How do people in Oakland, California talk? Is there an Oakland accent?

Oakland, California is a racially and economically diverse city in the San Francisco Bay Area with a dynamic mix of shared culture and a strong sense of city identity. Disparaged by some for its crime rate, and loved by many for its thriving arts scene, the city is known locally for its large working-class population and nationally for the 1996 Oakland School Board controversy concerning the use of African American Vernacular English in schools. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population is estimated at 430,553, with approximately 29% self-identifying as white, 27% Hispanic or Latino, 22% Black or African American, 16% Asian, and 9% two or more races. 

There have been many sociophonetic studies conducted throughout California. However, Oakland remains an understudied area. Keith Johnson and I are working to compile an audiovisual corpus of conversational speech produced by people who were born and raised in Oakland. To date, we have hour-long sociolinguistic interviews from 55 people ranging in age from 19 to 101, and spanning all races and economic strata of the diverse city.

This project is still in the early stages, but you can follow us and our findings on the project’s home page.