Prichard, Hilary
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Publication Linguistic Variation and Change in Atlanta, Georgia(2010-01-01) Prichard, HilaryIn spite of its unique position as a fast-growing urban metropolis in the heart of the South, little research has been conducted to uncover the effects of Atlanta’s rapid growth on the speech of its native population. This paper reports on variation and change in the speech of Atlanta, Georgia, which has occurred as a result of this growth, focusing on the current state of the Southern Shift. The evidence presented is limited to key vowel features, especially /ay/-monophthongization and the front chain shift. Drawing on regional data found in past projects (e.g., Labov et al. 2006, Montgomery and Nunnally 2008, Feagin 2003, Thomas 2001) and utilizing a variety of sociolinguistic methods, this paper analyzes a data set in which both apparent-time changes and variation can be observed. In order to more fully capture Atlantan speech, two different types of interview are presented. The first is a rapid and anonymous interview of 59 speakers which focuses on the pronunciation of /ay/ before voiced consonants. These interviews show black speakers to have a significantly higher rate of /ay/-monophthongization than white speakers, and that overall rates of /ay/- monophthongization vary between different neighborhoods. The second type consists of a longer conversation-style interview followed by a reading passage, for which data from five white native Atlantans is presented. Acoustic analysis of these interviews shows that the older speakers use more features associated with the Southern Shift than the younger speakers, but that none of the speakers exhibit a fully-shifted vowel system.Publication The Impact of Higher Education on Philadelphia Vowels(2012-09-01) Prichard, Hilary; Tamminga, MeredithThis paper investigates fine-grained differences among those who go on for post-secondary education in Philadelphia. Our subjects are eight South Philadelphians whose backgrounds are similar but who differ in their pursuit of post-secondary education. We distinguish not only between high school and college education, but also between community colleges, regionally-oriented universities, and nationally-oriented universities. We examine four vowel features characterized by different degrees of social evaluation. We show that only the socially-salient vowel features, tense /aeh/ and tense /oh/, are subject to correction, while changes in progress below the level of social awareness (checked /ey/-raising and /uw/-fronting) are not. We argue that dialect accommodation is mediated by social factors, rather than the inevitable outcome of mechanistic processes. Speakers who are motivated by the promise of upward mobility and exposed to a variety of non-local accents modulate their speech away from Philadelphia features that are socially salient, but not from features below the level of consciousness.Publication Against a Split Phonology of Michif(2014-01-01) Prichard, Hilary; Shwayder, KobeyThis paper investigates the claim that Michif has a phonology split by etymological origin, Cree and French. We present two case studies, one which examines a phonological process and one which concerns the vowel inventory. The first case examines whether a French phonological rule, liaison, is truly restricted to the French portion of Michif, or whether it can apply across etymological classes. We find instances where liaison does occur between French and non-French words, suggesting that liaison cannot be restricted to a French subpart. The second case tests whether the Michif vowel inventory can reliably be divided into French and Cree categories on the basis of phonetic contrasts. The statistical models indicate that there is no basis for dividing the inventory into two subparts based on etymology. Taken together, these case studies suggest that the phonology of Michif should be treated as a single system rather than a split system.