The stylistic progression of covarying changes in progress

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School of Arts & Sciences::Department of Linguistics::University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics
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Linguistics
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Sociolinguistics
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2023
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Lewis Esposito
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The relation between local stylistic practice and community-level change is under-theorized, and this paper offers one attempt at addressing it. By examining how eight changes-in-progress in Sacramento, California relate over time, I show that while there is a great deal of diversity in how some changes come together in styles, others show robust cross-speaker covariation. Importantly, for two changes — increased distance between the PIN and PEN vowels, and increased use of creaky voice — this covariation is tied to new stylistic oppositions in Sacramento. What emerges is a view in which stylistic construction can exhibit both creativity and regularity and play a central role in how linguistic changes connect in a community.

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2023-09-28
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University of Pennsylvania
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