Ethnicity and Perceptual Dialectology

Abstract

Ethnicity of respondents has not been considered in the cognitive mapping of regional dialects, even though it has been shown to influence spatial perception in other social science fields. In this article, the authors draw on the findings of a cognitive mapping study, based on similar studies by Dennis Preston, that compared the behavior of two ethnolinguistic groups to examine whether linguistic and cultural experiences affect awareness of the Southern United States as a dialect area. They examined identification of the South in the hand-drawn maps of 83 Latinos and 148European Americans. They found that the European American group patterned with previous studies, marking the South in 99% of maps, while the Latino group marked the South in only 59% of maps. An ArcGIS analysis showed that agreement about its location reached over 95% for European Americans but only 80% for Latinos. They argue that Latino dialect awareness is influenced by linguistic socialization, cultural prominence, and social marginalization, which contribute to knowledge of regional variation and linguistic and social stereotypes.

Plus ça Change. . . Perceptions of New Orleans English Before and After the Storm

“…The “one space, two places” phenomenon we document here recalls similar work by Alfaraz and Mason (2019), who received strikingly different perceptual maps of American English from white and Latin American participants, and by Orleans (1973:116), who, in an examination of cognitive maps made by several groups of Los Angelinos, notes that “a city is many things to many people; different things to different people.” In these earlier studies, however, participants from different backgrounds differed significantly in the form of the regions they drew; in both studies, non-white and working-class participants drew much smaller, less detailed maps than did their white and/or wealthier counterparts. In those studies, the differences were attributed to the nature of the social interactions in which participants engaged—both the number of contacts a participant had and how far from their home their social circle extended, which was in part contingent on the nature of their employment—and their integration into the hegemonic culture.…”

“…The "one space, two places" phenomenon we document here recalls similar work by Alfaraz and Mason (2019), who received strikingly different perceptual maps of American English from white and Latin American participants, and by Orleans (1973:116), who, in an examination of cognitive maps made by several groups of Los Angelinos, notes that "a city is many things to many people; different things to different people." In these earlier studies, however, participants from different backgrounds differed significantly in the form of the regions they drew; in both studies, non-white and working-class participants drew much smaller, less detailed maps than did their white and/or wealthier counterparts.…”

“…In those studies, the differences were attributed to the nature of the social interactions in which participants engaged—both the number of contacts a participant had and how far from their home their social circle extended, which was in part contingent on the nature of their employment—and their integration into the hegemonic culture. Alfaraz and Mason’s (2019) participants were native speakers of Spanish, for example, which the authors write may have affected their ability to distinguish regional variation in English. New Orleans, then, presents a striking contrast.…”

“…Research in perceptual dialectology has demonstrated that people have strongly held ideologies about their own language use and that of others. Most studies that have examined folk beliefs about language, noting the place-linked taxonomies that individuals espouse when it comes to language usage, have looked at entire countries (Preston 1986, 1996, 2003; Hartley 2005; Jeon & Cukor-Avila 2015; Mitchell, Lesho & Walker 2017; Alfaraz & Mason 2019), or, in some cases, have zeroed in on a state or region (Fought 2002; Benson 2003; Evans 2013; Drager & Grama 2014; Cramer, Tamasi & Bounds 2018; Braun 2020). We present here a more focused study: that of a single metropolitan area.…”

“…In light of previous research noting the potential significance of ethnicity, social class, and neighborhood in New Orleans English patterns (Rubrecht 1971; Alvarez & Kolker 1985), we focused on gathering perspectives from map drawers of diverse backgrounds, with the understanding that a participant’s personal history and identity may affect their perception of the variation they have encountered in the city (Mitchell, Lesho & Walker 2017; Alfaraz & Mason 2019). Two primary results emerge from the data: (i) Despite differences in ethnic identity, neighborhood residence, and social class, New Orleanians identify similar areas of the city as “accented.” However, the labels for these areas differ in notable ways between Black and white map drawers, which we argue reflects divergent social networks and experiences of New Orleans as a place.…”