The character and spirit of the Carolina Outer Banks resonates in the rich local dialect known as the ‘hoi toide brogue.’ Most of the early European settlers came from Southwest England or the Ulster province of Ireland, by way of Tidewater Virginia, and some features of earlier British and Scots-Irish English have been retained in the local speech. The local speech-patterns evolved in relative isolation to take on its distinctive present-day character.

Long derided as “bad English” outside of its native communities, recently the dialect has been elevated by the BBC’s assessment of Ocracoke as ‘the Galapagos of language,’ and books like Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks by Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes. At the same time, increased contact with outsiders has brought rapid change, and today locals strive to hang on to their heritage, traditions and dialect. Rooted in twenty years of fieldwork, research and community relations, "The Carolina Brogue" is a candid portrait of contemporary life on the Carolina Coast, and a revealing look at one of the most unique dialects in the world. (27 minutes, 2008)

DVD bonus material is 40 minutes, it includes: "The Ocracoke Brogue" - the original 1994 documentary on "hoi toid" speech, plus several portraits of distinctive Ocracokers: "Celebrating Muzel Bryant," "Remembering Roy Parsons," "Conversations with Dave Esham."