Martha´S Vineyard - Labov
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Martha´s Vineyard – where old traditions are still of value
Martha´s Vineyard is a small island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA. The island has a permanent population of about 6000 inhabitants. It is separated from the mainland by the Atlantic Ocean and there are no big businesses or any McDonald to be found on the island. Here, life is not as hectic as on the mainland and old traditions are still of value. The inhabitants have a way of showing their connection and dedication to their homeland, which is also a way of identifying themselves.
This term paper will be about sound changes in connection with social identity. I will examine the innovative study of language variation and change in the islands community, observed and examined by William Labov (1963). I will analyze and discuss the study made by Labov.
Labov´s study is based on the characteristic sound pattern discovered while listening to the inhabitants of Martha´s Vineyard. This sound change has a focus on the centralization of diphthongs. Centralization is the phonological change in which a vowel becomes more central than normal (Lawrence Trask 2000 : 53). Diphthong is a vowel sound which is pronounced by quickly moving from one vowel position to another (Deckert, Vickers 2011 : 33).
The sound changes made by inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard, observed by Labov were: /ay/ as in fight, right and sight and /aw/ as in loud and about.
Labov´s observations exposed that the centralized diphthongs only occurred in a particular linguistic context. Some groups used the sound change more than others. The group of fishermen was among these. Labov also observed that some inhabitants purposely did not pronounce the diphthongs differently to people from the mainland.
Having looked at different social factors, as for example, age, ethnic group and occupation it became obvious that the attitude towards the island was an essential aspect
1.1 Martha´s Vineyard – where old traditions are still of value
Martha´s Vineyard is a small island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA. The island has a permanent population of about 6000 inhabitants. It is separated from the mainland by the Atlantic Ocean and there are no big businesses or any McDonald to be found on the island. Here, life is not as hectic as on the mainland and old traditions are still of value. The inhabitants have a way of showing their connection and dedication to their homeland, which is also a way of identifying themselves.
This term paper will be about sound changes in connection with social identity. I will examine the innovative study of language variation and change in the islands community, observed and examined by William Labov (1963). I will analyze and discuss the study made by Labov.
Labov´s study is based on the characteristic sound pattern discovered while listening to the inhabitants of Martha´s Vineyard. This sound change has a focus on the centralization of diphthongs. Centralization is the phonological change in which a vowel becomes more central than normal (Lawrence Trask 2000 : 53). Diphthong is a vowel sound which is pronounced by quickly moving from one vowel position to another (Deckert, Vickers 2011 : 33).
The sound changes made by inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard, observed by Labov were: /ay/ as in fight, right and sight and /aw/ as in loud and about.
Labov´s observations exposed that the centralized diphthongs only occurred in a particular linguistic context. Some groups used the sound change more than others. The group of fishermen was among these. Labov also observed that some inhabitants purposely did not pronounce the diphthongs differently to people from the mainland.
Having looked at different social factors, as for example, age, ethnic group and occupation it became obvious that the attitude towards the island was an essential aspect
Bibliography: Deckert, Sharon K.; Vickers, Caroline H. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 2011. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Labov, William. Sociolinguistic Patterns. 1972. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Langenscheidt. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 2006 Meyerhoff, Miriam. Introducing Sociolinguistics. 2006. Abingdon: Routledge Trask, Robert Lawrence. The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics. 2000. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd