Sociophonetic trends in studies of Southern U.S. English.

Abstract

Although the U.S. South was usually avoided for phonetic studies in earlier years, phonetic analyses of Southern U.S. English have expanded in numerous directions in recent years. Studies of vocalic variation have dominated the enterprise, with a broad range of studies that have examined the phonetic peculiarities and distribution of variants within the region, the characteristics of particular communities, and the phonetic attributes of African American and Latino groups. However, other phonetic phenomena are finally seeing more study. Several consonantal variables have attracted acoustic analysis. Other studies have focused on intonation and certain timing-related phenomena. Numerous experimental studies have tested the abilities of listeners to identify dialects and a few other perceptual issues. These developments are outlined here, including advancements in segmental, prosodic, and perceptual analyses.