Identity, discourse, and language variation

Abstract

Recent work in sociolinguistics has not taken advantage of the correlation between emerging features of a variety and the degree to which the individual identity of persons within the region where that variety is taking hold determines the rapidity with which such features are adopted. The authors examine the spread of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift into nonurban, northern Michigan and find that speakers who have less local loyalty, as expressed in respondent interviews, are more advanced in the shift, as revealed in acoustic measurements of the position of vowels involved in the early stages of the shift.