Abstract
An earlier study (Fridland, Bartlett, and Kreuz 2004) showed that listeners in Memphis, Tennessee, judged more perceptually salient those vowel shifts that the local dialect used as opposed to vowel shifts that Memphis had in common with other U.S. dialects. This study examines the perceptions of 209 natives of Memphis in two tasks: recognizing vowel shifts as Southern and rating a range of synthesized variants of ey, E, uw, and ow for level of education and sounding pleasant. In the first part, participants were successful in recognizing vowel variants as Southern. In the second, they discerned slight phonetic shifts and assigned lower ratings for education and pleasantness to those vowel variants that they recognized as most Southern. The results add support to the evidence that perceptual judgments of speech depend on both linguistic and social information.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
