Naomi Nagy

Optimality Theory and variable word-final deletion in Faetar

We examine a pattern of end-of-word deletion in Faetar, a Francoprovencal dialect spoken in southern Italy, considering synchronic variants like [brokələ] ˜ [brokəl] ˜ [brokə] ˜ [brok] ‘fork’. We use the word “deletion” as a synchronic description of the facts; speakers do not always phonetically produce everything in the input form, assuming that the input form is the longest form ever produced. Optimality Theory accounts for this type of variation by positing different rankings of the constraint hierarchy, each of which produces a different optimal output. The predication of alternate constraint rankings within a single dialect, however, poses problems for Optimality Theory as it has been formulated, necessitating numerous grammars for each speaker. We propose floating constraints (Reynolds, 1994), whereby some particular constraint within a single grammar may be represented as falling anywhere within a designated range in the ranking hierarchy. In a previous study (Reynolds & Nagy, 1994) we showed that this model accounts for the distribution of types of output forms produced. Here, we analyze a corpus of 624 tokens from 40 speakers and show that the pattern of distribution of tokens is accounted for as well: the number of rankings that produce each output form is closely correlated to the number of output forms that occur in the data set.

Second language acquisition and "real" French: An investigation of subject doubling in the French of Montreal Anglophones

We investigated the French of the first generation of Montreal Anglophones who had had access to French immersion schooling. Our aim was to determine the extent to which these Anglophones had acquired the variable grammar of their Francophone peers and how that was related to the type of French instruction received and to the types of exposure to French. In Montreal French, a subject NP may be “echoed” by a pronoun without emphatic or contrastive effect. Because this is not a feature of standard French, Anglophones who learned French primarily in school were not expected to exhibit it. On the other hand, Anglophones who frequently spent time with Montreal Francophones were expected to have picked it up. To test this hypothesis, we used a database of speech from 29 speakers, varying in their quantity and type of exposure to French. Multivariate analyses determined the degree of correlation of several linguistic and social factors (related to type and quantity of exposure to French) to the presence of a doubled subject. These data were then compared with that for L1 French. Speakers who were more nativelike with respect to the rate of subject doubling and effects of linguistic factors were those who had had more contact with native speakers, especially as adults.

Boston (r): Neighbo(r)s nea(r) and fa(r)

The influence of linguistic and social factors on (r) in Boston and two New Hampshire towns is described. The preceding vowel and geographic, ethnic, and age-related differences were found to have strong effects. In comparison to Bostonians, New Hampshire speakers exhibit a higher rate of rhoticity, and fewer factors constrain their variability. Younger speakers are more rhotic than older speakers, as are more educated speakers and those in higher linguistic marketplace positions. This study demonstrates that these patterns fit the transmission (within Boston) and diffusion (to New Hampshire) framework (Labov, 2007) only with the addition of accommodation theory (Niedzielski & Giles, 1996), which connects our linguistic findings to evidence that many New Hampshire residents do not identify with Boston. The effects on (r) in other studies are compared to determine which effects are particular to individual communities (nonuniversal) and which occur across all communities examined. The nonuniversal effects are therefore available as measures of contact-induced change. This study introduces a method for quantitatively comparing the amount of change between communities.

LIVE FREE OR DIE AS A LINGUISTIC PRINCIPLE

�The first aim of this paper is to describe some ways in which the Massachusetts speech varieties are “differentest,” specifically with respect to the unmerged status of several vowels which are merged in most areas of the United States. The second aim is to explore how Boston has maintained its linguistic distinction—as a result of non-Boston speakers, notably the New Hampshire neighbors of the Boston metropolis, not adopting the distinct features of the Boston accent. While it is popularly believed that regional dialects are being leveled, numerous studies have indicated that, in fact, cities retain distinct phonological patterns (cf. Labov 1994, 29). Rural varieties have received less sociolinguistic attention. In order to determine how linguistic patterns evolve and diffuse outside the domain of a metropolitan center, this paper begins exploration of a rural and small-town region of the United States that has not been thoroughly studied since the 1930s. The findings contradict Trudgill’s (1974) proposal that linguistic innovations diffuse from cities to the neighboring towns and villages, as Boston is the closest metropolis to all of New Hampshire. A social explanation is offered: the lack of appeal to New Hampshire residents of the “big city” life offered by Boston.

A quantitative categorization of phonemic dialect features in context

We test a method of clustering dialects of English according to patterns of shared phonological features. Previous linguistic research has generally considered phonological features as independent of each other, but context is important: rather than considering each phonological feature individually, we compare the patterns of shared features, or Mutual Information (MI). The dependence of one phonological feature on the others is quantified and exploited. The results of this method of categorizing 59 dialect varieties by 168 binary internal (pronunciation) features are compared to traditional groupings based on external features (e.g., ethnic, geographic). The MI and size of the groups are calculated for taxonomies at various levels of granularity and these groups are compared to other analyses of geographic and ethnic distribution. Applications that could be improved by using MI methods are suggested.

Extending ELAN into variationist sociolinguistics

Abstract Prior to the implementation of ELAN (tla.mpi.nl/tools/tla-tools/elan, Wittenburg et al. 2006), it was common for sociolinguists to use multiple software applications, and consequently multiple formats, along the route from recording participants to conducting statistical analyses of the data. We present a method which allows for transcription, extracting, coding, preparation for statistical analysis, calculation of some basic frequency statistics, and creation of a concordance all within one program. ELAN is well established as a valuable tool for language documentation. ELAN is frequently used for transcription and multi-tier mark-up illustrating levels of linguistic structure as well as translations and glosses. We hope that this crossover introduction will encourage the efficiency of documentary linguists among sociolinguists and increase the interest in documenting variation among documentarians. After providing an overview of ELAN’s utility, we focus on extracting (or marking) and coding tokens of linguistic variables for quantitative analysis in the variationist sociolinguistic framework. This seamless connection between recording, transcript and coding of dependent and independent variables improves consistency, efficiency, utility, reliability and the accountability of our coding to the original recording. We illustrate a range of benefits and include step-by-step instructions accompanied by downloadable sample files and video clips to illustrate each step of the process (Extending ELAN tutorial files.zip). We also include instructions on importing existing (legacy) transcripts into ELAN.

Faetar null subjects: a variationist study of a heritage language in contact

Abstract Faetar is an under-documented variety descended from Francoprovençal and spoken in two isolated Apulian villages in southern Italy as well as in the emigrant diaspora, especially in the Greater Toronto Area. Speakers use two series of subject pronouns (strong and weak pronouns), producing sentences with zero, one or two overt subject pronouns. The status of the overt forms as subject pronouns, emphatic pronouns, left- or right-dislocated pronouns, clitics, or affixes is not clear. Contrary to the predictions of the Null Subject Parameter hypothesis (Perlmutter 1971, Deep and surface structure constraints in syntax. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston; Chomsky 1981, Lectures on government and binding. Dordrecht: Foris), these grammars have subject pronoun paradigms that are variable and conditioned by a number of linguistic factors (including person, tense, information status and subject type). This article delineates which aspects vary diachronically, spatially, or between individuals – a necessary prerequisite to constructing a theoretical model that accounts for this variation. By comparing the patterns of use in France, Italy, and Toronto, and using sources that span nearly a century, we see that despite the very small size of its speech community, Faetar shows little sign of accommodating to English’s virtually categorical presence of subject pronouns, nor to Italian’s high null subject (hereafter Ø-subject) rate, nor to the conditioning effects found in those languages.

Linguistic attitudes and contact effects in Toronto’s heritage languages: A variationist sociolinguistic investigation:

Aims and objectives: I review several methods of constructing bridges between structural linguistic variation in language contact situations and linguistic attitudes and prestige. Methodology design: Data are examined for heritage varieties of Cantonese, Faetar, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian spoken in Toronto, Canada, and in the corresponding homeland varieties, in an effort to consider how the notions of ‘prestige’ and ‘attitude’ are best operationalized in heritage language studies and to seek associations between structural variation and prestige. Linguistic variation is explored via multivariate analysis of (linguistic and) social factors, in order to determine which factors best account for the selection of competing variants of selected sociolinguistic variables (primarily null subject variation and voice onset time) in spontaneous speech. The attitudinal or prestige aspect is explored in several ways: comparison of ethnolinguistic vitality, language status (in popular and academic media) and ethnic orientation. It is hypothesized that: • communities with a higher ethnolinguistic vitality will be more resistant to contact-induced variation; • varieties exhibiting more contact-induced variation will more likely have acquired a label distinct from the homeland variety; • within a generation, speakers with greater affinity for or more frequent use of English will show stronger contact effects; and • successive generations of speakers, with increasing contact with English, will show greater contact effects. Conclusions/originality/significance: These hypotheses are not supported by our data.

Variation at the crossroads: Advancing theory by integrating methods

The New Ways of Analyzing Variation conference (NWAV) is recognized worldwide as a major forum devoted to the presentation of research in the variationist sociolinguistic framework. Its objectives over its nearly half-century of existence have been to foster the study of language in its social context by providing a venue in which the latest theoretical, methodological and technical developments in the quantitative analysis of natural speech are showcased. After decades of building on strong empirical foundations, the time has come for a re-engagement among sociolinguistics and linguistics more broadly. Opportunities for integration across related disciplines are valuable ways of making advances, both descriptive and theoretical. Understanding how humans deploy variation to facilitate communication while the language itself continues to change is a fundamental element in understanding human language, society and interaction. Recent progress in the field can be linked to researchers’ abilities to leverage new methods and implement novel and increasingly large datasets. These advances have expanded the available testable hypotheses as well as the diversity and representativeness of language data that can be brought to