You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto: Evolution of Language in Kansas

The library will host Mary Kohn for a presentation and discussion of “You Say Tomato, I say Tomahto: Evolution of Language in Kansas,” on Saturday, July 16th  at 2 pm. Members of the community are invited to attend this free program.  The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.

We’ve all heard that newscasters are trained to speak with a Midwest accent— the so-called “accent from nowhere.” In fact, language reflects people, history, and community. It is intimately tied to our immigrant past, a foundation that, surprisingly, is always changing. This talk will examine the ways language has changed in Kansas over the past hundred years through the examination of archival and contemporary oral history.

Mary Kohn is an associate professor of English and the director of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies at Kansas State University.

“You Say Tomato, I say Tomahto: Evolution of Language in Kansas” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau, featuring humanities-based presentations designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.