With the spring semester at UNC-Chapel Hill behind me, I am turning to tasks for the summer. One of the items on my to-do list is to update the stylebook journalism school and move it to WordPress.
The stylebook is a supplement to The Associated Press Stylebook. Its focus is the university, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area and North Carolina generally.
For example, the revised edition of the stylebook will have an updated entry on the name for the journalism school. It will no longer be the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Say hello to the School of Media and Journalism.
A new entry is inspired by a conversation this week on Twitter. It will address an important topic in North Carolina: barbecue. The entry will be a deviation from the AP stylebook, which describes “barbecue” as a noun or verb, as do most dictionaries.
In North Carolina, using “barbecue” as a verb is the mark of an outsider. To say, “let’s barbecue this weekend” will bring about puzzled looks and heavy sighs. Here, “barbecue” is a noun, but not elsewhere.
I asked Elizabeth Hudson, editor of Our State, how her magazine handled the word for her North Carolina readership. Here’s her reply:
@andybechtel @DerekMedlin @mtdukes @OurState the most important question I’ll be asked all day! Def noun. And spelled with a “c” not “q.”
— Elizabeth Hudson (@elizahudson) May 19, 2015
That works for me. Here’s how the entry will read in the j-school’s stylebook when it is posted this summer:
Do not use as a verb. In North Carolina, barbecue typically refers to a pork dish, although it can be prepared with other meats or even tofu.
Yes, purists will insist that “barbecue” is pork and pork only. I’d ask them to try the turkey plate at The Pit and get back to me.
UPDATE: Based on comments here and on social media, I have deleted the entry’s reference to tofu. A win for carnivores!
The Editor's Desk 
It’s all good until you get to tofu. That’s going to far… ;^)
Tofu? For shame.
Not sure I agree that barbecue can be other meats too. A hamburger is only ground beef. Otherwise it’s a vegi-burger or turkey-burger. I feel the same about barbecue, you can call it turkey-cue or tofu-cue instead.
I see dishes at restaurants described as “turkey barbecue” and the like. The tofu reference is for my vegetarian friends.
I hope that you will distinguish between barbecue and BBQ. Some students consider them the same thing.
Do tell, what’s the diff between barbecue and BBQ?
I’ve got vegan friends too, Prof Bechtel, but I refuse to call any form of tofu bbq! :^)
Love,
Sean
I agree with Sean. Tofu? A Grotescue (Carolina spelling)Gimmick as your bro would say. What is fried pimento cheese? Why can’t the vege types eat that? signed, Marie Antoinette