Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
A Stilted Shift: The Southern Vowel Shift in Midland Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Given West Virginia’s designation as a southern rural state, the Southern Vowel Shift (SVS) should have been propagated throughout WV in the 20th century, but its progress has been intermittent. We use our study to ask: Is the uneven progress and distribution of the SVS solely attributable to demographic shifts in Southern Urban centers, as hypothesized by other scholars, or is it also due to the increasing indexicality of the shift as stigmatized? Our study investigates sociolinguistic interviews of 67 native Appalachians. Using FAVE, 51,000 vowels were analyzed for numerous measures. Linear mixed models were used to discern statistical trends and handle random variables. This paper focuses on the front vowel patterns of the SVS since. The vowels of FACE and DRESS overlap for the oldest speakers; younger Southerners and all rural speakers maintain this overlap. Younger speakers lead the vowels in FLEECE and KIT along divergent paths depending on rurality and social class. Dodsworth and Kohn (2012) did not find the tensing/raising of the KIT and DRESS vowels to be a social stereotype. In contrast, we have found that as we move through the 20th century in apparent time, the emerging offglides of KIT and DRESS become important social markers and form the basis for social distinction in WV. The changes to KIT and DRESS vowels have become sociolinguistic stereotypes in WV, associated with rurality and negative traits. Diversity in WV vowels demonstrates diversity among identity choices, and shifting vowel systems factor into the evolution of the Appalachian identity. References Dodsworth, Robin, and Mary Kohn. 2012. Urban rejection of the vernacular: The SVS undone. Language Variation and Change: 24: 221-245.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Kirk Hazen- As Professor of Linguistics in the West Virginia University Department of English, Kirk is the director of the West Virginia Dialect Project. He has researched language variation and change in English over the last 23 years, with a current focus on English in Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Olivia Grunau- Olivia is the lab manager of the West Virginia Dialect Project and a senior at West Virginia University. She began working for the Dialect Project in the summer of 2015.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Krislin Nuzum- Krislin is a research assistant for the West Virginia Dialect Project and a senior at West Virginia University. She began working for the Dialect Project in the summer of 2015.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Janelle Vickers- Janelle is a research assistant for the West Virginia Dialect Project. and a senior at West Virginia University. She began working for the Dialect Project in the summer of 2015.
A Stilted Shift: The Southern Vowel Shift in Midland Appalachia
Given West Virginia’s designation as a southern rural state, the Southern Vowel Shift (SVS) should have been propagated throughout WV in the 20th century, but its progress has been intermittent. We use our study to ask: Is the uneven progress and distribution of the SVS solely attributable to demographic shifts in Southern Urban centers, as hypothesized by other scholars, or is it also due to the increasing indexicality of the shift as stigmatized? Our study investigates sociolinguistic interviews of 67 native Appalachians. Using FAVE, 51,000 vowels were analyzed for numerous measures. Linear mixed models were used to discern statistical trends and handle random variables. This paper focuses on the front vowel patterns of the SVS since. The vowels of FACE and DRESS overlap for the oldest speakers; younger Southerners and all rural speakers maintain this overlap. Younger speakers lead the vowels in FLEECE and KIT along divergent paths depending on rurality and social class. Dodsworth and Kohn (2012) did not find the tensing/raising of the KIT and DRESS vowels to be a social stereotype. In contrast, we have found that as we move through the 20th century in apparent time, the emerging offglides of KIT and DRESS become important social markers and form the basis for social distinction in WV. The changes to KIT and DRESS vowels have become sociolinguistic stereotypes in WV, associated with rurality and negative traits. Diversity in WV vowels demonstrates diversity among identity choices, and shifting vowel systems factor into the evolution of the Appalachian identity. References Dodsworth, Robin, and Mary Kohn. 2012. Urban rejection of the vernacular: The SVS undone. Language Variation and Change: 24: 221-245.
