Dr. Kirk Hazen,
Director of the WVDP
Dr. Kirk Hazen, resident linguist of West Virginia University’s English Department, has served as the director of the West Virginia Dialect Project since he established it in 1998. Dr. Hazen works with his undergraduate lab assistants to carry out research on American English, focusing mainly on Appalachian and Southern dialects. He also serves as a professor and teaches both undergraduate and graduate students a variety of topics within the field of linguistics, including English in Appalachia and the History of the English Language. Hazen’s research has led to a number of publications, including articles on lexical and phonological features of English in West Virginia. He even published his own linguistics textbook in 2015: An Introduction to Language. Dr. Hazen continues to engage with communities and promote sociolinguistic goals by presenting dialect diversity programs, creating curriculums for teaching about language variation in schools, and serving as a consultant on dialects and language.
Selected Grants
- Research Experience for Two Undergraduates. A supplement to Community Studies of Sociolinguistic Change in Appalachia (BCS-1651003), a grant proposal funded by the National Science Foundation. 2017 ($10,000).
- Community Studies of Sociolinguistic Change in Appalachia. (BCS-1651003), a grant proposal funded by the National Science Foundation. 2017-2021 ($275,548).
- Research Experience for Two Undergraduates. A supplement to Phonetic Variation in Appalachia (BCS-1120156), a grant proposal funded by the National Science Foundation. 2016 ($8,160).
- Variation at the Crossroads (BCS-1451495). A grant proposal funded by the
National Science Foundation to provide a four-session workshop at New Ways
of Analyzing Variation 44. Toronto, Canada. February 2015–August 2016 ($25,879).
- Research Experience for Three Undergraduates. A supplement to Phonetic Variation in Appalachia (BCS-1120156), a grant proposal funded by the National Science Foundation. 2013–2014 ($14,800).
- Sparse Principal Components Analysis In Dialect Variation Models. A grant
proposal funded by an Applied Computational Sciences Innovation Award.
With James Harner and Doug Raffle. 2013–2014 ($20,000).
-
The Development of Mathematical Language: Increasing Metalinguistic Awareness
in Calculus Students to Formalize Mathematical Language. An Awards for
Research Team Scholarship (ARTS) from the Eberly College of Arts and
Sciences. With Jessica Deshler and Vicki Sealey. 2012–2013 ($26,897).
- Phonetic Variation in Appalachia (BCS-1120156). A grant proposal funded
by the National Science Foundation. September 2011–August 2016 ($239,724).
-
Research Experience for Undergraduates. A supplement to A Sociolinguistic
Baseline for English in Appalachia (BCS-0743489), a grant proposal funded
by the National Science Foundation. July 2009 ($6,000).
-
A Sociolinguistic Baseline for English in Appalachia (BCS-0743489). A grant
proposal funded by the National Science Foundation. January 2008–February
2012 ($252,243).
-
Writing Heritage: Community Stories and Perspectives at Scott's Run. A
collaborative effort between the Center for Writing Excellence, the West
Virginia Dialect Project, the Center for Literary Computing, and the
Scott's Run Settlement House to train community members in preserving
their heritage. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg-WVU Expanding Community Partnerships
Program. October 2001–September 2002 ($10,000).
-
Research Experience for Undergraduates. A supplement to A Sociolinguistic
Study of Bidialectalism (BCS-9982647), a grant proposal funded by the
National Science Foundation. August 2001–May 2002 ($6,000).
-
Course Development Grant. A grant to redesign
The English Language
course. Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, West Virginia University.
July–August 2001 ($3,000).
-
A Sociolinguistic Study of Bidialectalism (BCS-9982647). A grant proposal
funded by the National Science Foundation. July 2000–June 2002 ($56,300).
- Potential Bidialectalism in Rural Dialects. West Virginia University Senate Research Grant, West Virginia University Foundation. July 1999–June 2000 ($5,000).
Selected Books
- An Introduction to Language. 2015. Linguistics In The World series. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Research Methods in Sociolinguistics: A Practical Guide. 2014. Janet Holmes and Kirk Hazen, editors. Guides to Research Methods in Language and Linguistics series. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Selected Journal Articles
-
Forging third-wave dialectology. 2015.
Dialectologia
15: 65-81.
-
A new role for an ancient variable in Appalachia: Paradigm leveling and
standardization in West Virginia. 2014.
Language Variation and Change
26.1: 77-102.
-
The fall of demonstrative
them
: Evidence from Appalachia. 2011. Coauthored with Sarah Hamilton and
Sarah Vacovsky.
English World-Wide
32.1: 74–103.
-
Flying high above the social radar: Coronal stop deletion in modern Appalachia.
2011.
Language Variation and Change
23.1: 105-137.
-
A dialect turned inside out: Migration and the Appalachian diaspora.
2008. Coauthored with Sarah Hamilton.
Journal of English Linguistics
36.2: 105–128.
-
Identity and language variation in a rural community. 2002.
Language
78.2: 240–257.
- Isolation within isolation: A solitary century of African-American Vernacular English. 1997. Coauthored with Walt Wolfram and Jennifer Ruff Tamburro. Journal of Sociolinguistics 1: 7–38.