Sources of variation in the speech of African Americans: Perspectives from sociophonetics

Abstract

African American Language (AAL) is one of the most researched varieties of American English, yet key aspects of its development and spread remain under‐theorized. For example, regional and social variation in the speech of African Americans was initially understudied in AAL as scholars sought to demonstrate the overall systematicity of the variety, often at the expense of examining variation across and within communities. More recently, scholars have begun to address this gap by examining different sources of variation in AAL phonology. For instance, the African American Vowel System (AAVS), also called the African American Vowel Shift, describes a pattern identified within AAL, including the raising of the front lax vowels and the nonfronting of the high‐ and mid‐back vowels. Aspects of the AAVS have been found in geographically widespread varieties of AAL, suggesting that shared patterns of population movement resulting from the Great Migration and subsequent social experiences may have led to the development of this system. Other more regionally limited sound patterns suggest the role of more localized processes of variation and change. We focus on three sources of variation that have contributed to the spread and realizations of the sound system in modern AAL: migration, segregation, and place and identity. Evidence from sociophonetic analyses across these three factors provides a foundation to more thoroughly document the ways in which AAL varieties developed, spread, and vary, while allowing for a more nuanced assessment of racialization and its implications for individual differences. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Linguistic Theory Psychology > Language

Boomer Peak or Gen X Cliff? From SVS to LBMS in Georgia English

“…However, previous work found the SVS in retreat in rural areas as well (Jacewicz, Fox, & Salmons, 2011;Knight, 2015), meaning that macrolevel changes over time are likely not affected by participants' towns of origin to a worrying degree. Finally, this analysis includes only White speakers, which precludes any comparison between groups or examination of ethnolectal features such as those implicated in the African American Vowel Shift (Farrington et al, 2021;Thomas, 2007). It also obscures any role that Whiteness itself may play in the vowel system changes we see here, as there is growing acknowledgement of the intersectional complexity of race when analyzing the maintenance or disappearance of regional vernaculars (Becker, 2014;King, 2021).…”

“…It also obscures any role that Whiteness itself may play in the vowel system changes we see here, as there is growing acknowledgement of the intersectional complexity of race when analyzing the maintenance or disappearance of regional vernaculars (Becker, 2014; King, 2021). These questions become even more complex at increased time depth, due to factors including racialized demographic changes like the Great Migration or the more recent “Reverse” Great Migration to the South (Farrington, 2018; Farrington et al, 2021; Hunt, Hunt, & Falk, 2012).…”

“…We test this hypothesis among White speakers from Georgia, where older speech patterns include the Southern Vowel Shift (SVS; Labov, 1991; Labov, Ash, & Boberg, 2006). Like Nesbitt, we analyze White speakers, as we do not necessarily expect other ethnic groups’ speech patterns to show the same vowel configurations or to be driven by the same factors (see Farrington, King, & Kohn, 2021; Thomas, 2007, for Black speakers; and Renwick, Forrest, Glass, & Stanley, 2022, for Black speakers from Georgia). Broadly, we hypothesize that the SVS peaked among members of the Baby Boomer generation, and that rapid change away from the SVS began in Generation X, with adoption of the LBMS among the youngest speakers.…”