PHONOLOGYCAL VARIATION AND CHANGE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH: EVIDENCE FROM NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE AND DERBY

This paper gives an overview of the principal findings of a recent project carried out on phonological variation and change in contemporary urban dialects, using quantitative sociolinguistic methods, instrumental phonetic, and phonological analysis. Conversational and word-list data were sistematically collected from 32 Tyneside and 32 Derby speakers, each sample being stratified to include equal numbers of men and woman, two age-groups and two social class groups. This sample design allowed us to assesss the impact of age, class, and gender on patterns of language variation and change as well as the geographical domains of specific changers. The principal results are described and their theoretical implications are phonetics.Este trabajo ofrece un resumen de un proyecto de investigación centrado en la variación y el cambio fonológico en inglés oral contemporáneo. Se han estudiado tendencias de variación y cambio fonológico en distintos dialécticos urbanos del inglés contemporáneo aplicando métodos de sociolingüistica cuantitativa, de fonética acústica e instrumental y de análisis fonológico. Los datos proceden de 32 informantes de Tyneside y 32 de Derby, cada uno de estos dos grupos incluía el mismo número de hombres y mujeres y distinguía dos grupos de edades y dos clases sociales. Los datos se obtuvieron, en ambos casos, a partir de la lectura de listas de palabras o de conversaciones con los informantes. Esta muestra nos ha permitido evaluar la influencia que factores como la edad, la clase social y el sexo en las distintas tendencias de variación y cambio lingüístico que se analizan, además de ofrecernos información sobre los ámbitos geográficos de algunos cambios concretos. Tanto los resultados de este proyecto, como sus implicaciones teóricas se describen en el artículo

Quality of life in lung cancer patients: does socioeconomic status matter?

BACKGROUND: As part of a prospective study on quality of life in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients an investigation was carried out to examine whether there were differences among patients' quality of life scores and their socioeconomic status. METHODS: Quality of life was measured at two points in time (baseline and three months after initial treatment) using three standard instruments; the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), the European Organization for Research and Cancer Treatment Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and its lung cancer supplement (QLQ-LC13). Socioeconomic status for each individual patient was derived using Carstairs and Morris Deprivation Category ranging from 1 (least deprived) to 7 (most deprived) on the basis of the postcode sector of their address. RESULTS: In all, 129 lung cancer patients entered into the study. Of these data for 82 patients were complete (at baseline and follow-up). 57% of patients were of lower socioeconomic status and they had more health problems, less functioning, and more symptoms as compared to affluent patients. Of these, physical mobility (P = 0.05), energy (P = 0.01), role functioning (P = 0.04), physical functioning (P = 0.03), and breathlessness (P = 0.02) were significant at baseline. However, at follow-up assessment there was no significant difference between patient groups nor did any consistent pattern emerge. CONCLUSION: At baseline assessment patients of lower socioeconomic status showed lower health related quality of life. Since there was no clear trend at follow-up assessment this suggests that patients from different socioeconomic status responded to treatment similarly. In general, the findings suggest that quality of life is not only the outcome of the disease and its treatment, but is also highly dependent on each patients' socioeconomic characteristics

Does knowledge of cancer diagnosis affect quality of life? A methodological challenge

BACKGROUND: As part of an assessment of quality of life in lung cancer patients an investigation was carried out to examine whether the knowledge of their diagnosis affected their quality of life. METHODS: Every patient in a defined geographical area with a potential diagnosis of lung cancer was interviewed at first consultation and after a definitive treatment has been given. Quality of life was assessed using three standard measures: the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), the EORTC quality of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and its lung cancer supplementary questionnaire (QLQ-LC13). Comparison was made in quality of life scores between patients who knew their cancer diagnosis and those who did not. RESULTS: In all, 129 lung cancer patients were interviewed. Of these, 30 patients (23%) knew and 99 (78%) did not know their cancer diagnosis at the time of baseline assessment. The patient groups were similar in their characteristics except for age (P = 0.04) and cell type (P < 0.0001). Overall, there were no significant differences between these two groups with regard to their scores on the three instruments used. A major finding was that both group scored almost the same on emotional reactions (P = 0.8) and social isolation (P = 1.0) as measured by the NHP, and emotional (P = 0.7) and social functioning (P = 1.0) as measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30. In addition there were no significant differences in patients' symptom scores between those who knew their diagnosis and those who did not, nor did any consistent pattern emerge. The only significant difference was for sleep difficulties (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the knowledge of cancer diagnosis does not affect the way in which patients respond to quality of life questionnaires

Exploring contested authenticity among speakers of a contested language: the case of ‘Francoprovençal'

This paper explores the notion of speaker authenticity in the context of obsolescent ‘Francoprovençal’: a highly fragmented grouping of Romance varieties spoken in parts of France, Italy, and Switzerland by less than 1% of the total regional population. While Francoprovençal has long been losing ground to the dominant language(s) with which it is in contact, new speakers have begun to emerge within the context of revitalisation movements and activities geared more favourable language planning policies and increased literacy. The emergence of these new speakers has polarised native-speaker communities, and has blurred the lines associated with the traditional view of sociolinguistic authenticity. Through an analysis of qualitative data collected in 2012, this article argues in particular that it may not be sufficient to simply examine contested authenticities from a native–non-native perspective, but rather it is important to consider how new speakers might themselves form a complex spectrum of speaker types with new sets of tensions as has been argued elsewhere

Labov in sociolinguistics: An introduction

This theme issue marks fifty years since the publication of William Labov's Social Stratification of English in New York City, the foundation study of variationist sociolinguistics. This Introduction offers the editors' rationale for the shape of the issue. We briefly survey the innovations and impact of the New York study, together with the subsequent development of the field by Labov and others. We then touch on several strands of Labov's contribution to sociolinguistics: language change, linguistic evaluation, methodological innovation, African American English, language and the individual, and language style. We conclude with a reflection on Labov's commitment to the study of language in society

Voice as a design material : sociophonetic inspired design strategies in Human-Computer Interaction

While there is a renewed interest in voice user interfaces (VUI) in HCI, little attention has been paid to the design of VUI voice output beyond intelligibility and naturalness. We draw on the field of sociophonetics - the study of the social factors that influence the production and perception of speech - to highlight how current VUIs are based on a limited and homogenised set of voice outputs. We argue that current systems do not adequately consider the diversity of peoples’ speech, how that diversity represents sociocultural identities, and how voices have the potential to shape user perceptions and experiences. Ultimately, as other technological developments have influenced the ideologies of language, the voice outputs of VUIs will influence the ideologies of speech. Based on our argument, we pose three design strategies for VUI voice output design - individualisation, context awareness, and diversification - to motivate new ways of conceptualising and designing these technologies