Apparent-time study of interdental-stopping among English-monolingual Finnish- and Italian-heritage Michiganders

Abstract

The production of coronal oral stops in place of interdental fricatives, referred to as interdental-stopping, has been documented in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) [3, 2], as well as, in other ethnic-heritage influenced English varieties. However, there is a lack of quantitative inquiry into the degree to which this salient feature is present among Michigan UP's now predominantly monolingual English-speaking communities; recent studies have focused primarily on the last remaining older-aged bilinguals [1]. Michigan’s UP is in an ideal position to examine to what extent this feature is present among a rural and predominantly monolingual English-speaking community. The present study examines 40 Finnish-Americans and 44 Italian-Americans, whom are all monolingual speakers from Michigan’s Marquette County. Both samples are stratified by age, sex, and socioeconomic status. All data are obtained from a passage task. To what degree, if any, does stopping occur among the Finnish- and Italian-heritage monolingual-English speaking communities? This study reveals interdental-stopping occurring most often among working-class males but least among Italian middle- and younger-aged groups. The study's apparent-time construct highlights a potential change in the covert prestige that has been typically associated with this feature among the older generation [1]. The decrease of interdental-stopping among the younger generation indicates a shift in the feature's prestige within the community.