New York City and the Antebellum South: The Maritime Connection

Berger, Marshall D.

doi:10.1515/9783110813340-009

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Taking the two variables together, the evidence for a relationship between NYCE and NOE is mixed. However, these results ought to be considered in tandem with findings from previous studies on the NYCE-NOE connection, namely Labov's (2007) examination of split short-a systems in NYCE and NOE and Berger's (1980) examination of BIRD-diphthongization in NYC and the South. These four features-(r), BOUGHT-raising, split short-a system, and BIRD-diphthongizationhave all attracted commentary as shared features between NYCE and NOE, and an assessment of all four together brings more clarity to the NYCE-NOE puzzle.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…Thus, in comparing the constraints on variation in short-a tensing, Labov found a similar pattern to what we describe for (r): strikingly similar systems, save for a slightly less structurally complex system in NOE compared to NYCE. Berger's (1980) analysis focused on the inception of BIRD-diphthongization in NYCE and attempted to pinpoint the source of this feature based on the historical record. This feature has been documented throughout the South, in locations ranging from South Carolina to Texas to Arkansas to regions of Louisiana outside of New Orleans (Strand et al, 2010;Thomas, 2001;Underwood, 1982).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The upper-class man shows no evidence of either split short-a or BOUGHT-raising. In contrast, the working-class woman produces tense short-a in words like had, half, after, last, daddy and has mild BOUGHT-raising. In the absence of adequate diachronic data, scholars can turn to texts or contemporary linguistic samples for linguistic evidence. Berger (1980) used texts from the 19th century to argue for the transfer of BIRD-diphthongization from the South to NYCE. Berger dated the emergence of this feature in NYCE to the 1850s and asserted that it spread northward rather than the other way around.…”

Section: Linguistic Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Logically, Berger argued, the transfer of BIRD-diphthongization would be from the geographically dominant South to New York City. Labov (2007) contrasted with Berger (1980) both methodologically and in terms of the proposed direction of transfer. Instead of texts, Labov turned to synchronic analysis to argue that NYCE transferred to NOE.…”

Section: Linguistic Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The New York City–New Orleans connection: Evidence from constraint ranking comparison

Carmichael

Becker

2018

Lang Var Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

New York City English (NYCE) and New Orleans English (NOE) demonstrate remarkable similarity for cities located 1300 miles apart. Though the question of whether these dialects feature a shared history has fueled papers on the subject (Berger, 1980; Labov, 2007), there remain a number of issues with the historical record that prevent researchers from arriving at a consensus (Eble, 2016). This article presents linguistic evidence from constraint ranking comparisons of variable nonrhoticity andbought-raising in comparable contemporary samples of NYCE and NOE speakers. Findings demonstrate strikingly similar systems for (r), but dissimilar systems forbought-raising. We examine the results of our analyses in the context of evidence from previous comparisons of NYCE and NOE, concluding that the resemblance between the two dialects is likely due to diffusion from New York City to New Orleans, occurring in the 19th century beforebought-raising emerged in either variety.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Linguistic Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Linguistic Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The New York City–New Orleans connection: Evidence from constraint ranking comparison

Carmichael

Becker

2018

Lang Var Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While Yats are often associated with negative qualities such as a lack of education or ambition, they are also positively described as warm, proud, authentic, unique, and bearers of tradition, heritage, and nostalgia (Coles ). Yats embody a very specific personal presentation style, as described by Mucciaccio (:37): “The stereotypical Y'at [sic] appearance is so frowned upon by non‐Y'ats that the adjectival derivation of Y'at, ‘yatty,’ has become synonymic [ sic ] with ‘tacky.’” Linguistically, Yats more resemble working‐class New Yorkers than Southerners; numerous researchers have examined the apparently incongruous appearance of Northeastern linguistic features in this port city (e.g., Berger ; Carmichael and Becker ; Dillard ; Labov ). That said, Yat English also attests many features common to Southern dialects (notably the pin/pen merger, i.e., the merger of [ɪ] and [ɛ] before nasals), /ai/‐monophthongization, and the use of second person plural y'all ).…”

Section: Historical Background and Modern‐day Linguistic Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Ain't Dere No More: New Orleans Language and Local Nostalgia in Vic & Nat'ly Comics

Carmichael

Dajko

2016

J Linguistic Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As “local,” “authentic,” “working class,” “white,” “urban,” and “salt of the earth” characters, Vic and Nat'ly, the protagonists of Bunny Matthews's classic comic strip, embody all of the stereotypes of a New Orleans–based “Yat” identity. In this paper, we examine written representations of Yat English in Vic & Nat'ly strips, analyzing these results in comparison with current linguistic data from actual New Orleans English speakers and contextualizing our interpretation in terms of social and historical changes within post‐Katrina New Orleans. We find that many of the linguistic features exaggerated in the comic (e.g., oil as “erl”) have been stigmatized almost to the point of nonexistence in the speech of working‐class whites today, such that the characters Vic and Nat'ly do not accurately represent any current group of native New Orleanians, despite being held up as quintessential New Orleanians imbued with local authenticity. While Vic & Nat'ly comics celebrate a New Orleans identity that is increasingly dear to Yat and non‐Yat residents alike, we argue that the representation is based more in nostalgia than faithful rendering of the current sociolinguistic landscape, and that commodification based on this nostalgia in some ways erases the realities of modern New Orleans, in particular the role that black New Orleanians play in representations of authenticity.

show abstract

When PALMs Are in Your THOUGHTs, You Head South: New Orleans Low-Back Vowels and Diffusion from New York City

Dinkin,

Carmichael

2024

American Speech: A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In New Orleans, there is a white, working-class dialect of English, sometimes called “Yat”, that has several notable similarities with that of New York City. These similarities have been argued to be the result of 19th-century dialect contact between residents of the two cities. This paper examines the palm vowel in New Orleans and argues that it too shows evidence of diffusion from New York around this time period. Words of the palm lexical set that have been part of the English lexicon since before the 19th century, such as father and calm, are found to be merged with the thought phoneme in New Orleans, while more recent palm words such as garage are merged with lot. A handful of traditional lot words, such as John and god, are also sporadically attested with the thought phoneme. Since traditional New York City English also possesses a palm vowel backer than lot, with words such as John and god variably included in it—a pattern that is not widely found in other dialects closely connected to New Orleans English—the findings are interpreted as further evidence for dialect diffusion from New York to New Orleans.

show abstract

New York City and the Antebellum South: The Maritime Connection

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

The New York City–New Orleans connection: Evidence from constraint ranking comparison

The New York City–New Orleans connection: Evidence from constraint ranking comparison

Ain't Dere No More: New Orleans Language and Local Nostalgia in Vic & Nat'ly Comics

When PALMs Are in Your THOUGHTs, You Head South: New Orleans Low-Back Vowels and Diffusion from New York City

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About