Question: What North Carolina island claims the only American dialect not identified as American?
Answer: Ocracoke Island’s dialect is the only American dialect not identified as American. Some describe it as Elizabethan English mixed with Irish tones, 1700s Scottish accents, and a dash of pirate slang. North Carolina State University Professor Walt Wolfram has studied the Ocracoke dialect for more than 20 years and says it’s “fascinating” and includes pronunciation, grammar structures, and vocabulary “not found anywhere else in North America.”
