A new role for an ancient variable in Appalachia: Paradigm leveling and standardization in West Virginia

Abstract

In many rural English-speaking communities, linguistic processes such as paradigm leveling come into direct conflict with social processes of standardization. In the US region of Appalachia, an analysis of past be leveling illustrates the progression of the sociolinguistic clashes between these forces. A quantitative sociolinguistic examination of leveled was (e.g., We was there) for 67 native Appalachian speakers was conducted to assess the status of past be in light of economic and educational improvements over the 20th century. The results indicate that leveled was declined sharply, with the youngest speakers demonstrating more standardized patterns. Although the overall rate of was leveling declined across apparent time, the rate of was contraction (e.g., We's there last night) increased, offering native Appalachians a reduced variant to contest the social push toward a fully standardized system.The more we know about how different communities have responded to the antithetic pressures leading to leveling and standardization, the more we will come to understand these processes themselves. Tagliamonte and Smith (1999:21)

Does hearing two dialects at different times help infants learn dialect-specific rules?

“…Thus, whereas when the subject is singular (e.g., The dog ) the verb to be in simple tense should typically be is or was (e.g., The dog is/was fast ), when plural (e.g., The dogs ) it should typically be are or were (e.g., The dogs are/were fast ). In some varieties of nonstandard English (e.g., Appalachian English), in contrast, the main verb can typically take the same form when the subject is plural as when singular, such that The dogs is/was fast is grammatical (see Hazen, 2014). This means that infants hearing both Standard English and one of these nonstandard varieties receive conflicting information regarding what form a sentence’s main verb can take when the subject is plural rather than singular.…”

Super-leveling, fraying-out, internal restructuring: A century of presentbeconcord in Tristan da Cunha English

“…The regularization of paradigmatic verb forms is among the best-studied processes in English variationist sociolinguistics (Chambers, 2009; Tagliamonte, 1998, 2012; Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 2003). Leveling of past be to was represents a vernacular universal in English, also called “default singulars” (Chambers, 2004:128) that belong to “the grammatical processes [that] recur in vernaculars wherever they are spoken” (ibid., 127), and is documented quantitatively in synchronic and diachronic varieties (Anderwald, 2001; Britain, 2002; Dubois & Horvath, 2003; Hay & Schreier; 2004; Hazen, 2014; José, 2007; Schreier, 2002; Tagliamonte, 1998; Tagliamonte & Smith, 2000). Past be variation is context-sensitive and sociolinguistically diagnostic, occurring more frequently in rural and working-class varieties (e.g., Alabama: Feagin, 1979; Sydney: Horvath, 1985; North Carolina: Mallinson & Wolfram, 2002; or West Virginia: Hazen, 2014).…”

“…Leveling of past be to was represents a vernacular universal in English, also called “default singulars” (Chambers, 2004:128) that belong to “the grammatical processes [that] recur in vernaculars wherever they are spoken” (ibid., 127), and is documented quantitatively in synchronic and diachronic varieties (Anderwald, 2001; Britain, 2002; Dubois & Horvath, 2003; Hay & Schreier; 2004; Hazen, 2014; José, 2007; Schreier, 2002; Tagliamonte, 1998; Tagliamonte & Smith, 2000). Past be variation is context-sensitive and sociolinguistically diagnostic, occurring more frequently in rural and working-class varieties (e.g., Alabama: Feagin, 1979; Sydney: Horvath, 1985; North Carolina: Mallinson & Wolfram, 2002; or West Virginia: Hazen, 2014). It has been discussed with reference to categorical language change (Schreier, 2003), accommodation processes and ethnolinguistic differentiation (Mallinson & Wolfram, 2002), or potential for ongoing standardization/vernacularization in postinsular varieties (Hazen, 2014).…”

“…Past be variation is context-sensitive and sociolinguistically diagnostic, occurring more frequently in rural and working-class varieties (e.g., Alabama: Feagin, 1979; Sydney: Horvath, 1985; North Carolina: Mallinson & Wolfram, 2002; or West Virginia: Hazen, 2014). It has been discussed with reference to categorical language change (Schreier, 2003), accommodation processes and ethnolinguistic differentiation (Mallinson & Wolfram, 2002), or potential for ongoing standardization/vernacularization in postinsular varieties (Hazen, 2014).…”

The Experiences of West Virginians Participating in Extension-Sponsored Educational Programming in Ireland: A Narrative Analysis

“…Some residents of Appalachia have been fighting against companies that are destroying the environment, such as those doing surface mining. Conservation has become a focus, as has recent research and action into maintaining the Appalachian dialect (Hazen, 2014).…”