Dialects Of Texas
The archive provides:
In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).
The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages, Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage), and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings), may be accessed from the menu bar to your right.
To access IDEA's sound files and documents, you will need an mp3 player, and Acrobat Reader, available free from Acrobat Reader.
If you are interested in specific information about the State of Texas,
please go to its official website
at www.state.tx.us
For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here
please go to
Other Dialect Services
Dialect Samples
To properly play a sound sample, you may first need to save it to your own computer. To display the various 'save' options, PC users should right-click on the desired sample below; Mac users should press the Control key while clicking. A high-speed connection to the Internet may allow you to play the file simply by clicking it once or twice.| Sound Sample | Basic Information | Text Files |
|---|---|---|
| Texas One | Caucasian female, seventies, San Marcos, Texas | Texas One |
| Texas Two | Caucasian male, born 1938, Dripping Springs, Texas, highly educated and with a rich Texas dialect | Texas Two Transcription |
| Texas Three | Hispanic male, born 1974, Laredo, Texas. A student, this man has only a very light Hispanic sound | Texas Three |
| Texas Four | Caucasian female, born 1938, McAllen, Texas, near Mexican border | Texas Four |
| Texas Five | Caucasian male, born 1957, raised in Houston, Texas | Texas Five |
| Texas Six | Caucasian female, born 1937, raised in Topeka, KS, has resided in Texas for a large part of her life. Currently in Austin, Texas | Texas Six |
| Texas Seven | Caucasian female, 19 years old, born and raised in Dallas. | Texas Seven Transcription |
| Texas Eight | Caucasian male, born 1940, born and raised in Amarillo, TX, hair stylist | Texas Eight |
| Texas Nine | Caucasian male, born 1950(?), born and raised in Sanderson, TX. Unscripted conversation only. | Texas Nine |
| Texas Ten | Texarkana female, born 1980, student | Texas Ten |
| Texas Eleven | Tex-mex mail immigrant, Eagle Pass, Texas, born 1978, student | Texas Eleven |
| Texas Twelve | White female, Austin, TX, Data analyst. Dialect more typical of East Texas | Texas Twelve |
| Texas Thirteen | White female, born 1981 and raised Huntsville, Texas, college student | Texas Thirteen Transcription |
| Texas Fourteen | White male, born 1949 and raised Beaumont, Texas, sales | Texas Fourteen |
| Texas Fifteen | White female, born 1983 and raised Huntsville, Texas, college student | Texas Fifteen |
| Texas Sixteen | White female, born 1981 and raised Amarillo, Texas, sales | Texas Sixteen |
| Texas Seventeen | African-American male, born Portales, New Mexico; raised near Clovis, West Texas to age 12; moved then to Dallas. A college student | Texas Seventeen |
| Texas Eighteen | white male, 46, born 1965, Dallas, alarm service technician | Texas Eighteen |