American English Dialect Recordings: The Center for Applied Linguistics

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The American English Dialect Recordings collection, available online through the Library of Congress, contains 118 hours of recordings documenting North American English dialects. These include a variety of speech styles, including linguistic interviews, oral histories, conversations, and excerpts from public speeches. They were originally collected as part of Donna Christian's "A Survey and Collection of American English Dialect Recordings" funded by the Center for Applied Linguistics and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The following table, prepared by Jaidan McLean and Charlie Farrington, includes all of the African American speech samples available in the American English Dialect Recordings collection. Because these recordings come from a variety of sources, genre indicates the type of recording that was made. A text file of this table is available Plain text icon here.

Speaker ID Contributor State city sex YOB yoi Length Genre
afccal000030 Clements, William Arkansas Joiner Female 1896 1981 29.51 Interview
afccal000032 Maynor, Natalie Mississippi Oktibbeha County Female 1897 1983 29.3 Conversation
afccal000033 Maynor, Natalie Mississippi Oktibbeha County Female 1895 1983 24.29 Conversation
afccal000034 Foley, Lawrence M Alabama Northport Female 1903 1968/1969 12.26 Interview
afccal000035 Foley, Lawrence M Alabama Northport Female 1903 1968/1969 12.35 Interview
afccal000056 Wolfram, Walt New York New York Male 1952 1970/1971 17.14 Conversation
afccal000057 Wolfram, Walt New York New York Male 1956 1970/1971 13.02 Conversation
afccal000068 Kyle, Evelyn Colorado Grand Junction Female 1915
1923		 1977 21.18 Interview
afccal000105 Key, Mary Ritchie Maryland Maryland Female 1900 1967 30.55 Interview
afccal000112 Key, Mary Ritchie Georgia Valdosta Female 1910 1967 18.36 Interview
afccal000113 Key, Mary Ritchie Georgia Valdosta Male 1901 1967 18.45 Interview
afccal000120 Shuy, Roger Michigan Detroit Female 1936 1967 26.18 Interview
afccal000121 Shuy, Roger Michigan Detroit Female 1935 1967 23.58 Interview
afccal000122 Shuy, Roger Michigan Detroit Male 1926 1967 23.35 Interview
afccal000123 Shuy, Roger Michigan Detroit Male 1926 1967 27.51 Interview
afccal000124 Shuy, Roger Michigan Detroit Female 1951 1967 28.22 Interview
afccal000154 Sommer, Bettie Florida Florida Female 1969
1968		 1977 19.4 Conversation
afccal000155 Sommer, Bettie Florida Florida Male 1900 1977 18.59 Interview
afccal000156 Sommer, Bettie Florida Florida Male 1863 1977 19.43 Interview
afccal000188 Scott, Jerrie Cobb Michigan Ann Arbor Male 1932 1972 9.13 Interview
afccal000189 Scott, Jerrie Cobb Michigan Detroit Male 1968 1975 5.56 Reading test
afccal000190 Scott, Jerrie Cobb Michigan Detroit Male 1968 1975 15.22 Reading test
afccal000197 Meyers, Miriam Connecticut New Haven Female 1953 1967/1968 10.17 Oral report
afccal000198 Meyers, Miriam Connecticut New Haven Male 1952 1967/1968 9.07 Oral report
afccal000200 Meyers, Miriam Connecticut New Haven Female 1953 1967/1968 13.13 Oral report
afccal000201 Meyers, Miriam Connecticut New Haven Female 1952 1967/1968 20.17 Oral report
afccal000203 Meyers, Miriam Connecticut New Haven Female 1953 1967/1968 15.28 Oral report
afccal000205 Meyers, Miriam Connecticut New Haven Female 1952 1967/1968 8.45 Oral report
afccal000213 Wolfram, Walt Mississippi Meadville Female 1961
1960		 1972/1973 12.35 Conversation
afccal000214 Wolfram, Walt Mississippi Meadville Female 1932 1972/1973 15.26 Conversation
afccal000215 Wolfram, Walt Mississippi Meadville Male 1920 1972/1973 14.4 Conversation
afccal000216 Wolfram, Walt Mississippi Meadville Female 1880 1972/1973 12.26 Conversation
afccal000240 Mele, Joseph Alabama Alabama Female 1917 1975-1980 3.08 Monologue
afccal000259 Mele, Joseph North Carolina Walson Female 1903 1975-1980 9.19 Monologue
afccal000260 Mele, Joseph South Carolina Columbia Male 1932 1975-1980 4.49 Monologue
afccal000262 Mele, Joseph South Carolina South Carolina Female 1892 1975-1980 7.18 Monologue
afccal000287 Bailey, Guy Texas Washington County Male 1900 1982 30.24 Interview
afccal000288 Bailey, Guy Texas Washington County Male 1970 1982-1985 22.35 Interview
afccal000289 Bailey, Guy Texas Washington County Male 1970 1982-1985 30.31 Interview
afccal000312 Connell, Wessie Georgia Beachton Male 1901 1967 12.23 Interview
afccal000313 Connell, Wessie Georgia Beachton Female 1884 1967 17.17 Interview
afccal000314 Connell, Wessie Georgia Cairo Female 1914 1967 14.16 Interview
afccal000315 Connell, Wessie Georgia Cairo Female 1890 1967 14.45 Interview
afccal000342 Butters, Ronald R. North Carolina Wilmington Male 1956 1973 4.56 Interview
afccal000343 Butters, Ronald R. North Carolina Wilmington Male 1957 1973 6.33 Interview
afccal000344 Butters, Ronald R. North Carolina Wilmington Female 1905 1974 10.18 Oral test
afccal000349 Butters, Ronald R. North Carolina Asheville Female 1907 1974 4.05 Oral test
afccal000350 Butters, Ronald R. North Carolina Asheville Male 1960 1974 23.28 Oral test
afccal000390 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1957 1968 9.02 Interview
afccal000391 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1958 1968 8.47 Interview
afccal000392 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1956 1968 9.04 Interview
afccal000393 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1950 1968 11.17 Interview
afccal000395 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1949 1968 10.42 Interview
afccal000396 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1952 1968 11.59 Interview
afccal000397 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1956 1968 11.42 Interview
afccal000398 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1946 1968 13.45 Interview
afccal000399 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1944 1968 13.37 Interview
afccal000400 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1938 1969 13.42 Interview
afccal000401 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1925 1968 13.49 Interview
afccal000402 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1944 1968 14.2 Interview
afccal000403 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1912 1968 14.19 Interview
afccal000404 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Female 1908 1968 13.46 Interview
afccal000405 Fasold, Ralph W. Washington DC Washington DC Male 1907 1968 13.33 Interview

Rights & Access information are available on each page linked above. If you use any of these recordings, please cite the source material.