Cross-Dialectal Differences in Dynamic Formant Patterns in American English Vowels

Abstract

This chapter provides evidence that vowel inherent spectral change (VISC) can vary systematically across dialects of the same language. The nature and use of VISC in selected “monophthongs” is examined in three distinct dialect regions in the United States. In each dialect area, the dynamic formant pattern is analyzed for five different age groups in order to observe cross-generational change in relation to specific vowel shifts and other vowel changes currently active in each dialect. The dialect regions examined included central Ohio (representing the Midland dialect), southeastern Wisconsin (representing the Inland North whose vowel system is affected by the Northern Cities Shift) and western North Carolina (representing the South whose vowel system is affected by the Southern Vowel Shift). Following a description of these dialect areas, we first introduce principles of chain shifting and the transmission problem, originally developed in the fields of sound change and sociolinguistics. Selective acoustic data are then presented for each dialect region and cross-generational patterns of vowel change are discussed. The chapter concludes that variation in formant trajectories produced between vowel onset and offset (VISC) is central to what differentiates regional variants of American English in the United States. Furthermore, a systematic variation in VISC is found in cross-generational change in acoustic characteristics of vowels within each dialect. The perceptual relevance of this acoustic variation needs to be addressed in future research.