Ethnolectal and generational differences in vowel trajectories: Evidence from African American En... more Ethnolectal and generational differences in vowel trajectories: Evidence from African American English and the Southern Vowel System Despite their potential for elucidating fine-grained differences across ethnolects and regional dialects, vowel trajectories are neglected in sociolinguistics as group comparisons tend to rely upon F1/F2 steady-state measures. In this paper we demonstrate that comparisons of dynamic aspects of vowel production are crucial for comparing groups that may superficially align in steady-state production values. Specifically, we compare the front lax vowels BIT, BET, and BAT from the Southern Vowel Shift to those of the African American Vowel System in Piedmont, North Carolina. Data from eight older-generation European American participants from Raleigh, North Carolina, and twenty younger-generation African American participants from Piedmont, NC, come from sociolinguistic interviews. Using force-aligned TextGrids, F1 and F2 were semi-automatically measured a...
Early Career (Freshmen) Mid-Career (Sophomores and Juniors) Near Graduation (Seniors+) Overall, o... more Early Career (Freshmen) Mid-Career (Sophomores and Juniors) Near Graduation (Seniors+) Overall, our findings suggest that science literacy levels in our college student sample, as a composite and in various domains, are well above the U.S. population average of 25-30%. That said, they showed room for improvement. A general trend in in our data was for science literacy scores to be significantly higher among senior students than among the younger cohorts – particularly the freshman. The differences, however, were relatively small in effect size. Our data do not allow us to determine whether there really is something about taking college level science courses (or being in college more generally), or whether the effect is a function of general maturation, or whether the seniors showed an advantage merely because of differential attrition. That is, the seniors may just represent a fraction of students who have persisted through the intellectual and work ethic demands generally invoked b...
Formant contours contain essential perceptual cues for vowel discrimination and distinguish ethno... more Formant contours contain essential perceptual cues for vowel discrimination and distinguish ethnolectal and regional varieties that show superficial alignment in steady-state measures (Hillenbrand et al. 1995, Jacewicz et al. 2011). The analysis of contour information allows for more fine-grained investigation of dialectal differences in effects of coarticulation and duration. Additionally, it obviates arbitrary selection of measurement landmarks under traditional static F1/F2 analyses. Although acoustic vowel analysis of static F1/F2 values are foundational to sociolinguistic analysis and dialectology, vowel trajectories remain neglected despite their value in these domains (Koops 2010b, Scanlon and Wassink 2010, Thomas 2002:pg. 172). Our study uses functional data analysis of multiple formant measurements across the duration of each vowel to examine variation in Southern English of Piedmont, North Carolina. We show that differences in vowel formant trajectories are a key marker of...
Ethnolectal and generational differences in vowel trajectories: Evidence from African American En... more Ethnolectal and generational differences in vowel trajectories: Evidence from African American English and the Southern Vowel System Despite their potential for elucidating fine-grained differences across ethnolects and regional dialects, vowel trajectories are neglected in sociolinguistics as group comparisons tend to rely upon F1/F2 steady-state measures. In this paper we demonstrate that comparisons of dynamic aspects of vowel production are crucial for comparing groups that may superficially align in steady-state production values. Specifically, we compare the front lax vowels BIT, BET, and BAT from the Southern Vowel Shift to those of the African American Vowel System in Piedmont, North Carolina. Data from eight older-generation European American participants from Raleigh, North Carolina, and twenty younger-generation African American participants from Piedmont, NC, come from sociolinguistic interviews. Using force-aligned TextGrids, F1 and F2 were semi-automatically measured a...
Early Career (Freshmen) Mid-Career (Sophomores and Juniors) Near Graduation (Seniors+) Overall, o... more Early Career (Freshmen) Mid-Career (Sophomores and Juniors) Near Graduation (Seniors+) Overall, our findings suggest that science literacy levels in our college student sample, as a composite and in various domains, are well above the U.S. population average of 25-30%. That said, they showed room for improvement. A general trend in in our data was for science literacy scores to be significantly higher among senior students than among the younger cohorts – particularly the freshman. The differences, however, were relatively small in effect size. Our data do not allow us to determine whether there really is something about taking college level science courses (or being in college more generally), or whether the effect is a function of general maturation, or whether the seniors showed an advantage merely because of differential attrition. That is, the seniors may just represent a fraction of students who have persisted through the intellectual and work ethic demands generally invoked b...
Formant contours contain essential perceptual cues for vowel discrimination and distinguish ethno... more Formant contours contain essential perceptual cues for vowel discrimination and distinguish ethnolectal and regional varieties that show superficial alignment in steady-state measures (Hillenbrand et al. 1995, Jacewicz et al. 2011). The analysis of contour information allows for more fine-grained investigation of dialectal differences in effects of coarticulation and duration. Additionally, it obviates arbitrary selection of measurement landmarks under traditional static F1/F2 analyses. Although acoustic vowel analysis of static F1/F2 values are foundational to sociolinguistic analysis and dialectology, vowel trajectories remain neglected despite their value in these domains (Koops 2010b, Scanlon and Wassink 2010, Thomas 2002:pg. 172). Our study uses functional data analysis of multiple formant measurements across the duration of each vowel to examine variation in Southern English of Piedmont, North Carolina. We show that differences in vowel formant trajectories are a key marker of...
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Papers by Megan Risdal