Dialect Features Research Articles

Phonology of Savu Language Mehara Dialect: Descriptive Generative

Savu language, Mehara dialect is the language of the Savu indigenous people located in Savu island, Savu Raijua district, East Nusa Tengggara province. This paper only focuses on the Mehara dialect of Savu language. The purpose of this research is to reveal the sound process or phonology of Savu language in Mehara dialect. In this article, the theory used is the Generative phonology approach with qualitative methods. The result of this paper is that Savu language Mehara dialect has 25 phonemes consisting of 6 vowel phonemes and 19 consonant phonemes. Each of these phonemes is a phoneme of origin that can form base morphemes phonetically. (1) Mehara dialect of Savu language has 11 syllable structures. (2). Mehara dialect has 2 phonological processes, namely the process of deletion, and the process of adding glottal [ ' ]. (3). Mehara Savu dialect is a vocalic language because there are no consonants at the end of words. (4). Another prominent feature of Mehara dialect is the sound segments: bilabial aspirate /bh/, dental aspirate /dh/, palatal aspirate /dj/, and velar aspirate /gh/

The North Ukrainian Dialect of Vyšneve in the East Slavic Context: Towards a Final Description (part 2)

Abstract This paper continues an article devoted to the linguistic description of the local dialect of Vyšneve, cf. DiG 30 (2022), 23–49. The present study, as previously mentioned, completes a piece of a more comprehensive dialectal and sociolinguistic research on the dialects spoken along the Ukrainian-Belarusian and, to a minor extent, Russian borders. This is a territorial segment located in the eastern Polissian macro region and, more precisely, in the north-western part of the Region of Černihiv (Ukraine). In this continuation, the analysed material describes basic verbal morphology, the ways of expressing modality, the most evident syntactic and lexical features of this local dialect.

Cross-generational Dialect Familiarity and Use in Oman: The Case of Al-Hamra

Although a number of researchers have focused on describing the unique linguistic features of various Omani dialects, relatively little attention has been paid to their cross-generational familiarity and use. The current study investigated this issue by exploring the abilities of 95 young (20 years or younger) Al-Hamra residents to provide the meanings and correct usage of 20 words identified as being characteristic of the traditional Al-Hamra dialect. Sixty-one elderly residents (60 years or older) were also asked to perform the same task for vocabulary representing the speech of younger residents. Results indicate a limited understanding of, and ability to use, words from the traditional Al-Hamra dialect among younger residents, with elderly respondents also struggling to understand vocabulary selected from the younger group’s speech. Findings suggest that, in addition to limited cross-generational understanding of the speech typifying younger and older groups in the region, younger people may be losing familiarity with the traditional Al-Hamra dialect. The paper discusses factors that may impact on the situation, and offers ways, such as encouraging wider use of the traditional Al-Hamra dialect in the community and creating lexical resources of dialectical words and phrases, of helping preserve this part of Oman’s unique cultural and linguistic landscape.
 Keywords: Al-Hamra dialect, cross-generational change, dialect loss/shift, Oman, vocabulary recognition.

İDİL BULGAR VE ÇUVAŞ TÜRKÇELERİNDE SIRA SAYISI YAPIMI

Volga Bulgarian Turkic have been classified in the Bulgarian group of Turkic dialects. It was documented through tombstones dating back 13-14. centuries. These tombstones contain a limited amount of language material due to the limited content and lack of space. Despite all the limitations, it was possible to determine the system and features of this historical Turkic dialect. In this study, the ordinal numbers in the Volga Bulgar inscriptions were examined and the suffixes involved in the derivation of these numbers were discussed. In addition to these, suffixes used in this function in Chuvash Turkic were also included.

Ģenitīva prievārdu rekcijas īpatnības lībiskā dialekta Kurzemes izloksnēs

The government of prepositions in modern Latvian literary language has strict norms depending on various factors: preposition, number, gender, meaning, etc. However, the system of preposition government is different and inconsistent in Kurzeme Livonic subdialects. Older sources of Latvian written language and Latvian grammar also point to an unstable government. Until now, in Latvian dialectology, researchers have repeatedly pointed out that the use of genitive preposition with the governed word in the accusative case can be called a traditional feature of Livonic dialect, but it is often impossible to determine a clear grammatical case because of the reduction of the vowel of last syllable, so sometimes the accusative and genitive forms are identical. The aim of the article is to consider and map the preposition uz, pie, pēc and no government in all Kurzeme subdialects of Livonic dialect, where the governed words are singular. The descriptive method and cartography method that describes and compares prepositions and their government are used in the article.

A corpus study on the relationship between focus and accent in natural speech in Mandarin Chinese

This paper aims to explore the relationship between focus and accent, namely, whether the focus of a sentence possesses some acoustic features of accent. Previous studies suggest that focused words depict different patterns of acoustic prominence embedded in accent. According to previous evidence found in English, pitch and duration are two crucial factors contributing to differentiating focused and unfocused words. Therefore, pitch and duration are the main two factor considered in this study. Studies in aspect of the relationship between focus and accent and their realization in the phonetic level in natural speech are insufficient. Therefore, this study aims to provide support for the connection between focus and accent in natural speech in Mandarin. Based on 24 sentences from three native Mandarin speakers selected from a Chinese corpus, THCHS-30, published by Tsinghua University, this study extracts the narrow-focused words, broad-focused words, and the corresponding unfocused-words as the main subjects and analyses their mutual relationships. Results support the symmetric relationship between focus and accent. Focused words show phonetic features of accent and words with no obvious phonetic prominence of accent are unlikely to be considered as focus. Focus triggers a decrease in F0 values and an increase in duration of focused words. Linear mixed effects tests in R suggest that a major effect of narrow and broad focus in causing F0 and duration changes has not been deducted, but narrow focus conditions can result in duration proportion increase of narrow focused words compared to broad focused ones.

REPRESENTATION OF DIALECTISMS IN THE PROSE OF YURIY VYNNYCHUK: PHONETIC ELEMENTS

The article is devoted to the study of the Naddniester dialect units, in particular, to the study of their individual authorial specificity in the fiction. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the specifics of the Naddnistrian dialect units and their local phonetic features in the prose works of Yu. Vynnychuk. Objectives of the study: to highlight the specifics of the writer’s work with dialectal units; to characterize the phonetic features of the Naddnistrian dialect and its nomination; to form a corpus of Naddnistrian dialectal units used by the writer at the phonetic level; to identify and characterize the specifics of the representation of dialectal elements in the prose works of Yu. Vynnychuk at the phonetic level of the language structure. The object of the study is the language of Yuriy Vynnychuk’s prose works, which contain dialect elements. The subject of the study is the Naddnistrian lexical dialects (in particular, their phonetic features) in the works of Y. Vynnychuk. The source material is based on Yuriy Vynnychuk’s novels “Tango of Death”, “Malva Landa” and the collection of short stories “Windows of Frozen Time”. The study of the factual material was conducted in the aspect of synchrony on the basis of the general scientific method of observation and description of linguistic phenomena. The methods of external and internal interpretation are applied. The specificity of the Naddnestrian linguistic elements is established by means of the comparative method, the method of contextual analysis allowed to fix the dialectal features at all language levels and to establish the meaning of a certain lexeme in a certain context. The corpus of the Naddnestrian dialectal units used by the writer is formed and the phonetic units of the Naddnestrian dialect are distinguished (in the suffix -sk- the sound [s′] turns into [s]; cases of apocopy; the presence of alegroforms; alternation of [o] with [i] and [o] with zero sound; transition in unstressed position of [e] to [i]; assimilation by softness of front dental hard consonants; regressive adjacent dissimilation by the method of formation: [чт] > [шт]; transition of [а] to [е] after soft and hissing consonants; use of prothetic [г], [в] at the beginning of the word before vowels; transition of unstressed [о] to [у]; absence of insertive [l] after labial; depalatalization of [р]; use of mn instead of mj). It is proved that the phonetic linguistic elements used are sufficiently representative of the Naddniester dialect. The selected phonetic dialects are a stylistic category; their use is subject to artistic attitudes, i.e., the reproduction of the character’s natural speech, an indication of his belonging to a certain ethnographic group. Prospects for further study of the stated problem are seen in a thorough study of dialect units in contemporary fiction, in particular the Naddniester dialect, since it is one of the least studied in this aspect.

Home language variation in the narratives of urban First Nations Australian children in their first year of school

ABSTRACT First Nations children may speak a dialect of English that has different grammatical rules from Standard Australian English (school language). Limited studies have investigated Aboriginal English (home language) dialect in First Nations children and its impact on differential diagnosis of language disorder. This study measured the density of home language dialect and grammatical accuracy in oral narratives produced by typically developing First Nations children. Non-standardised assessment narrative protocols were used to elicit language samples from 27 Australian First Nations children aged 4.5–6 years. Local home language dialectal features were coded into the sample and grammatical accuracy was calculated separately for school language and home language. All children displayed some use of home language features. The most common home language features used were alternative use of regular past tense and irregular past tense, zero use of regular and irregular past tense, and alternative use of pronouns. Dialect density varied highly amongst participants. Grammatical accuracy was higher for home language than school language. Speech pathologists and teachers need to be aware of differences between home and school language for First Nations children to avoid misdiagnosis of language disorder. More research is required to gain normative data that informs culturally appropriate assessment practices for this population.

MATERIALS OF DIALECTOLOGICAL PRACTICE AS A SOURCE OF THE STUDY OF MODERN MIDDLE POLISSYA DIALECTS

The article confirms the status of the materials of dialectological practice as an important source for the study of Ukrainian dialects from the position of synchrony in general and the study of the modern state of Middle Polissya dialects in particular, given the possibility of recording colloquial speech with the help of various technical devices, which enables its authenticity and reliability. Records of samples of dialectal connected speech, recorded by students of Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko during dialectological practice in 2022–2023 from native speakers of mostly older generations, testify to the preservation of defining dialectal features primarily at the phonetic and morphological levels, which are the most static and undergo the least changes, compared, for example, with the lexical one. The analyzed dialect texts most clearly demonstrate the presence of phonetic features in the realm of vocalism, in particular, the functioning of the sounds of heterogeneous articulation [o] and [e] both in the place of etymological counterparts, and ѣ as a reflex, the absence of [i] and its replacement by other sounds (for example, [i] – in the northern regions Zhytomyr Oblast, [иі] – a bit further south, while the last feature led to a significant number of palatalized sounds, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the presence of dispalatalization of a number of consonant sounds, which has been known in the studied area for a long time. Among the morphological features, the most obvious are the presence of full uncontracted forms of adjectives, pronouns and numerals, truncated forms of adjectives, numerals, pronouns in the masculine singular nominative case, preservation of the ancient ending -e in neuter nouns, the function of the ancient infinitive in -t, etc. At the same time, the materials of dialectological practice actualized a number of problems, which mostly due to extralinguistic factors (the Russian-Ukrainian war, the migration of people from the occupied territories or those where hostilities are ongoing to the territory of Polissya, the migration of the Poleschuks themselves from areas bordering Belarus, the decrease in the number of the autochthonous population, the presence of education in the majority of the inhabitants-speakers etc.) appear every time before dialectologists in the process of collecting speaking material and its subsequent interpretation. In general, the Middle Polissya ethnolinguistic continuum demonstrates durability and continuity in linguistic terms from the most ancient state to the present.

Open syllable lengthening and diphthongisation in Upper Middle High German: evidence from verse

Despite a long history of scholarly interest, the relative chronologies (and even origins) of open syllable lengthening (OSL) and the diphthongisation of the Middle High German (MHG) high vowels remain unclear. This paper, drawing on orthographic evidence from a thirteenth-century Parzival MS, St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 857, provides new insights into these two key changes. The changes either maintained or increased the quantity of stressed vowels, leading to a net increase in the quantity of stressed syllables in MHG. Diphthongisation simply altered the segmental quality of already long monophthongs; only OSL increased the quantity of the vowels it affected. This paper argues that OSL was not a feature of the South Bavarian dialect of Cod. 857’s Hand III, although his dialect had certainly undergone diphthongisation. It is difficult to reconcile this picture with claims by Penzl, Kranzmayer and Wiesinger that OSL was present throughout the Bavarian dialect area by 1200. This paper challenges claims that diphthongisation was triggered by OSL via a phonological push-chain, maintaining that the two changes were independent. It is furthermore suggested that the scribe is uninterested in marking vocalic quantity, which—in the absence of OSL—was still consistent across inflexional paradigms. Instead, he uses the circumflex “length marker” to indicate diphthongal quality. The scribes’ dialect thus represents a key turning point: diphthongisation was well progressed, but OSL had yet to occur.

EXTRALINGUISTIC STOPPERS AS THE BASIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL SPACE WITHIN A LANGUAGE FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

This article discusses the features of linguistic and cultural accents within the language for special purposes of the forest cluster. The most functional and productive markers in this sense are linguistic and extralinguistic stoppers involved in the special spaсе of the profile text. Stoppers participate in the process of information exchange based on ethnic realities, strengthen communication in the field of forestry, nature management, logging and woodworking with precedent fragments of a specific geolocative linguistic and cultural environment.

CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF ENGLISH DIALECTS

This article evaluates the current status of criteria development used for classifying dialects in modern English in Great Britain. Traditionally, regional criteria have been utilized, but this study explores the incorporation of urban, professional, and ethnic dialects in addition to rural regional dialects. The paper examines the classification hierarchy, which starts with geographical regions of the south and north and further expands into subzones and counties. Further utilized criteria are related to the type of locality, and it entails analysing the distinctions between dialects spoken in urban and rural areas, as well as migration and ethnicity. The study emphasizes the significance of creating more precise and comprehensive criteria for dialect classification, given the expanding scope of studying dialectal features and the association between dialect and social status.

Yorkshire folk versus Yorkshire boors: evidence for sociological fractionation in nineteenth-century Yorkshire dialect writing

In this article I illustrate the discourses surrounding enregistered Yorkshire dialect and identity which appear to demonstrate sociological fractionation (Agha 2007) in nineteenth-century texts including dialect literature and literary dialect (Shorrocks 1996), dialect poems, ballads, songs, dialogues, and the dialect from Yorkshire characters in novels and plays. The emergent discourses highlight perceptions of Yorkshire characters in literary texts as boors who use generic enregistered (Agha 2003) ‘Yorkshire’ dialect, whereas many local writers contest these representations and argue that the dialect used by literary characters is inaccurate. Moreover, we can observe quantifiable differences in the representations of dialect features in writing aimed at local versus wider audiences. This also correlates with a broader range of social identities depicted for Yorkshire speakers in dialect literature than in literary dialect. I conclude that the recirculation of these discourses is evidence of sociological fractionation, as we see local writers acting as an ingroup challenging and contesting the views and identities portrayed by an outgroup. At the centre of these discourses, we can consistently observe discussion and use of enregistered Yorkshire dialect, which illustrates the additional ideological complexity of the links between language and identity in the nineteenth century.

Socioeconomic Factors and Language Variation in Punjabi Speech Communities

Introduction: The social structures and linguistic diversity of Pakistan have garnered global attention. The intricate relationship between these factors arises from the coexistence of multiple languages, each intricately tied to specific social strata. Social status often correlates with language use: English is favored by the elite and upper class, while Urdu is more prevalent among the middle class. Regional languages are commonly employed by rural residents and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite these variations, Pakistani society maintains a delicate balance between social stratification and linguistic richness, resulting in a culturally diverse environment. Methodology: This research explores the complex correlation between dialect variations and language attitudes within the district of Punjab, Pakistan. With its intriguing history and rich heritage, Punjab is the country's most populous and culturally diverse region? Its inhabitants represent diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds, making it an ideal setting for studying language attitudes. By examining dialect variation, we seek to enhance our understanding of its influence on language attitudes and its impact on the linguistic landscape of Punjab. To achieve our objectives, we employ a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data analysis will comprehensively examine various dialectal features, while qualitative inquiry will elucidate community members' perceptions of these variations. Integrating these two methodologies allows us to unravel the dynamics of dialectal variation in the region. Results/Findings: Researchers comprehensively evaluated the vast variety of Punjabi dialects spoken in both urban and rural parts of Punjab. Data gathering involved surveys, interviews, and sociolinguistic observations. The results revealed an intricate configuration of dialect diversity shaped by urbanization, socioeconomic standing, and educational attainment. Additionally, the study explored the influence of other regional dialects on society, emphasizing language's role in shaping individual and group identities. Future Direction: The research emphasized the importance of language in influencing identity by examining how specific dialects are perceived in connection with linguistic prestige and social standing. Furthermore, the influence of social institutions news channels, educational institutions, and dialect diversity on linguistic perspectives and attitudes was observed. This study conducted an exhaustive examination of the intricate linguistic terrain of Punjab, Pakistan. The findings shed light on language policy and social identity implications, providing valuable insights for policymakers and researchers. Considering the impact of language policies, further exploration is needed to determine how they can facilitate or impede the spread of dialects. Understanding these dynamics will contribute to informed decisions regarding language preservation and propagation in Punjab.

Диалектизмы и архаизмы в охотничьей лексике якутского языка (на материале «Краткого словаря якутского языка» Г. Ф. Сивцева)

The aim of the research is to identify the dialect features and archaisms of the hunting vocabulary of the Yakut language. The paper analyzes dialectisms and archaisms in the hunting vocabulary of the Yakut language found in Gavriil Fedotovich Sivtsev’s “A Short Dictionary of the Yakut Language”. The research is novel in that it is the first in Yakut studies to identify archaisms and variants of dialects of terminological vocabulary involving the material of G. F. Sivtsev’s “A Short Dictionary of the Yakut Language”. In total, 15 dialectisms and 9 archaisms were analyzed. As a result, it has been determined that the literary word куобах ‘hare’ has the most dialect variants, which is explained by its wide area of distribution. Some names related to hunting in the modern Yakut language are used in other meanings, mainly figurative ones. Most of the names considered have a common Turkic origin and a Yakut origin, however, there are a small number of borrowed words from Russian, Mongolian and Evenki. Hunting-related dialectisms and archaisms recorded in this dictionary can serve as a valuable resource for extending the terminological vocabulary of the Yakut language.

Dialectal Features of the Popular Novel Barlaam and Josaphat

The aim of my research is drawing attention to the linguistic characteristics of Romanian manuscript 588 from the Library of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest. The manuscript contains the oldest known copy of the translation of Barlaam and Josaphat made by Udriște Năsturel in 1648. It does not contain any information about the scribe of this particular text. The manuscript predominantly exhibits phonetic features specific to the norm of the southern or Wallachian variant: protonic [ă] > [a] (pahar), the anticipation of the palatal element in the following syllable (câinele, mâine, pâine), [î] > [u] through assimilation (să umblu, se umplu), the soft pronounciation of the labials [p], [b], [m] and labiodentals [f], [v] in strong position (trupească, iubesc, merg, sfeatnic, veșmânt), the hard pronunciation of [d] (dăstul, dălunga, dăstoinic), [dz] > [z] (boteza, Dumnezeu, ziuă), [ǧ] ˃ [j] (ajutor, joc, județ) etc. In addition to phonetic features specific to the southern area, which are due to the translator, the manuscript under investigation presents some peculiarities that point to Oltenia and the western part of Muntenia, reflecting the dialect spoken by the scribe: the change of [ă] protonic to [a] in the words sarac and vrajimașului, the hard pronunciation of [ș] in așâjderea, and the preservation of the diphthong […a] in a stressed medial position as seen in examples such as întunearec, nădeajde and putearea.

Putting local dialect in the mix: Indexicality and stylization in a TikTok challenge

This paper investigates the role of local dialect forms and other semiotic signs in languagecultural practices on social media in the southern Dutch province North Brabant. Although dialect use is severely decreasing in this area, we find abundant dialect features in present-day media productions, but these are not simply some last remains. By conducting a qualitative discourse analysis of a carnivalesque music video (2020), we argue that non-linguistic resources and co-occurring dialect features are enregistered as recognizably ‘Brabantish’ for the purpose of indexing place-based identities. Moreover, we show that reproduction on TikTok (2021) takes place through recontextualization and indexical stance-taking.

Zur Notwendigkeit eines textsortendifferenzierten Herangehens an mittelalterliche Stadtbücher

Abstract This article connects the existing results of the study of the language of the medieval city chancellery of Cracow, which was conducted without distinguishing individual entries into the text types they represent, with the results of the analysis of the language in testamentary records. Wills, as a type of text, appear in city records as a mass source. It seems that the previous claim as to an almost unconditional avoidance of dialectal features in the city registry must undergo some reconsideration depending not only on the producer of the text, but also the entire context of the communicative situation and the type of text that is the written product of a social activity. The analy-sis not only verifies previous assertions, but also draws attention to a new research perspective on medieval city books, which is worth applying to the selection of the research corpus. The author also refers to her earlier contributions in the field of the syntactic research on the medieval city chancellery.

The Impact of Kadatua Dialect on Students' English Pronunciation

This paper presents descriptive quantitative research investigating how the Kadatua dialect can influence the English pronunciation of second-grade students of SMPN 1 Maginti. The subjects of this study were 8 second-grade students at SMPN 1 Maginti with Kadatua ethnic background. The research instrument used was an interview and a test. The test was done by asking students to read a list of several English words to record and analyse their pronunciation. The results show that Kadatua dialect influenced students’ pronunciation of the following sounds: /?/, /æ/, /??/, /??/, /a?/, /??/, /e?/, /??/, /ð/, /?/, and /?/. Although some sounds cannot be pronounced correctly, it does not mean they are affected because these sounds do not exist in the Kadatua dialect alone. This would mean that the Kadatua dialect does not affect the overall students' English pronunciation. Some of the sounds that are not influenced by the Kadatua dialect are as follow: /?/, /?/, /i?/, /u?/, /??/, /??/ /e/, /e?/, /a?/, /??/, /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/, /t?/,/d?/, /f/, /s/, /z/, /?/, /h/, /m/, /n/, /?/, /l/, /r/, /j/, and /w/. Although these sounds can be pronounced properly and correctly, it does not mean that all these sounds are only found in the Kadatua dialect. This ease of pronunciation is identified because of the dialect features similarity of Kadatua with English language.

Second dialect acquisition and phonetic vowel reduction in the American Midwest

Geographic mobility can lead to the acquisition of new regional dialect features. This second dialect acquisition is highly variable across individuals and is affected by a range of linguistic and social factors. The realization of dialect-specific features is also affected by linguistic variables related to phonetic reduction, but this interaction has been primarily examined with a mix of mobile and non-mobile participants. In the current study, second dialect acquisition by Midwestern American young adults and its interaction with phonetic reduction processes was examined. Relative to lifetime residents of the Northern and Midland regions of American English, some Northern transplants to the Midland region exhibited second dialect acquisition and others exhibited maintenance of Northern dialect features. All talkers showed phonetic reduction due to lexical frequency, phonological neighborhood density, discourse mention, semantic predictability, and speaking style. These phonetic reduction processes only weakly interacted with dialect variation, such that less phonetic reduction was observed overall when it was potentially in conflict with dialect-specific vowel features. Taken together, the results provide additional evidence for substantial individual variation in second dialect acquisition, but limited evidence of an effect of second dialect acquisition on the interaction between dialect variation and phonetic reduction processes.