Contact and coherence: Dialectal leveling and structural convergence in NYC Spanish

Erker, Daniel; Otheguy, Ricardo

doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2015.10.011

Cited by 42 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…A less common but increasingly frequent method for describing /s/ variation relies on measurements of the acoustic properties of fricative moments, leaving aside the question of segmental categories (Minnick Fox 2006, Erker 2010, File-Muriel and Brown 2011. Despite this methodological variability in the description of /s/ weakening, the research literature converges in demonstrating that it is systematically constrained by a range of linguistic factors, 5 including preceding and following segments (Ma and Hirashimchuk 1975, Alba 2000, File Muriel 2007, Lynch 2009), word-position and speech rate (Hammond 1980), prosodic context (Poplack 1981, Alfaraz 2000, Brown and Cacoullos 2003, lexical frequency (Bybee et al 2016, Erker andOtheguy 2016), and morphemic status and other functional considerations (Terrell 1975a1979, Poplack 1980b, Uber 1981, 1989, Hochberg 1986, Hundley 1987, Ranson 1992, Cameron 1996.…”

Section: Coda /S/mentioning

confidence: 99%

The limits of named language varieties and the role of social salience in dialectal contact: The case of Spanish in the United States

Erker

2017

Language and Linguist. Compass

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Studying dialectal contact offers linguists an opportunity to critically examine some of our most basic assumptions about language. In particular, careful consideration of geographically constrained patterns of linguistic variation highlights the limitations of named language varieties as tools for linguistic inquiry. Ultimately, the locus of contact is not to be found in the interaction of such abstractions, but rather in the individual minds of those who live in contact communities. The present paper highlights these issues through a discussion of Spanish dialectal contact in the U.S., with a special emphasis on the variable social salience of regionally differentiated features. Work reviewed here is consistent with previous research that finds the relative salience of features to be a key determinant of their trajectory in situations of contact. Change in the use of high salience features is likely to be the result of direct accommodation between speakers, while change in low salience features is likely to arise by other, indirect mechanisms. The role of salience in shaping the outcomes of contact reinforces its inherently social nature, reminding us that what we hope to understand are not the results of dialects in contact, but rather, those of people in contact.

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Section: Coda /S/mentioning

confidence: 99%

The limits of named language varieties and the role of social salience in dialectal contact: The case of Spanish in the United States

Erker

2017

Language and Linguist. Compass

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“…The third development is the extension of sociolinguistic inquiry to languages and areas of the world that have previously been under‐explored. The emphasis on research in largely monolingual European or North American contexts is giving way to a broader view including multilingual contexts (Erker & Otheguy, ), sign languages (Stamp, Schembri, Evans, & Cormier, ), endangered languages (Hildebrandt, Jany, & Silva ), and a focus on geographical areas in other parts of the world (Bayley et al., ; Stanford & Preston, ). As a result, sociolinguists are taking into account a much wider range of linguistic and cultural diversity.…”

Section: Sociolinguistics and Language Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editors’ Introduction and Review: Sociolinguistic Variation and Cognitive Science

Chevrot

Drager²,

Foulkes³

2018

Topics in Cognitive Science

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Sociolinguists study the interaction between language and society. Variationist sociolinguistics — the subfield of sociolinguistics which is the focus of this issue — uses empirical and quantitative methods to study the production and perception of linguistic variation. Linguistic variation refers to how speakers choose between linguistic forms that say the same thing in different ways, with the variants differing in their social meaning. For example, how frequently someone says fishin’ or fishing depends on a number of factors, such as the speaker's regional and social background and the formality of the speech event. Likewise, if listeners are asked to use a rating scale make judgements about speakers who say fishin’ or fishing, their ratings depend on what other social characteristics are attributed to the speaker. This issue aims to reflect the growing number of interactions that bring variationist sociolinguistics into contact of different branches of cognitive science. After presenting current trends in sociolinguistics, we identify five areas of contact between the two fields: cognitive sociolinguistics, sociolinguistic cognition, acquisition of variation, computational modeling, and a comparative approach of variation in animal communication. We then explain the benefits of interdisciplinary work: fostering the study of variability and cultural diversity in cognition; bringing together data and modeling; understanding the cognitive mechanisms through which sociolinguistic variation is processed; examining indexical meaning; exploring links between different levels of grammar; and improving methods of data collection and analysis. Finally we explain how the articles in this issue contribute to each of these benefits. We conclude by suggesting that sociolinguistics holds a strategic position for facing the challenge of building theories of language through integrating its linguistic, cognitive, and social aspects at the collective and individual levels.

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“…Using the Otheguy-Zentella Corpus of Spanish in New York (OZC), Otheguy and Zentella (2012) and Erker and Otheguy (2016) have both demonstrated that time spent in the U.S. not only correlates with higher overt pronoun usage in Spanish speakers, but also with a decrease in the capacity of speakers' regional heritage to predict their rates of overt pronoun usage. In these studies, speakers are grouped according to whether they have regional heritage in mainland Latin America or in the Caribbean: the mean pronoun usage rate of Caribbean speakers in the OZC (specified as those of Cuban, Dominican Republic or Puerto Rican descent) is 39.4%, with a standard deviation of 10.1%, and the mean for Mainlanders (those of Colombian, Ecuadorian or Mexican descent) is 27.6%, with a standard deviation of 9.8%.…”

Section: Spp Usagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 Whereas longtime-resident speakers have lived in the country at least six years, newcomer speakers arrived less than six years ago and after their 17th birthday. (Erker & Otheguy, 2016) Erker and Otheguy (2016) propose that one possible reason for this observed attenuation of regional difference is that the linguistic systems of Spanish and English are converging in the minds of Spanish-English bilingual speakers, leading to a broader phenomenon known as passive dialectal leveling. 4 The researchers define such linguistic convergence between Spanish and English as "the enhancement of inherent structural similarities found between two linguistic systems" (Bullock & Toribio, 2004, p. 91, as cited in Erker & Otheguy 2016, and define the resulting passive dialectal leveling as the attenuation of regional differences in linguistic behavior (Erker & Otheguy, 2016, p. 132).…”

Section: Spp Usagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a non-pro drop language, English nearly categorically mandates the appearance of pronouns with finite verbs, which leads Erker and Otheguy (2016) to suggest that the knowledge and use of English in a bilingual speaker conditions higher subject-pronoun usage in their Spanish. They propose that this linguistic convergence is the result of the bilingual mind negotiating the cognitive complexities of managing two linguistic systems.…”

Section: Spp Usagementioning

confidence: 99%

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Sociolinguistic Identity and Change in Salvadoran Spanish of Boston

Fleming¹

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This study examines the situation of large-scale dialectal and linguistic contact among the Spanish-speaking population of Boston, Massachusetts. The community of Spanish speakers in Boston is a socially A special thanks to Professor Daniel Erker at Boston University who has been an enormous source of knowledge and advice. Not knowing the first thing about sociolinguistic research, I reached out to Professor Erker over email and he has since guided me every step of the way in this project and in my future career as a linguist. Also thank you to every student that has worked on the Spanish in Boston Project. This project is as much your work as it is mine. Thank you to Joe Cook, who gave me a job when I needed one most, which allowed me to stay in Boston for the summer and to continue to study the Spanish of the city. And thank you to all my fellow employees who I worked with that summer and had my back in the kitchen every step of the way. Thank you to Professor John Freddy Chaparro Rojas at la Universidad de los Andes and Professor Bautista Horcajada at la Universidad Complutense, who may not remember me but whose dynamic teaching styles inspired me to pursue the study of sociolinguistics. Also, a special thank you to Emily Gorleski and the people of the Wesleyan study abroad office whose undying patience and efforts have allowed me and many other students to have lifechanging experiences. Thank you to my friends in 49 Home and 85 Home, to the physical space of 12 Fairview and to all the wonderful people I have gotten to know at Wesleyan. I could never have imagined being part of such a warm and loving group who has always encouraged and supported each other. A special thanks to Eli, Joshua, Madeline and Nita. I will always remember our days in quarantine together, if they ever end. And, of course, thank you to my parents, my sisters, mamaw and grandma who have always supported me in and outside my education. Thank you to all my cousins, especially Uncle Brian, who I will always try to make proud.

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Contact and coherence: Dialectal leveling and structural convergence in NYC Spanish

Cited by 42 publications

References 7 publications

The limits of named language varieties and the role of social salience in dialectal contact: The case of Spanish in the United States

The limits of named language varieties and the role of social salience in dialectal contact: The case of Spanish in the United States

Editors’ Introduction and Review: Sociolinguistic Variation and Cognitive Science

Sociolinguistic Identity and Change in Salvadoran Spanish of Boston

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