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More on the Third Dialect of English: Linguistic Constraints on the Use of Three Phonological Variables in Pittsburgh.
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McElhinny, Bonnie – Language Variation and Change, 1999
Discusses the Third Dialect (Labov 1991, 1994), offering the first systematic variationist analysis of speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with particular focus on three phonological processes. Argues that Veatch's (1991) model of English syllable structure provides a unified account of these seemingly unrelated phonological changes in Pittsburgh.…
Descriptors: Dialects, Language Variation, Models, North American English
Geolinguistic Diffusion and the U.S.-Canada Border.
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Boberg, Charles – Language Variation and Change, 2000
Uses data from both sides of the U.S.-Canada border to test a model regarding the way language changes diffuse over space. Two cases are examined: the non-diffusion of phonetic features from Detroit to Windsor and the gradual infiltration into Canadian English of American foreign (a) pronunciations. (Author/VWL)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Language Variation, Models, North American English
Mechanism of Sound Change in Optimality Theory.
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Zubritskaya, Katya – Language Variation and Change, 1997
Examines the loss of palatalization assimilation in modern Russian within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT). Shows that this theory offers new explanations for the role of markedness and naturalness in the mechanism of a sound change and argues that OT provides new possibilities for relating quantitative patterns to the principles of…
Descriptors: Descriptive Linguistics, Language Variation, Linguistic Theory, Models
On Boundaries in Linguistic Continua.
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Jorgensen, J. Normann; Kristensen, Kjeld – Language Variation and Change, 1995
Discusses the notion of regional standards of a language with regard to modern Danish. Regional and national standards of a language as well as local dialect are defined. The article shows that, for a geographical entity, a statistically determined boundary can be established in the range between the extremes of a regional dialect and national…
Descriptors: Danish, Foreign Countries, Language Variation, Models
Inherent Variability and the Obligatory Contour Principle.
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Guy, Gregory R.; Boberg, Charles – Language Variation and Change, 1997
Notes that English coronal stop deletion is constrained by the preceding segment, so that stops and sibilants favor deletion more than liquids and nonsibilant fricatives. Suggests the existence of an attractive theoretical integration of categorical and variable processes in the grammar to account for the constraint. (26 references) (Author/CK)
Descriptors: Acoustic Phonetics, Consonants, Distinctive Features (Language), Grammar
Optimality Theory and Variable Word-Final Deletion in Faetar.
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Nagy, Naomi; Reynolds, Bill – Language Variation and Change, 1997
Examines a pattern of end-of-word deletion in Faetar, a Francoprovencal dialect spoken in southern Italy, and considers synchronic variants. The article uses the word "deletion" as a synchronic description of the fact that speakers do not always phonetically produce everything in the input form. Optimality Theory accounts for such…
Descriptors: Descriptive Linguistics, Dialect Studies, Foreign Countries, French
Children, Adolescents, and Language Change.
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Kerswill, Paul – Language Variation and Change, 1996
Models the spread of linguistic change by taking account of the ages of the acquirers and transmitters of change. The article focuses on three interlocutor combinations: parent-infant/young child, peer group-preadolescent and older adolescent/adult-adolescent. Findings suggest that borrowings are the easiest to acquire, while lexically…
Descriptors: Adults, Age, Caregiver Speech, Change Agents