Markl, Nina (2023) “I can't see myself ever living any[w]ere else”: Variation in (HW) in Edinburgh English. Language Variation and Change, 35 (1). pp. 79-105. DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954394523000078
Markl, Nina (2023) “I can't see myself ever living any[w]ere else”: Variation in (HW) in Edinburgh English. Language Variation and Change, 35 (1). pp. 79-105. DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954394523000078
Markl, Nina (2023) “I can't see myself ever living any[w]ere else”: Variation in (HW) in Edinburgh English. Language Variation and Change, 35 (1). pp. 79-105. DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954394523000078
Abstract
Sociolinguistic research across Scotland in recent decades has documented an erosion of the phonemic contrast between /ʍ/ (as in<jats:italic>which</jats:italic>) and /w/ (as in<jats:italic>witch</jats:italic>). Based on acoustic phonetic analysis of 1,400 <wh> realizations produced by eighteen Edinburgh women born between 1938 and 1993, I argue that in the context of Edinburgh this is best understood as a complex sociolinguistic variable (HW) encompassing (at least) six fricated and fricationless variants. Realizations vary in type and relative duration of frication, voicing, and glide quality. Bayesian statistical analysis suggests that choice and realization of variants is conditioned by speaker's social class, style, and phonetic context. Unlike some prior work, I do not find evidence of ongoing (apparent-time) change or an effect of contact with Southern British English. Fricated variants are most prevalent in formal speech styles and in the speech of middle-class women, while working-class speakers favor fricationless variants.
Item Type: | Article |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Language and Linguistics, Department of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 02 Aug 2024 11:39 |
Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2024 11:39 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/38364 |
Available files
Filename: HW_Markl_LVC-AAM.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0