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NWAV 35. NWAV 35 – Columbus, Ohio. Lesbians as leaders of linguistic change in Philadelphian English. Photo by John Frank Keith. Variationist sociolinguistic studies show language change led by: Women The interior social classes. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 351
Photo by John Frank Keith
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English
NWAV 35 – Columbus, Ohio
NWAV 35
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 352
Variationist sociolinguistic studies show language change led by:
Women
The interior social classesSupported by the data from the study of Linguistic Change and Variation in Philadelphia [LCV] (Labov, 2001)
The Curvilinear Principle: Linguistic change from below originates in a central social group, located in the interior of the socioeconomic hierarchy (188)
Conformity Paradox: Women deviate less than men from linguistic norms when the deviations are overtly proscribed, but more than men when the deviations are not proscribed (367)
Also, language and gender literature investigates the linguistic behavior of gay men and lesbians, as well as criticizes the limitations of the studies on gay and lesbian speech (Jacobs, 1996; Kulick, 2000; Moonwomon-Baird, 1997; Gaudio, 1994; Cameron & Kulick, 2003) - Problematic correlation between sexual orientation and linguistic behavior
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 353
OMM (Of “moice” and men):
Re-study of Philadelphia [European Americans only] 30 years after LCV
Data collected from (2000-2003)
Focus on (ay0) and secondary foci on (aw) and (eyC)
Included self-identified gays and lesbians as part of the data set
Striving for high comparability with the original study, OMM followed the methodology and data analysis of the LCV as discussed in Labov, 2001
REPEAT OF SLIDE 6
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 354
/iyC/beat
/eyC/date
/uw/boot
/ow/boat
/aw/down/æh/
bath, ban
/æ/bat, banner
/e/dead
(ay0)ice
Philadelphia Vowel Shifts
“new and vigorous” changes
“spike”
“date”
“south”
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 355
Problem variable in the LCV data: The raising of the nucleus of the diphthong /ay/ before voiceless consonants (ay0)
Led by men
Shows no social stratification
Is (ay0) a counter-example to “typical” language change?
How does (ay0) progress through the speech community over time?
What about the movement on the front/back dimension of (ay0)?
If (ay0) does not behave like other vocalic changes in progress, are there certain gender-based evaluations of this variable? That is, do certain variants sound more masculine/feminine?
Questions from the patterning of (ay0) in the LCV data:
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 356
OMM:
Re-study of Philadelphia [European Americans only] 30 years after LCV
Data collected from (2000-2003)
Focus on (ay0) and secondary focus on (aw) and (eyC)
Included self-identified gays and lesbians as part of the data set
The current study: Of “moice” and men: The evolution of a male-led sound change [OMM]
Striving for high comparability with the original study, OMM followed the methodology and data analysis of the LCV as discussed in Labov, 2001
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 357
MethodologySample: 65 native Philadelphians
The data: sociolinguistic interviews (at subject’s house) including formal tasks of semantic differentials, minimal pairs tests, reading passage and a word list
Social Coding: Each speaker was coded for various social characteristics following the LCV (see Labov, 2001 for further details) - education, occupation and residence converted into socioeconomic class category (SEC)
age sex education occupation residence value mobility
house upkeepethnicityforeign language backgroundgenerationneighborhood of origin
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 358
Methodology
A new twist: Sexual orientation as a social factor and the Gender Index (GI)
Coded for sexual orientation
LWC UWC LMC UMC
Men 4 4 8 8Women 7 6 6 8
Gay Men 2 3Lesbian Women 4 5
Ages: 29-92Ages: 29-60
In order to investigate the role that socially constructed gender has on a person’s position within a language change situation, the GI was created (modeled after the SEI)
Had to utilize the single event interview (rather than look at intraspeaker variation) so needed to use static rather than dynamic gender aspects
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 359
MethodologyGender Index (GI)
From the idea of segregated socialization of the sexes - Cultural Difference approach in Lang and Gender (Maltz & Borker, 1982)
Why choose this type of continuum?Language is a social behavior which exists within a set of cultural/social stereotypes and expectations
The GI range is from 2 (stereotypically feminine) to 9 (stereotypically masculine)
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3510
MethodologyGender Index (GI)
GI Category based on GI scores - distribution shown below
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3511
Methodology
Acoustic vowel analysis
LPC analysis in Praat
Single-point, synchronous nuclear measurements of F1 and F2
Additional auditory support for single-point selection
Vowels of all Plotnik 25 vowel classes were measured - at least 5 tokens per class per speaker - complete vowel system for every speaker (200-500 tokens)
Data cleaned for measurement errors
Using Neary’s Log mean normalization in Plotnik, each speaker’s cleaned system was normalized, and from these data, a mean F1/F2 for each vowel class (and phonetic subclasses) was calculated
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3512
Statistical AnalysisIn order to examine all the independent variables at the same time, a stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted using the following independent social variables:
age sex education occupation residence value {3 above
separately or SEC} (Socioeconomic Class Category)
mobilityhouse upkeepethnicityforeign language backgroundgeneration (2nd generation Philadelphian)neighborhood of origin
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3513
Statistical Analysis
Results of gender variables for (ay0)
Sexual orientation for both F1 and F2 (ay0) is not a significant social factor predicting values as either a binary category (gay/lesbian~hetero) or a combo 4-way split of sex and sexual orientation (details of (ay0) discussed at NWAV34 – see at http://www.jeffconn.net/papers.html )Binary Category Sex/Sexual Orientation
Combo
F1 F2 F1 F2
p < . 0.9478 p <0 .5843 p < 0.6660 p < 0.3294
So now onto (aw) and (eyC) . . .
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3514
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
The stepwise regression analysis of (aw) selected the following social variables as significant factors in predicting F2 (aw) values
age sex
SEC (Socioeconomic Class Category)
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3515
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
This model with age, sex and SEC can account for 26% of the variation (r2 = 0.256) of F2 (aw) in the data, with age as a significant predictor at p < .05
Data show change in apparent time (reversal of direction predicted by LCV = (aw) is now backing in Philadelphia)
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
< 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
Age Group
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(aw
)
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3516
Real Time F2 (aw) Results
Apparent time analysis supported by real time data when combined OMM data with LCV data (and adding 30 years to age of LCV speakers)
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
14-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90+
Age Group
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(aw
)
Predicted F2 (aw) values by age group LCV/OMM combined data
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3517
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
When data are sorted by sex, men no longer show change in progress
(age p = 0.8948) but women still do (age p = 0.0138)
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
< 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
Age Group
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(a
w)
Women
Men
Predicted F2 (aw) values with regression lines for age groups for each sex
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3518
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
When the variable Sex is substituted for the 4-way category Sex/Sexual Orientation (SO), this new variable is still significant predictor of F2 (aw) values at the p < .10 level (p = 0.07) [age and SEC also still significant predictors in this model at p levels of 0.0437 and 0.0652 respectively].
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
HeterosexualWomen
Gay Men Lesbians HeterosexualMen
Sex/Sexual Orientation
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(a
w)
Predicted F2 (aw) values by sex/sexual orientation
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3519
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
< 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+Age Group
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(aw
)
HeterosexualWomen
Lesbians
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
Looking at just the women’s data, the picture of language is similar to one sorted by sex, although these data are sorted by sexual orientation.
Predicted F2 (aw) values for women of two sexual orientations
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3520
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
SEC - When the women are sorted by SEC, it is the LMC lesbians who are really a step ahead of their heterosexual counterparts
Predicted F2 (aw) values of social class categories for women
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
LWC UWC LMC UMC
SEC
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(a
w)
All Women
HeterosexualWomen
Lesbians
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3521
Apparent Time F2 (aw) Results
For F2 (aw), both GI score (p = .0286) and GI CAT (p = .0631) statistically significant social factor (at p < .10 level)
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
GI score
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(aw
)
Predicted F2 (aw) by GI score
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
Feminine Neutral Masculine
Gender Category
Pre
dic
ted
F2
(a
w)
Predicted F2 (aw) values by gender category
With regard to the direction of this change, non-feminine groups lead change
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3522
Apparent Time F1 (eyC) ResultsUnlike LCV data, F2 of (eyC) does not show significant age effects (no change in progress for the F2 dimension). The stepwise regression analysis of (eyC) selected the following social variables as significant factors in predicting F1 (eyC) values
age sex
SEC (Socioeconomic Class Category)
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3523
Apparent Time F1 (eyC) Results
This model with age, sex and SEC can account for 43% of the variation (r2 = 0.432) of F1 (eyC) in the data, with age as a significant predictor at p < .0001
Sex and SEC significant predictors (p = 0.0012 and 0.0004, respectively) in the raising of this vowel (lower F1 values)
400
500
600
700< 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
Age Group
Pre
dic
ted
F1
(e
yC
)
Predicted F1 (eyC) values by age groups
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3524
Real Time F1 (eyC) Results
Apparent time analysis supported by real time data when combined OMM data with LCV data (and adding 30 years to age of LCV speakers)
SEC and sex not significant factors in real time analysis at p < .10 level) Couldn’t investigate sexual orientation in real time
Predicted F1 (eyC) values by age group LCV/OMM combined data
Add
400
500
600
70014-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90+
Age Group
Pre
dic
ted
F1
(eyC
)
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3525
Apparent Time F1 (eyC) Results(Sex/SO) variable has a significant effect at the p < .10 level (p value of 0.0060), and 43% of the variation is accounted for (r2 = 0.434). Both age and SEC are still significant at the p <.10 level. Lesbians show the highest vowels (represented by lowest F1 values) while gay men show the lowest vowels
580576554
535
400
500
600
700LesbianWomen
HeterosexualWomen
HeterosexualMen
Gay Men
Sex/Sexual Orientation
Pre
dic
ted
F1
(eyC
)
Predicted F1 (eyC) values by sex/sexual orientation
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Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3526
Apparent Time F1 (eyC) ResultsSEC and Sex/SO: Lesbians do not show change in apparent time (age not significant factor at p <.10 level)
All other Sex/SO groups do show age as significant, so other groups are catching up to the lesbians with respect to raising of this vowel
Only men’s groups show SEC as significant factor (heterosexual men p < .01; gay men p < .07)
400
500
600
700
LWC UWC LMC UMCSEC
Pre
dic
ted
F1
(eyC
)
HeterosexualMen
HeterosexualWomen
Gay Men
LesbianWomen
Predicted F1 (eyC) values by sex/sexual orientation for each SEC
25
Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3527
Apparent Time F1 (eyC) Results
400
500
600
700
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
GI score
Pre
dic
ted
F1
(eyC
)
For F1 (eyC), both GI score (p = .0157) and GI CAT (p = .0173) statistically significant social factor (at the p < .05 level)
Similar to the curvilinear hypothesis, this analysis suggests that it is the speakers located in the interior of a masculine/feminine continuum who are leading this change (a gender curvilinear hypothesis?)
400
500
600
700
Feminine Neutral Masculine
Gender Category
Pre
dic
ted
F1
(eyC
)Predicted F1 (eyC) values by gender categoryPredicted F1 (eyC) for each GI score
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Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3528
SUMMARY
With 2 variables involved in language change, lesbians show up as leaders of linguistic change
(aw) should be noted that this change is a reversal of direction, so lesbians being ahead may be in opposition to the heterosexual lead in the other direction
(eyC) is also a change involved in the redefinition of Philadelphia from a southern city to a northern one - may interact with sexual orientation
Labov’s depiction of leaders of language change as women who are anti-establishment, strong and the centers of their social circles may be defining a type of women captured in my data by lesbians = TOMBOYS, or women who do not define themselves by stereotypically feminine traits
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Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3529
2 B continuedWhat’s next?
Explanations of why lesbians are leaders of language change
Other socioling variables show the same effect of sexual orientation?
Is sexual orientation the true social variable or is it more likely gender?
Need more data on gay men to see where they pattern with respect to language change.
Need other studies to examine sexual orientation as a possible significant social factor in language change
Need to improve Gender Index to examine the role of gender socialization with respect to dialect acquisition
Check out my website to download this presentation www.jeffconn.net Thank You!
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Lesbians as leaders of linguisticchange in Philadelphian English [email protected]
www.jeffconn.net
Jeff ConnNWAV 3530
REFERENCESCameron, Deborah and Kulick, Don. 2003. Language and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Eckert, Penelope. 1989. The whole woman: Sex and gender differences in variation. Language Variation and Change 1:245-268.Eckert, Penelope. 2000. Linguistic Variation as Social Practice. Oxford: Blackwell.Gaudio, Rudolph P. 1994. Sounding gay: Pitch properties in the speech of gay and straight men. American Speech 69:30-57.Jacobs, Greg. 1996. Lesbian and gay male language: A critical review of the literature. American
Speech 71(1):49-71. Kulick, Don. 2000. Gay and lesbian Language. Annual Review of Anthropology 29:243-285. Maltz, Daniel N. and Borker, Ruth A. 1982. A cultural approach to male-female miscommunication.
In Gumperz, John J (ed.), Language and Social Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 196-216.Moonwomon-Baird, Birch. 1997. Toward a study of lesbian speech. In Livia, Anna and Kira Hall (eds.), Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender and Sexuality. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 202-213. Labov, William. 1994. Principles of Linguistic Change, vol. 1: Internal Factors. Oxford: Blackwell.Labov, William. 2001. Principles of Linguistic Change, vol. 2: Social Factors. Oxford: Blackwell.Milroy, Leslie. 1987. Language and social networks (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell
Please see my dissertation for more references and further accounts of these data.Conn, Jeff. 2005. Of “moice” and men: The evolution of a male-led sound change. Ph.D. dissertation. The University of Pennsylvania. Available at my website: www.jeffconn.net
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