJg0p5VlIoRg#IPA_chart_for_American_Englishhttp://eweb.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/what.htmSend your feedback and questions to [email protected], and be sure to visit our website, www.languaginghr.wordpress.com

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 18: Williamsburg Poet Laureate talks character, community and spitting barsHosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: July 18, 2025Length: 36 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthIn this episode, a follow to Ep. 6 (June 2024) we catch up with Lacroy “Atlas” Nixon, a spoken word artist, slam performer and founder of the nonprofit Slam Connection. He’s the newly named inaugural poet laureate of Williamsburg, Va. In Ep. 6: Creative Community: Spoken Word in Hampton Roads, published a year ago in June 2024, we featured interviews with three of the region’s spoken word performers, Tanya Cunningham, George Mendez, and Nixon to showcase the genre and the local community.Since then, Nixon has been named poet laureate for the City of Williamsburg. In this interview, (recorded on June 29, 2025, and lightly edited) we spoke to him about his new role which officially started this month. In it, he explains the process of becoming a poet laureate and says that the emphasis of his two-year post will be on engaging the area’s youth. Much of his work will involve pursuing partnerships with existing organizations, such as:Slam Connection, (https://slamconnection.my.canva.site)established by Nixon in 2022, has a mission of encouraging self-expression, healthy discourse and spitting bars (a term explained in Nixon’s interview), and empowering youth through spoken word poetry. It hosts open mic nights, slam contests, and writing events. It also involves a strong service component. 2. The Ampersand International Arts Festival, www.ampersandfestival.com, an annual arts festival held in Williamsburg in March, “is part of the CIty of Williamsburg’s initiatives to support town and gown collaboration between the City, the College of William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg, and partners.” 3. 2nd Sundays, Williamsburg’s Art & Music Festival, https://2ndsundayswilliamsburg.com4. The Poetry Society of Virginia, https://poetrysocietyofvirginia.org; a 100-year-old nonprofit dedicated to cultivating the writing and enjoyment of poetry.5. Writers Guild of Virginia, https://www.writersguildva.com; Nixon is a board member of the nonprofit that offers classes, workshops and events for writers.In the interview, Nixon references first Friday open mic nights at Column15 Cafe and Roastery, 701 Merrimac Trail R, Williamsburg; www.column15.com; and slam competitions at the Kimball Theatre, Duke of Gloucester Street, www.colonialwilliamsburg.org.He also credits the location Bazaaro’s Deli in the Williamsburg Premium Outlets,  63A 5715 Richmond Rd, Williamsburg, www.bazaaros.com for hosting slam contests.He also talks about competing in Southern Fried,www.southernfriedpoetryslam.com, one of the largest spoken word and performance poetry tournaments in the world. The event is held annually in a southern US city in the first week of June. Nixon’s team placed sixth in the 2025 competition in Knoxville, Tenn. Send your feedback, comments and questions to [email protected]. Also, check out our newly updated website, languaginghr.wordpress.com and engage with us on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks to our summer interns, Kaitlyn Asato of Christopher Newport University and Sarah Phillips of Old Dominion University, for their work on the website and social media respectively. 

Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 17: Third Culture KidsHosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: June 13, 2025Length: 26:10In this episode of Languaging in Hampton Roads, co-hosts Jill Winkowski and Prue Salasky talk with Molly Dye (Williamsburg/Richmond), Jody Conibear Tangredi (Virginia Beach), and Sina Whitley (Newport News) about their experiences growing up globally as Third Culture Kids. The term third culture kid (TCK) was coined by sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s, while she was studying the lives of Americans living and working in post-colonial India. While Useem was studying the cultural intersection of the professional lives of Indians and Americans, she noticed the unique situations of the children accompanying parents abroad. Third culture kid experiences vary but, commonly, they grow up outside of their parents’ passport countries. Molly’s father worked for the U.S. State Department and her family lived in Switzerland and Spain; Sina’s parents taught for U.S. Department of Defense schools and her family lived in Cuba, Spain, England, and Japan; Jody’s father worked for the oil industry, and she lived in Iran, Indonesia, Australia, and Singapore. Living in multiple countries as a child offers adventure and excitement. It also provides a way to experience different cultures and viewpoints during important formative years. Third culture kids can become very adaptable and commonly learn to understand many points of view. Jody, who not only is a third culture kid, but has also studied them, describes how TCK adaptability and ability to understand others' viewpoints makes them highly suitable for international careers. While growing up as a TCK has its up sides, the loss that TCKs experience over the years often goes unacknowledged. Moving from place to place, repeatedly saying goodbye to friends and having to make new ones and having to readjust to new languages, cultures, and systems can add up. TCKs don’t always have permission or time to grieve their losses. Here in Hampton Roads, with one of the largest military communities in the United States and with multiple international organizations and industries, including an international port, the third culture kid childhood likely hits home. Third culture experiences aren’t exclusive to moving from country to country. Children who move state to state with their parents’ jobs also have to adjust to new cultural systems and to different ways of interacting and speaking. In this episode, we refer to a book: Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, by Ruth D van Reken, David C. Pollock, and Michael V. Pollock, Published: Nicholas Brealey America, 2009.  Send feedback, questions, ideas for topics to [email protected] are grateful to Carlene Klein-Bennett, who researched the topic and developed a questionnaire for and reachedout to local TCKs. Welcome to our summer interns: Sarah Phillips from ODU andKaitlyn Asato from CNU. Original music is by Skye Zentz; Our Languaging logo is byPatty McDonald. Languaging in Hampton Roads is written and produced by Prue Salasky and Jill Winkowski.

Languaging Episode 16: NotesTitle: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 16 : How do you say Norfolk?Hosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: May 1, 2024Length: 34 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday of each monthIn this episode we finally get to the question that our listeners have been asking since Day 1: How do you say Norfolk? Anecdotally, we discovered that everyone accepted “NAHfuk” as the old-time pronunciation with some retaining it as a way to connect with their city of residence. Increasingly, though, perhaps as part of the so-called cot/caught merger and Southern vowel shift, today’s speakers tend to use the “NORfuk” pronunciation. Both of those stress the first syllable with a reduction in the second syllable. There are others who stress the second syllable for a “NorFOLK” or “NorFORK” iteration.We talked about vowels and reference the IPA vowel chart, https://www.ipachart.com/. We also mention linguist Penelope Eckert’s 1989 study, “Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in The High School.” It’s readily available from various sources online. We had hoped to get a resolution on the matter of who says the city’s name in what way by consulting Tidewater Voices, an online archive of interviews of locals conducted (and ongoing) by linguistics students at Old Dominion University in Norfolk over more than two decades. That simply muddied the waters as we found old-timers using the more contemporary sounding "NORfuk" and Gen Zs using "NAHfuk." To listen for yourself, go to https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/tidewatervoices/We travelled the streets of Norfolk and invited those at signature locations – Norfolk Botanical Gardens, The Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art, Nauticus, Visit Norfolk, The Mermaid Factory, Doumar’s Cones and Barbecue, and Norfolk Naval Station – to share their pronunciation of Norfolk along with information about their institution.We consulted Dr. Janet Bing, PhD, a retired linguist from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, and a specialist in phonology, to share her expertise on the topic. She broke the name down phonetically but attributed its varying pronunciations to social forces. Everyone agrees, though, that pronouncing the city’s name as "NAHfuk" places you in the local category. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for the Norfolk pronunciation variations: “NAHfuk” [‘na.fək], “NORfuk” [‘nɔr.fək], “NorFOLK” [nɔr’foʊk], “NorFORK” [nɔr’fɔrk].Send your questions and feedback to [email protected].