Structured Heterogeneity and Change in Laryngeal Phonetics

Abstract

American sociolinguists have largely ignored obstruents as invariant, including how speakers distinguish /s, t/ from /z, d/. Upper Midwestern final obstruents provide clear evidence that the realization of such contrasts can and does vary. In a once German-speaking Wisconsin town, we have found that speakers systematically produce final laryngeal distinctions differently than reported for American English, with an apparent partial neutralization of the distinction. Here, we seek the historical antecedents of this pattern, comparing acoustic characteristics of recordings from speakers throughout the region born from 1866-1986. Analysis by date of birth shows distinct obstruent phonetics over this whole period, revealing striking changes in which acoustic cues have been exploited to maintain the distinction: The oldest speakers used primarily glottal pulsing, younger ones exhibit a "trading relation" between pulsing and preceding-vowel duration, and the youngest have reduced the acoustic cues of the distinction dramatically.This article provides evidence that the phonetics of laryngeal or "voicing" distinctions in regional American English, observable in minimal pairs sing~zing, bussing~buzzing, hiss~his, vary and change in systematic and previously unappreciated ways. Examination of multiple acoustic characteristics for the phonological voicing distinction in syllable codas indicates that the cues are used in tandem, and

Putting Inequality in Its Place: Rural Consciousness and the Power of Perspective

“…One of the first questions we use to make sense of new acquaintances is, "Where are you from?" It may have instead increased the need for people to draw boundaries, more crisply define their geographic communities (Bell 1992;Cohen 1985), and perform elements of their identity rooted in physical places, such as speech patterns (Purnell et al 2005). It may have instead increased the need for people to draw boundaries, more crisply define their geographic communities (Bell 1992;Cohen 1985), and perform elements of their identity rooted in physical places, such as speech patterns (Purnell et al 2005).…”

Sociolinguistic variables and cognition

“…For instance, in English, in addition to vocal pulsing differences, preceding vowels are ordinarily longer, nearby F 0 can be lowered, nearby F 1 tends to be relatively lower, and the consonantal occlusion may be shorter for a voiced consonant than for a voiceless one. Studies of German–American English in Wisconsin65,66 suggest that dialects can exploit trading relations by manipulating cues. Purnell et al65 showed that in one Wisconsin community, F 0 and F 1 differences were absent in the realization of the [±voice] contrast for syllable‐final stops.…”

“…However, preceding vowel length and amount of vocal pulsing in the occlusion exhibited a trading relation. Purnell et al66 examined the speech of Wisconsinites born over a 120‐year period and found striking shifts across generations in the cues used for the [±voice] contrast. The oldest generations focused mainly on vocal pulsing in the occlusion and actually showed a reverse relationship for duration of the preceding vowel (vowels averaged slightly longer before voiceless consonants).…”

The Apparent‐Time Construct and stable variation: Final /z/ devoicing in northwestern Indiana1

“…However, the phenomenon has been documented in, at least, American English, and especially in areas with particularly strong German or other Germanic settlement histories (e.g. Knack 1991 for Grand Rapids, Michigan; Purnell, Salmons and Tepeli 2005; Purnell, Salmons, Tepeli and Mercer 2005 for southeastern Wisconsin, especially Watertown) 7 . Thus, the word bed is variably pronounced very much like the word bet , the word sees is variably pronounced very much like the word cease , and so forth.…”