Recent sociophonetic research has focused on the ways in which race and ethnicity influence langu... more Recent sociophonetic research has focused on the ways in which race and ethnicity influence language as well as how language is used to construct racial and ethnic identity. Comparisons of the speech of members of one ethnic group across different regions are still uncommon. In this study, fifty-one native American English speakers of Korean descent, hailing from three different dialect areas of the United States (Los Angeles County and Orange County, California; Harris County, Texas; and Gwinnett County, Georgia), were recorded speaking English in casual interviews. Their speech was analyzed for characteristics of local sound patterns in each region, including the Short Front Vowel Shift (California Vowel Shift) and the Southern Vowel Shift, as well as overall Vowel Space Area. All three groups showed evidence of the Short Front Vowel Shift, and none demonstrated the Southern Vowel Shift. The Californian speakers had the smallest vowel spaces, while the Georgian speakers had the la...
Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and ... more Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. This study uses the "draw-a-map" task to examine perceptions of language variation in South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using the "keywords" method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans' perceptions of dialect regions are not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place. Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, p...
ideas fall into this noun class. Abstract ideas tend to begin with the letter ũ, as will be seen ... more ideas fall into this noun class. Abstract ideas tend to begin with the letter ũ, as will be seen in the following examples. Thiriti ‘friendship’ is a special case, as according to our consultant it used to be spelled and pronounced ũthiriti in the singular, but over time the ũ was dropped. However, its remnants can still be seen in the plural, which is mothiriti (ma+ ũthiriti) as opposed to mathiriti, which would be expected if thiriti were the stem instead of ũthiriti. Some examples of nouns in this class are as follows: (76) thiriti, mothiriti Øthiriti maũthiriti NC14friendship NC6friendship ‘friendship, friendships’ Nouns and Noun Phrases 27 (77) wendi, mawendi Øwendi mawendi NC14wish NC6wish ‘wish, wishes’ (78) cukari, macukari Øcukari macukari NC14sugar NC6sugar ‘sugar, sugars’
Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and ... more Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. There has been relatively little research conducted in this area on Korean, however, with early studies using only short language attitude surveys. To address this gap in research, in the present study, I use the 'draw-?a-?map' task to examine perceptions of language variation in Korea. I ask respondents to draw a line around places in Korea where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments about the language spoken in those areas. With the resulting data, I use ArcGIS 10.0 software to quantitatively identify, aggregate, and map the most salient dialect areas and categories for subjects' perceptions. I also perform a content analysis of the qualitative data provided by respondents using 'keywords.' During this process, I categorize comments and labels given by respondents to find emerging themes. Finally, I strati...
Few studies in variationist sociolinguistics have investigated the Englishes of speakers of Asian... more Few studies in variationist sociolinguistics have investigated the Englishes of speakers of Asian heritage in the United States, and even fewer have looked at the correlation between ethnicity and linguistic variability among them. To address these limitations in the literature, this study offers an investigation of ethnic Koreans in the multiethnic context of Houston, Texas. The data come from sociolinguistic interviews with 15 Koreans of first- and second-generation immigrant backgrounds. Of particular interest to the chapter is the phonetic variation and sound changes of these Korean interviewees. Specifically, the chapter examines the fronted production of the back vowel GOAT (i.e., the pronunciation of the vowel in the word goat further forward in the mouth)—a dialect feature known as GOAT-fronting. The findings reveal how these speakers’ orientations to the Korean ethnic group and generational differences influence their linguistic behavior.
Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and
... more Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. This study uses the ‘draw-a-map’ task to examine perceptions of language variation in South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using the ‘keywords’ method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans’ perceptions of dialect regions are not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place. Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, perceptual dialectology methodology, and the relationship between language and place in South Korea.
Recent sociophonetic research has focused on the ways in which race and ethnicity influence langu... more Recent sociophonetic research has focused on the ways in which race and ethnicity influence language as well as how language is used to construct racial and ethnic identity. Comparisons of the speech of members of one ethnic group across different regions are still uncommon. In this study, fifty-one native American English speakers of Korean descent, hailing from three different dialect areas of the United States (Los Angeles County and Orange County, California; Harris County, Texas; and Gwinnett County, Georgia), were recorded speaking English in casual interviews. Their speech was analyzed for characteristics of local sound patterns in each region, including the Short Front Vowel Shift (California Vowel Shift) and the Southern Vowel Shift, as well as overall Vowel Space Area. All three groups showed evidence of the Short Front Vowel Shift, and none demonstrated the Southern Vowel Shift. The Californian speakers had the smallest vowel spaces, while the Georgian speakers had the la...
Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and ... more Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. This study uses the "draw-a-map" task to examine perceptions of language variation in South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using the "keywords" method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans' perceptions of dialect regions are not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place. Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, p...
ideas fall into this noun class. Abstract ideas tend to begin with the letter ũ, as will be seen ... more ideas fall into this noun class. Abstract ideas tend to begin with the letter ũ, as will be seen in the following examples. Thiriti ‘friendship’ is a special case, as according to our consultant it used to be spelled and pronounced ũthiriti in the singular, but over time the ũ was dropped. However, its remnants can still be seen in the plural, which is mothiriti (ma+ ũthiriti) as opposed to mathiriti, which would be expected if thiriti were the stem instead of ũthiriti. Some examples of nouns in this class are as follows: (76) thiriti, mothiriti Øthiriti maũthiriti NC14friendship NC6friendship ‘friendship, friendships’ Nouns and Noun Phrases 27 (77) wendi, mawendi Øwendi mawendi NC14wish NC6wish ‘wish, wishes’ (78) cukari, macukari Øcukari macukari NC14sugar NC6sugar ‘sugar, sugars’
Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and ... more Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. There has been relatively little research conducted in this area on Korean, however, with early studies using only short language attitude surveys. To address this gap in research, in the present study, I use the 'draw-?a-?map' task to examine perceptions of language variation in Korea. I ask respondents to draw a line around places in Korea where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments about the language spoken in those areas. With the resulting data, I use ArcGIS 10.0 software to quantitatively identify, aggregate, and map the most salient dialect areas and categories for subjects' perceptions. I also perform a content analysis of the qualitative data provided by respondents using 'keywords.' During this process, I categorize comments and labels given by respondents to find emerging themes. Finally, I strati...
Few studies in variationist sociolinguistics have investigated the Englishes of speakers of Asian... more Few studies in variationist sociolinguistics have investigated the Englishes of speakers of Asian heritage in the United States, and even fewer have looked at the correlation between ethnicity and linguistic variability among them. To address these limitations in the literature, this study offers an investigation of ethnic Koreans in the multiethnic context of Houston, Texas. The data come from sociolinguistic interviews with 15 Koreans of first- and second-generation immigrant backgrounds. Of particular interest to the chapter is the phonetic variation and sound changes of these Korean interviewees. Specifically, the chapter examines the fronted production of the back vowel GOAT (i.e., the pronunciation of the vowel in the word goat further forward in the mouth)—a dialect feature known as GOAT-fronting. The findings reveal how these speakers’ orientations to the Korean ethnic group and generational differences influence their linguistic behavior.
Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and
... more Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. This study uses the ‘draw-a-map’ task to examine perceptions of language variation in South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using the ‘keywords’ method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans’ perceptions of dialect regions are not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place. Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, perceptual dialectology methodology, and the relationship between language and place in South Korea.
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placement of dialect regions. This study uses the ‘draw-a-map’ task to examine perceptions of language variation in
South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked
to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The
map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using
the ‘keywords’ method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans’ perceptions of dialect regions are
not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation
unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place.
Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, perceptual dialectology methodology, and
the relationship between language and place in South Korea.
placement of dialect regions. This study uses the ‘draw-a-map’ task to examine perceptions of language variation in
South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked
to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The
map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using
the ‘keywords’ method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans’ perceptions of dialect regions are
not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation
unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place.
Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, perceptual dialectology methodology, and
the relationship between language and place in South Korea.