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principle of accountability (Labov 1972)
any variable form should be reported with the proportion of cases in which the form did occur in the relevant environent, compared to the total number of cases in which it might have occurred
real time language study
examine language at 2 or more different points in time
2 types - panel studies + trend studies
apparent time language study
examines language rom different age groups at the same point in time
panel study
data gathered from same informants at differentpoints in time
trend study
data gathered from a sample of the population at different points in time
example of combined panel and trend study
G. Sankoff and Blondeau (2007)
the panel had 32 speakers (1971 - 1984)
investigating the use of [R] vs. [r] - uvular trill
higher % in younger participants
77.8% - young panel, 92.5% - young trend samples
50.7% - old panel, 74.9% - old trend samples
becoming more frequent over time
adv. vs. disadvan. panel studies
allows investigation of individual variation and lifespan change!! yay
takes several vears to collect data
speakers dropping out
adv. vs. disadvan. trend studies
no need to rely on same speakers - easier to collect data
if a community changes between point A and B, results will be affected
how do researcers measure how a change may have progressed in an apparent time study?
look at people of diff. ages at the same point in time
what is the apparent time hypothesis?
Milroy and Gordon 2003
apparent time analyses make an assumption ‘that an individual's speech remain stable throughout life’
Tagliamonte and D'Arcy 2009:
with the apparent time approach ‘generational differences are compared at a single point and are used to make inferences about how a change may have taken place in the (recent) past'
apparent time study example
Chambers 1995
use of couch and chesterfeild by age groups
younger speakers hardly use chesterfeild and prefer couch - opposite for old ppl
apparent time study example Labov
1963 Martha's Vineyard!!!
7/8 people on the island at the time of this study were visitors
studying PRICE and MOUTH vowels - islanders pronounced differently they were raised centralised vowels
developed a scale from 0-3 based on how centralised the element was
increase of centralisation over time and a peak among 31-45 year olds
speakers w/ highst centralisation for (ay) are all fishermen aged 33-60 - wanting to be an authentic islander and separate yourself
Boberg on the apparent time hypothesis
2010
the assumption that an individual's speech remains stable throughout life is assumed to be ‘largely valid for phonology and syntax', though less so for lexis
age grading wagner
‘the fixed association of a variant of a diachronically stable variable w/ certain portions of the life span, such as adolescence or old age' (Wagner 2012 based on Cheshire 2006 & Sankoff 2005)
age grading
change NOT at the community level but at the individual level
e.g. middle-aged speakers = generally more involved in the linguistic marketplace where this is increased ‘importance of legitimized language in the socioeconomic life of the speaker' (D. sankoff and Laberge 1978)
Age-grading example
Chambers (2013)
replcement of what he terms “nursery” words like mummy with other lexical alternatives
happens generation after generation
the nursery words are not becoming any more/less frequent in the community overall
individal linguistic variation but stability in the community overall
the Uniformitarian Principle
linguistic processes observable today were applicable in the past
Labov (1990) - principl 1 of linguistic change
stable sociolinguistic variables: women use the standard more than men (e.g. Trudgill 1974)
Labov (1990) - principle 1a of linguistic change
change in progress above the level of consciousness: women use the prestigious variant more than men
speakers are conscious of the incoming variant
varianthas overt prestige
there is style shiftng - w/ the more prestigious variant appearing more in careful speech styles
Labov (1990) - Principle 2 of linguistic change
change in progress below the level of consciousness: women use the incomin variant more than men
little or no evidence of style shifting
problems w/ Labov's principles no.1
the gender paradox
under Lbov's principles women are both more likely to use standard or prestige forms and use innovative vernacular forms
Eckert (1989) argued this could b bc sociolinguists were aggregating data from many different individuals into one category (women vs men)
problems w/ Labov's principles no.2
the principles construe gender as a binary, biological construct
i.e. using the terms ‘sex' and ‘gender' interchangeably
problems w/ Labov's principles no.3
the principles do not apply to every culture
men + women have different roles in diferent societies which often results in different patterns
e.g. Meyerhoff (2019: 245), based on daa from Bakir (1986)
Trudgill (1986)’s view on the role of media in linguistic diffusion
argues that face-to-face interaction is required for the diffusion of linguistic variables - he still maintains this view to this day
Quotative be like (Buchstaller & D'Arcy 2009)
originated w/ valley girl but appears in geographically discontinuous locations around the world - America, England, New Zealand
speaker gender and SES intersect in different ways in the 3 places
Trudgill (2014) agrees that be like spread via the media but sees it as no different to “superficial” lexical change
geographical diffusion
linguistic features spread from influential centre to other locales in surrounding area
levelling
‘the reduction or attrition of marked variants' i.e. those that are ‘unusual or in a minority' (Trudgill 1986)
how to know if its geographical diffusion?
if a linguistic form appears to be spreading gradually over time from one location to surrounding areas
Trudgill 1974 - wave vs. hierarchical model
wave model - change radiates out in geographical space
hierarchical (or gravity) model - change radiates out but is most likely to hit more populous areas in the range of influence before more remote places
how to know if its levelling?
if a linguistic form seems to become more frequent in distinct geographical areas at the same time
th-fronting (Kerswll 2003)
apparent spread of features from london to other communities appears to support hierarchical diffusion
Derby - first used in 1960
Norwich - first used in 1960
Wisbech -first used in 1970
however - some geographically distant communities all seemed to start using new variant around the same time e.g. Durham
Ethnolect
‘a variety of he majority language which is used and regaded as a vernacular for speakers of a particular ethnic descent and is marked by contact phenomena' (Androutsopoulos 2001)
multiethnolect
similar to an etholect but involves more than one ethnic group
MLE
Multiethnolect that emerged in 1980's
has been paroded in pop culture (Kerswill 2014)
associated w/ young, working class Londoners
How did MLE develop?
1948 - 1970 Windrush Generation - spoke Jamaican creole
immigration from other places - speaking Punjabi, Arabic, Turkish, etc.
Cheshire et al. 2011
phonological features of MLE
th-fronting
th- can also be realised as [d]
non-phonological features of MLE
1st person singular man
quotative this is + SUBJECT
why might speakers adopt innovations?
as an act of identity
Le Page & Tabouret-Keller 1985)
what is a pidgin?
where speakers of diff. languages do not learn each other's native language but must find a means to communicate
Example of Creole development?
Jamaican Creole - developed from 17th century contact between slaves from Africa and slaveholders whose dialects were varieties of British and Irish English
acrolect
lexically related standard language (most formal, prestigious)
mesolect
intermediate language varieties
basilect
creole (most colloquial, least prestigious)
what % of the population spoke RP in 1974 (Trudgill)
around 3%
examples of changes in RP
increase in /t/-glottaling - esp. word finally
/u:/ fronting (GOOSE vowel)
greater use of /l/ - vocalisation
development of standard English
came from East Mids dialect of ME - spoken in places like Cambridge
lots of ppl migrated from East Mids to London + became the dominant social class
spoken SE norms based on writing developed in the late 19th century
example of regional variation in morpho-syntax
Tagliamonte & Smith (2002) Auxiliary/not contraction in UK dialects
data came from recorded convos
all speakers were over 60 + born and raised in their locale
hypothesised that the frequency of auxiliary contraction increases the further North
it was NOT variable across different UK localities - weirdly it doesn’t patter systematically according to region either