The expanding universe of the study of sound change

The study of sound change has evolved from a heuristic tool for 19th century comparative historical reconstruction into the backbone of the rigid approach to language change developed by the Neogrammarians. In the course of the 20th and early 21st century it has become the main meeting point for a range of subdisciplines of linguistics (historical linguistics, dialectology, sociolinguistics, phonology, phonetics and cognitivist approaches to phonetic variation). In this lecture I will sketch some of the main aspects of the approaches to sound change taken in these various corners of the field. By way of a synthesis I will propose a model in which three approaches to sound change dovetail to account for the huge and seemingly chaotic body of insights into the phenomenon. An empirical study of an instance of historical sound change which affected a subset of the Brabant dialects of Dutch will serve to illustrate several parts of the model.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Formele en functionele benaderingen van dialectale variatie

Contains fulltext : 3910.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

The Northern Cities Shift in the Heartland? A Study of Radio Speech in Columbus, Ohio

Variation in vowel height and diphthongal/monophthongal character of the vowels /æ/ and /a/ are studied in the speech of two speakers from central Ohio in order to measure their participation in the sequence of vowel system changes commonly referred to as the Northern Cities Shift (Labov, 1994). The data were gathered from radio shows for which the speakers served as announcers. Determinations of vowel height and diphthongal nature of vowels were made by auditory judgment of the researchers and were correlated with acoustic measurements of F1 and F2 frequencies. The results suggest that the vowel system of the central Ohio dialect is undergoing change, but are inconclusive as to whether this change indicates participation in the Northern Cities Shift. Detailed analyses of social and linguistic factors correlated with the tensing and raising of /æ/ are offered

Dialect Levelling in Limburg : Structural and sociolinguistic aspects /

This volume presents a study of the phenomenon of dialect levelling, the process of the reduction of structural variation. The investigation focuses on an originally rural Limburg dialect of Dutch. The approach is basically quantitatively sociolinguistic, although methods and insights from historical linguistics, dialectology as well as (linear and non-linear) phonological theory also play an important role. After a discussion of the findings, the outlines are sketched of a theory of dialect levelling. The possibilities as well as some of the problems are discussed of an integration of the study of language variation and change on the one hand and formal linguistic theory on the other.This volume presents a study of the phenomenon of dialect levelling, the process of the reduction of structural variation. The investigation focuses on an originally rural Limburg dialect of Dutch. The approach is basically quantitatively sociolinguistic, although methods and insights from historical linguistics, dialectology as well as (linear and non-linear) phonological theory also play an important role. After a discussion of the findings, the outlines are sketched of a theory of dialect levelling. The possibilities as well as some of the problems are discussed of an integration of the study of language variation and change on the one hand and formal linguistic theory on the other.Electronic reproduction.Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ACM, viewed April 03 2015

outcomesfromcontentanalysesandinterpration.pdf

outcomes from content analyses of two internat'l journals and interpretation of patterns (improved version)<br><br>this complements a subsection in Hinskens, F., in Ch. Boberg, J. Nerbonne & D. Watt (eds),  Handbook of Dialectology - to appear 2016 (Wiley Blackwell

Content analysis two internat

<p>Content analysis two internat'l peer-reviewed journals from the point of view of a symbiosis of dialectological and formal theoretical approaches</p