# High Tider

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{{Short description|Vocal accent in coastal North Carolina}}
{{Anchor|Hoi Toider}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = High Tider
| nativename       = Hoi Toider
| acceptance       = 
| image            = 
| imagesize        = 
| imagealt         = 
| imagecaption     = 
| pronunciation    = 
| states           = [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina), [Virginia](/source/Virginia), [Maryland](/source/Maryland)
| region           = [Outer Banks](/source/Outer_Banks), [Pamlico Sound](/source/Pamlico_Sound), [Chesapeake Bay](/source/Chesapeake_Bay)
| creator          = 
| created          = 
| setting          = 
| ethnicity        = [Americans](/source/Americans)
| extinct          = 
| era              = 
| speakers         = Unreported
| date             = 
| dateprefix       = 
| ref              = 
| refname          = 
| speakers2        = 
| revived          = 
| revived-category = familycolor = [Indo-European](/source/Indo-European)
| fam2             = [Germanic](/source/Germanic_languages)
| fam3             = [West Germanic](/source/West_Germanic_languages)
| fam4             = [Ingvaeonic](/source/North_Sea_Germanic)
| fam5             = [Anglo–Frisian](/source/Anglo-Frisian_languages)
| fam6             = [English](/source/English_language)
| fam7             = [North American English](/source/North_American_English)
| fam8             = [American English](/source/American_English)
| fam9             = [Older Southern American English](/source/Older_Southern_American_English)
| ancestor         = [Old English](/source/Old_English)
| ancestor2        = [Middle English](/source/Middle_English)
| ancestor3        = [17th century Modern English](/source/Early_Modern_English)
| nation           = 
| minority         = 
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}}
'''High Tider''', '''Hoi Toider''', or '''Hoi Toide English''' is a family or continuum of [American English](/source/American_English) dialects spoken in very limited communities of the [South Atlantic United States](/source/South_Atlantic_States),<ref>{{harvnb|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|pp=1, 69}}</ref> particularly several small islands and coastal townships. The exact areas include the rural "[Down East](/source/Down_East_(North_Carolina))" region of [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina), which encompasses the [Outer Banks](/source/Outer_Banks) and [Pamlico Sound](/source/Pamlico_Sound)&mdash;specifically [Ocracoke](/source/Ocracoke%2C_North_Carolina), [Atlantic](/source/Atlantic%2C_North_Carolina), [Davis](/source/Davis%2C_North_Carolina), [Sea Level](/source/Sea_Level%2C_North_Carolina), and [Harkers Island](/source/Harkers_Island) in eastern [Carteret County](/source/Carteret_County%2C_North_Carolina), and the [village of Wanchese](/source/Wanchese%2C_North_Carolina)&mdash;plus the [Chesapeake Bay](/source/Chesapeake_Bay), such as [Smith Island](/source/Smith_Island%2C_Maryland) in [Maryland](/source/Maryland), as well as [Guinea Neck](/source/Gloucester_County%2C_Virginia) and [Tangier Island](/source/Tangier%2C_Virginia) in [Virginia](/source/Virginia).<ref>{{harvnb|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=78}}: "The verb usages that we have found on Ocracoke help strengthen the connections we've already established between the brogue and other dialects that developed in isolated areas like Appalachia and Tangier and Smith Islands".</ref> The High Tider sound has been observed as far west as [Bertie County, North Carolina](/source/Bertie_County%2C_North_Carolina); the term is also a local nickname for any native-speaking resident of the relevant North Carolina region.

These dialects do not have a name that is uniformly used in the academic literature, with "Hoi Toider" used for the Outer Banks and mainly Ocracoke; rather, a variety of names exist based on location, such as '''Down East''', '''Outer Banks''', or '''Chesapeake Bay English''', '''dialect''', '''brogue''', or '''accent'''.<ref>Subtitles of articles by [Walt Wolfram](/source/Walt_Wolfram) et al. commonly include such a range of terms, such as in "The Story of the Ocracoke Brogue" (1995), "The Invisible Outer Banks Dialect" (1996), "The Distinct Sounds of the 'Hoi Toide' Brogue" (2001), etc.</ref> Most speakers in the Outer Banks themselves refer to their dialect as "the [brogue](/source/Brogue_(accent))".<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Reaser|2014|p=101}}</ref> Ocracoke English and Smith Island English are the two best-studied varieties, with the linguists [Walt Wolfram](/source/Walt_Wolfram) and [Natalie Schilling](/source/Natalie_Schilling) researching them in detail since the 1990s onwards.<ref>{{harvnb|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|pp=}}</ref>

The 2006 ''[Atlas of North American English](/source/Atlas_of_North_American_English)'' does not consider these dialects to fall under the [Southern U.S. regional dialect](/source/Southern_American_English) since they do not participate in the first stage of the Southern Vowel Shift, but they share commonalities as full members of the larger [Southeastern regional super-dialect](/source/North_American_English_regional_phonology) in fronting the {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} and {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} vowels, exhibiting the [''pin''–''pen'' merger](/source/pin%E2%80%93pen_merger), resisting the [''cot''–''caught'' merger](/source/cot%E2%80%93caught_merger), and being strongly [rhotic](/source/Rhoticity_in_English) with a [retroflex](/source/retroflex_approximant) {{IPAc-en|r}}.

==History==
The term "hoi toide" appears in a local colloquial rhyme, "It's high tide on the [sound](/source/Pamlico_Sound) side", often [phonetically spelled](/source/eye_dialect) "hoi toide on the saind soide" {{IPA|[hɒɪ ˈtɒɪd ɑn ðə ˈsaɪnd sɒɪd]}},<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|pp=123}}</ref> as a [marker of pronunciation](/source/shibboleth) to sharply differentiate speakers of the Outer Banks brogue from speakers of the [mainland Southern dialects](/source/Southern_American_English). The phrase was first recorded as a significant identifier of the dialect in 1993, and has since been used frequently for "performative" purposes by native speakers to demonstrate the dialect to outsiders.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Reaser|2014|p=105}}</ref>

With a long history of geographical and economic isolation from mainland North Carolina, Outer Banks areas such as Ocracoke Island, Harkers Island, and Atlantic developed a distinct dialect of English. Linguists who have studied this dialect note that it has "roots&nbsp;... in a number of [Early Modern English](/source/Early_Modern_English) dialects",<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=10}}</ref> spoken in different parts of Britain between about 1650 and 1750. Following settlement, the dialect of these island communities developed in relative isolation for more than 250 years. 

High Tider shares features with other dialects of the Atlantic coast of the U.S. Certain [pronunciation](/source/pronunciation), [vocabulary](/source/vocabulary), and [grammatical constructions](/source/English_grammar) can be traced back to a mixture of the colonial English dialects of Ireland (including [Scots-Irish](/source/Scots-Irish_Americans) dialects), eastern England, and southwestern England (compare the [West Country dialects](/source/West_Country_English)).<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=10}}</ref> The distinctness of the High Tider dialects has survived because of the inherent isolation of islands and these communities continuing to depend on traditional trades, like fishing, boat building, and decoy carving. Indeed, the coastal tourism trade is relatively recent, beginning only in the 2000s, on islands like Ocracoke,<ref name="ncllp">North Carolina Life and Language Project (2006). ''Linguistics at North Carolina State: Harkers Island''. Retrieved July 28, 2006.</ref><ref name="ldsccpi">Bender, et al. (2004). ''Linguistic Diversity in the South: Changing Codes, Practices and Ideology''. University of Georgia Press: </ref> and still minimal on Smith Island.

As many as 500 islanders on Harkers Island are directly descended from the Harkers Island and Outer Banks original settlers that first developed this distinct dialect. Linguists from [North Carolina State University](/source/North_Carolina_State_University), [East Carolina University](/source/East_Carolina_University), and other academic institutions continue to conduct research on the island dialect.<ref name="ncllp"/> It has been in slow decline in the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190623-the-us-island-that-speaks-elizabethan-english |title=The US island that speaks Elizabethan English |last=Carlton |first=Brian |date=June 24, 2019 |access-date=June 24, 2019 |publisher=[BBC](/source/BBC)}}</ref>

==Phonological features==
{{IPA notice|section}}
The chart below lists the vowel sounds in two High Tider accents: one of Smith Island (Maryland) in the Chesapeake Bay and the other of Ocracoke (North Carolina) in the Outer Banks. The symbol "~" is used here to indicate that pronunciations on either side of it form a spectrum of possibilities. The symbol ">" indicates that the pronunciations to its left are more widespread and pronunciations to its right are more marginal. Phonologically, these two example accents are united under the High Tider dialect primarily by their similar {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} and {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} vowels; both also show a greater or lesser degree of "[vowel breaking](/source/vowel_breaking)" (or [drawl](/source/drawl)ing) of the [front vowel](/source/front_vowel)s especially when positioned before the {{angbr|sh}} consonant {{IPAc-en|ʃ}}.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Pure vowels ([monophthong](/source/monophthong)s)
|-
! English diaphoneme
! [Smith Island](/source/Smith_Island%2C_Maryland)
! [Ocracoke](/source/Ocracoke%2C_North_Carolina)
! Example words
|-
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|æ}}
| rowspan="3" | {{IPA|[æ~a]}}<ref name="Accommodation">Schilling-Estes, Natalie (1997). "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/455606 Accommodation versus Concentration: Dialect Death in Two Post-Insular Island Communities]." '' American Speech'', Vol. 72, No. 1 (Spring, 1997). Duke University Press. pp. 16-17.</ref>
| {{IPA|[æ]}}<ref name="Howren">Howren, Robert (1962). "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3090563 The Speech of Ocracoke, North Carolina]." ''American Speech'', Vol. 37, No. 3 (Oct., 1962). Duke University Press. pp. 163-175.</ref>
| gr'''a'''b, l'''a'''ck, tr'''a'''p
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|æ}} before {{IPAc-en|d|,_|l|,_|m|,_|n|,_|s|,_|t|,_|z}}
| {{IPA|[æə~ɛə]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| b'''a'''d, d'''a'''nce, h'''a'''lf
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|æ}} before {{IPAc-en|g|,_|ŋ|,_|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|[æɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| '''a'''sh, b'''a'''g, t'''a'''nk 
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɑː}} 
|rowspan="3"| {{IPA|[ɑ̈ː~aː]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
|rowspan="2"| {{IPA|[ɑ̈ː]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>~{{IPA|[ɑː]}} > {{IPA|[ɒ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
|  bl'''ah''', c'''a'''lm, f'''a'''ther 
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɒ}}
| l'''o'''t, f'''o'''x, s'''o'''ck
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɒ}} before {{IPAc-en|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|[ɒɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| w'''a'''sh
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɔː}}
|rowspan="2"| {{IPA|[ɑo]}} > {{IPA|[ɑː~ɑ̈ː]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[ɔː~oː]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/><ref name="Howren"/> > {{IPA|[ɑo]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| d'''o'''g, h'''aw'''k, s'''aw'''
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɔː}} before {{IPAc-en|d|,_|f|,_|l|,_|s|,_|t|,_|v|,_|z}}
| {{IPA|[oə]}}

|'''a'''ll, cr'''o'''ss, fl'''awe'''d
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɛ}} 
| {{IPA|[ɜ~ʌ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[ɛ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/><ref name="Howren"/>
| k'''e'''pt, m'''e'''thod, wr'''e'''ck
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɛ}} before {{IPAc-en|d|,_|ð|,_|f|,_|l|,_|m|,_|n|,_|s|,_|t|,_|v|,_|z}} & esp. {{IPAc-en|ʃ}} 
| {{IPA|[ɜ~ʌ]}} > {{IPA|[eɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/> 
| {{IPA|[eɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>~{{IPA|[ɛə]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| dr'''e'''ss, fr'''e'''sh, m'''e'''sh
|-
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɪ}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| bl'''i'''p, d'''i'''g, t'''i'''ck
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɪ}} before {{IPAc-en|d|,_|ð|,_|f|,_|l|,_|m|,_|n|,_|s|,_|t|,_|v|,_|z}} & esp. {{IPAc-en|ʃ|,_|tʃ}} 
| {{IPA|[ɪ~ɛ]}} > {{IPA|[iɪ]}}

| {{IPA|[iɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>~{{IPA|[ɪə]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| d'''i'''tch, f'''i'''sh, k'''i'''t
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|iː}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[əɪ~ɜɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[ɪ̈ɨ]}} > {{IPA|[ɪɨ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| b'''ea'''m, ch'''i'''c, fl'''ee'''t
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPA|/iː/}} before {{IPAc-en|l}} (& occasionally {{IPAc-en|n|,_|z}})
| {{IPA|[iə]}}

| '''ee'''l, r'''ea'''l
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|i}} word-final
| {{IPA|[ɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[i]}} > {{IPA|[ɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| mon'''ey'''
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPA|/ʌ/}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɜ~ɛ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[ɜ~ɛ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/><ref name="Howren"/>
| b'''u'''s, fl'''oo'''d, wh'''a'''t
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPA|/ʌ/}} before {{IPAc-en|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|[ɜɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| g'''u'''sh, h'''u'''sh, R'''u'''ssia
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ʊ}} before {{IPAc-en|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|[ʊ]}}

| {{IPA|[ʊɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| c'''u'''shion, p'''u'''sh
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|uː}}
| {{IPA|[ɪ̈ː]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[ʊu~ɪ̈ː]}} > {{IPA|[uː]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/><ref name="Howren"/>
| f'''oo'''d, gl'''ue''', l'''u'''te
|-
! colspan="4" | [Diphthong](/source/Diphthong)s
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|aɪ}}
| {{IPA|[ɒɪ~ɑɪ~ʌɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/><ref name="Howren"/>
| {{IPA|[əɪ]}}<ref name="Smith Island">Schilling-Estes, Natalie (1997). "Distinctiveness in the face of dialect death: The case of Smith Island English". Texas Linguistic Forum (Vol. 37, pp. 100-110), pp. 26, 29.</ref>
| r'''i'''de, sh'''i'''ne, tr'''y'''
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|aʊ}}
| rowspan="3" | {{IPA|[ɜɪ]}} > {{IPA|[aʊ~äɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[aʊ~äɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| n'''ow''', l'''ou'''d, s'''ow'''
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} before {{IPAc-en|s|,_|θ|,_|t|,_|tʃ}}
| {{IPA|[aʊ]}} > {{IPA|[ɐʊ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| h'''ou'''se, '''ou'''ch, sc'''ou'''t
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} before {{IPAc-en|l|,_|r}}
| {{IPA|[aʊ]}}

| h'''ow'''l, p'''ow'''er, t'''ow'''er
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|eɪ}}
| rowspan="2"| {{IPA|[æɪ~aɪ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| {{IPA|[ɜɪ~ɛɪ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| l'''a'''me, r'''ei'''n, pl'''a'''te
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|eɪ}} before {{IPAc-en|l}}
| {{IPA|[eə]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| n'''ai'''l, s'''ai'''l, p'''a'''le
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|ɔɪ}}
|colspan="2"| {{IPA|[ɔɪ]}}
| b'''oy''', ch'''oi'''ce, m'''oi'''st
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|oʊ}}
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|[œʊ]}} > {{IPA|[oʊ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| g'''oa'''t, '''oh''', sh'''ow'''
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} unstressed and word-final
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɚ]}}<ref name="Accommodation"/>
| fell'''ow''', mosquit'''o'''
|-
! colspan="4" | [R-colored vowel](/source/R-colored_vowel)s
|-
| {{IPAc-en|ɑr}}
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɑɚ~ɑːɻ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| b'''ar'''n, c'''ar''', p'''ar'''k
|-
| {{IPAc-en|aɪər}}
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɑɚ~ɑːɻ]}}<ref name="Howren"/>
| f'''ire''', l'''yre''', t'''ire'''d
|-
| {{IPAc-en|ɛər}}
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɛɚ]}} > {{IPA|[æɚ]}}
| b'''are''', b'''ear''', th'''ere'''
|-
| {{IPAc-en|ɜr}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[əɻ~ɚ]}}
| {{IPA|[ɝ~ʌɻ]}}

| b'''ur'''n, f'''ir'''st, l'''ear'''n
|-
| {{IPAc-en|ər}}
| {{IPA|[əɻ~ɚ]}}

| doct'''or''', lett'''er''', mart'''yr'''
|-
| {{IPAc-en|ɔːr}}
|colspan="2" | {{IPA|[oʊɚ~oʊɻ]}}
| c'''our'''se, sh'''ore''', t'''our'''
|-
|}
The [phonology](/source/phonology), or pronunciation system, of High Tider English is highly different from the English spoken in the rest of the United States. The High Tider dialect is marked with numerous unique phonological features and sound changes:

* The {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} diphthong is {{IPA|[ɑe~ɑɪ]}}, starting very far back in the mouth and retaining its glide, unlike its neighboring Southern dialects. It may also begin with a [round-lipped](/source/rounded_vowel) quality, thus {{IPA|[ɒe]}}, or may even have a [triphthong](/source/triphthong)al quality as {{IPA|[ɐɑe]}}. Thus, a word like ''high'' may sound like something between ''HAW-ee'' and ''HUH-ee'', similar to its sound in [Cockney](/source/Cockney) or broad [Australian accent](/source/Australian_accent)s.<ref name="Thomas 2006 12">{{Harvcoltxt|Thomas|2006|p=12}}</ref> (This is sometimes mischaracterized by outsiders as sounding [very close](/source/Close_vowel), like {{IPA|[ɔɪ]}} (the {{sc2|CHOICE}} vowel, leading to the spelling "Hoi Toider" for "High Tider.")<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|pp=53–4}}</ref> On Smith Island, the on-glide is not backed but centralized&mdash;thus, {{IPA|[əɪ]}}&mdash;and is not as commonly identified by its residents as a marker of local identity.<ref name="Smith Island"/>
** Realization of {{IPA|/aɪəɹ/}} as {{IPA|[äːɻ]}}, so that ''fire'' may begin to merge with the sound of ''far'', as well as ''tire'' with ''tar''.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=58}}</ref>
* The {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} diphthong ends with a more fronted quality, commonly realized as a shorter off-glide with little or no rounding {{IPA|[æɵ~æø~æɛ~æː~ɐ̟ɤ]}}.<ref name="Thomas 2006 12"/> The sound has also been described as {{IPA|[ɛɪ~ɜɪ]}}, with a very raised beginning (or on-glide) to the diphthong; for example, making ''town'' sound like ''teh-een''.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=59}}</ref>
* Front vowel raising in certain environments, though most noticeably before {{IPAc-en|ʃ}} and {{IPAc-en|tʃ}}:
** Merger of {{IPAc-en|ɪ}} and {{IPAc-en|i}}, as in the characteristic pronunciation of ''fish'' as ''feesh'' {{IPA|/fiːʃ/}} or ''kitchen'' as ''keetchen'' {{IPA|/ˈkiːtʃən/}}.<ref name="Wolfram 1997 60">{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=60}}</ref> This may be represented as {{IPA|[iː(ə)]}} or {{IPA|[ɪ̝(ː)]}}.
** Raising of {{IPAc-en|ɛ}} in this environment, causing ''mesh'' to sound almost like ''maysh''.<ref name="Wolfram 1997 61">{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=61}}</ref>
* The [r-colored vowel](/source/r-colored_vowel) {{IPAc-en|ɛər}} may have an opener vowel sound: {{IPA|[æɚ~aɚ]}}, making the sound of ''fair'' almost merge with ''fire'' and ''far''.<ref name="Thomas 2006 12"/><ref name="Wolfram 1997 60"/><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wolfram|Schilling-Estes|1997|p=62}}</ref>
* There is no [''cot''–''caught'' merger](/source/cot%E2%80%93caught_merger).
* The {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} vowel is largely fronted, as in much of the rest of the modern-day South: {{IPA|[ɜʉ~ɜy~œʊ]}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Thomas|2006|p=10}}</ref>
** Unstressed, word-final {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} may be pronounced {{IPA|[ɚ]}}, causing ''yellow'' to sound like ''yeller'', ''fellow'' like ''feller'', ''potato'' like ''(po)tater'', and ''mosquito'' like ''(mo)skeeter''.
* Elision of some medial or final stops, as in ''cape'' sounding more like ''cay''.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}
* Strong, bunched-tongue [rhoticity](/source/rhoticity_in_English), similar to [West Country English](/source/West_Country_English), [Scottish English](/source/Scottish_English), or [Irish English](/source/Irish_English)
* [''Pin''–''pen'' merger](/source/Pin%E2%80%93pen_merger).<ref name="Wolfram 1997 61"/>

==Lexical features==
These island dialects exhibit unique vocabulary in regular usage.  Some examples include ''mommick'', meaning "to frustrate" or "bother", ''yethy'', describing stale or unpleasant odor, and ''nicket'', meaning a pinch of something used as in cooking.  The islanders have also developed unique local words used in regular conversation, including ''dingbatter'' to refer to a visitor or recent arrival to the island, and ''dit-dot'', a term developed from a joke about [Morse code](/source/Morse_code), and used to describe any visitor to the island who has difficulty understanding the local dialect.<ref name="prioli">Prioli, Carmine and Martin, Edwin (1998).  ''Hope for a Good Season: The Ca'e Bankers of Harkers Island''.  John F. Blair Publisher, July, 1998.</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In the 1991 film ''[The Butcher's Wife](/source/The_Butcher's_Wife)'', the main character Marina is from [Ocracoke, North Carolina](/source/Ocracoke%2C_North_Carolina), and exhibits features of Hoi Toider dialect.

== References ==

{{refs}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{citation|title=Rural White Southern Accents|first=Erik R.|last=Thomas|publisher=[Walter de Gruyter](/source/Walter_de_Gruyter)|work=Atlas of North American English (online)|year=2006|url=http://www.atlas.mouton-content.com/secure/generalmodules/varieties/unit0000/virtualsession/vslessons/thomas.pdf|access-date=2015-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222004531/http://www.atlas.mouton-content.com/secure/generalmodules/varieties/unit0000/virtualsession/vslessons/thomas.pdf|archive-date=2014-12-22|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|last = Wolfram | first = Walt |last2 = Schilling-Estes| first2 = Natalie | title = Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks: The Story of the Ocracoke Brogue | publisher = University of North Carolina Press | year = 1997 | isbn = 0-8078-4626-0}}
* {{cite book| last = Wolfram| first = Walt| last2 = Reaser| first2 = Jeffrey| title = Talkin' Tar Heel : How Our Voices Tell the Story of North Carolina | publisher = The University of North Carolina Press| date = 2014| location = Chapel Hill| isbn = 978-1-4696-1437-3 }}

{{English dialects by continent}}

Category:Languages attested from the 17th century
Category:Culture of North Carolina
Category:Culture of Virginia
Category:English-language dialects
Category:Carteret County, North Carolina
Category:English-American culture in North Carolina

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [High Tider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Tider) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Tider?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.