ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we offer an introduction to the work of dialect coaches which has been largely undocumented by sociolinguists and discourse analysts. We are drawn to dialect coaching from our respective interests in language ideology and dialectology, as well through a shared interest in reflecting on our disciplinary norms and academic mythologies. Sections include: (a) defining the job; (b) teaching and credentialing; (c) academic perspectives on dialect coaching; (d) learning from dialect coaches (biographies not categories; communication ecologies); our questions for dialect coaches (career trajectories; working processes; sociolinguistic and discourse analytic matters). Our intention is not simply to critique the work of these other professional language workers or wordsmiths but rather to try and better understand their work, and to see what their practices and insights might tell us about our own. We are not only keen to learn about dialect coaches but are also open to the possibility of learning from them.
