This study presents an acoustic analysis of vowel realisations in contexts where, in Australian English, a historical contrast between unstressed /I/ and /(sic)/ has largely diminished in favour of a central schwa-like variant. The study is motivated by indications that there is greater complexity in this area of vowel variation than has been conventionally set out in the existing literature, and our goal is to shed new light by studying a dataset of conversational speech produced by 40 young speakers from Perth, WA. In doing so, we also offer some critical thoughts on the use of Wells' lexical sets as a framework for analysis in work of this kind, in particular with reference to the treatment of items in unstressed position, and of grammatical (or function) words. The acoustic analysis focused on the realisation in F1/F2 space of a range of /I/ and /(sic)/ variants in both accented and unaccented syllables (thus a broader approach than a focus on stressed kit vowels). For the purposes of comparison, we also analysed tokens of the fleece and happy-tensing lexical sets. Grammatical and non-grammatical words were analysed independently in order to understand the extent to which a high-frequency grammatical word such as it might contribute to the overall pattern of vowel alternation. Our findings are largely consistent with the small amount of previous work that has been carried out in this area, pointing to a continuum of realisations across a range of accented and unaccented contexts. The data suggest that the reduced historical /I/ vowel encountered in unaccented syllables cannot be straightforwardly analysed as a merger with /(sic)/. We also highlight the way in which the grammatical word it participates in this alternation.

Changing patterns of global migration and increasing ethnolinguistic (super)diversity hold sociolinguistic consequences for heritage/community languages (HCL) and majority languages in large urban centres. Studies in different cities have noted the existence of (multi-)ethnolects, which may arise from second language acquisition and/or long-term bilingualism and may take on indexical social value. This chapter compares two majority English-speaking cities in Canada (Toronto) and Australia (Melbourne) that are characterised by increasing ethnolinguistic diversity. Previous research has identified (multi-)ethnolectal behaviour in both cities that has only recently been the subject of systematic investigation. Toronto English shows different overall rates of usage of a range of phonetic/phonological and grammatical/discourse-pragmatic variables, although parallel conditioning of the variation by language-internal factors across younger speakers suggests that speakers share the same underlying system. Previous work on Melbourne English has similarly identified a number of linguistic features characteristic of particular ethnolinguistic background. Adopting the variationist sociolinguistic approach, these projects explore the function of language in constructing and expressing (ethnic) identity in situations of ethnolinguistic (super)diversity and the potential for multiple linguistic systems to co-exist.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction The Nature of Sociophonetic Variability Focusing on Individuals Interpreting Sociophonetic Variability Sociophonetic Variability in Multilingual Contexts Sociophonetic Variability and Clinical Assessment Practical Solutions? Prospects References

This study presents an acoustic analysis of vowel realisations in contexts where, in Australian English, a historical contrast between unstressed /ɪ/ and /ə/ has largely diminished in favour of a central schwa-like variant. The study is motivated by indications that there is greater complexity in this area of vowel variation than has been conventionally set out in the existing literature, and our goal is to shed new light by studying a dataset of conversational speech produced by 40 young speakers from Perth, WA. In doing so, we also offer some critical thoughts on the use of Wells’ lexical sets as a framework for analysis in work of this kind, in particular with reference to the treatment of items in unstressed position, and of grammatical (or function) words. The acoustic analysis focused on the realisation in F1/F2 space of a range of /ɪ/ and /ə/ variants in both accented and unaccented syllables (thus a broader approach than a focus on stressed kit vowels). For the purposes of comparison, we also analysed tokens of the fleece and happy-tensing lexical sets. Grammatical and non-grammatical words were analysed independently in order to understand the extent to which a high-frequency grammatical word such as it might contribute to the overall pattern of vowel alternation. Our findings are largely consistent with the small amount of previous work that has been carried out in this area, pointing to a continuum of realisations across a range of accented and unaccented contexts. The data suggest that the reduced historical /ɪ/ vowel encountered in unaccented syllables cannot be straightforwardly analysed as a merger with /ə/. We also highlight the way in which the grammatical word it participates in this alternation.

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This paper characterizes the perceptual structure of vowel systems in five regional accents of English, from Australia (A), New Zealand (Z), London (L), Yorkshire (Y), and Newcastle upon Tyne (N), on the basis of “whole system” vowel categorization experiments. We established patterns of within-accent vowel confusions, and then explored cross-accent perception, assessing how listeners from one accent background categorize vowels from another. Our experimental task required mapping continuous phonetic dimensions to perceptual categories in the absence of phonotactic and lexical cues to vowel identity and socio-indexical information about the talker. Our results show that, without these sources of information, there is uncertainty in vowel categorization, even for native accent vowels, and that this degree of uncertainty increases for unfamiliar accents. The patterns of cross-accent perception largely reflect the accent-specific perceptual structure of the listener, as opposed to adaptations to the stimulus accents. This finding contrasts with the type of active talker adaptation found with tasks offering lexical information about vowel identity and indexical information about the talker.

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The study of vowel variation has featured prominently in advancing sociophonetic theory and methods, driving technological innovation and motivating the formulation of novel research questions. From the very early days of the discipline, quantitative analysis of vowels has been an enduring presence, with acoustic analysis playing a central role. New approaches to the investigation of vowel variation have led to the development of sophisticated analysis techniques and statistical modeling processes. In this chapter we discuss the antecedents to sociophonetic analysis of vowels, the new insights and methods that ignite our curiosity and advance understanding of socio-indexical vowel variation, and we consider future prospects for the field. We also discuss select methodological and theoretical issues that are the subject of robust debate within the sociophonetic community. Finally, we present a case study illustrating the impact that different analytical approaches can have on the acoustic examination vowels.

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Abstract Sociophonetics research is located at the interface of sociolinguistics and experimental phonetics. Its primary focus is to shed new light on the social-indexical phonetic properties of speech, revealing a wide range of phonetic parameters that map systematically to social factors relevant to speakers and listeners, and the fact that many of these involve particularly fine-grained control of both spatial and temporal dimensions of speech production. Recent methodological developments in acoustic and articulatory methods have yielded new insights into the nature of sociophonetic variation at the scale of entire speech communities as well as in respect of the detailed speech production patterns of individual speakers. The key theoretical dimension of sociophonetic research is to consider how models of speech production, processing, and acquisition should be informed by rapidly increasing knowledge of the ubiquity of social-indexical phonetic variation carried by the speech signal. In particular, this work is focused on inferring from the performance of speakers and listeners how social-indexical phonetic properties are interwoven into phonological representation alongside those properties associated with the transmission and interpretation of lexical-propositional information.

Background/aim It is widely believed that ‘creaky voice’ (‘creak’, ‘vocal fry’, ‘glottal fry’) is increasingly prevalent among some English speakers, particularly among young American women. Motivated by the widespread and cross-disciplinary interest in the phenomenon, this paper offers a systematic review of peer-reviewed research (up to January 2019) on the prevalence of creaky voice in varieties of English. The review aimed to understand whose and what speech has been studied, how creaky voice prevalence has been measured, and what the findings collectively reveal. Method Literature was located by searching four electronic databases (ProQuest, PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science) and the proceedings of two recurrent conferences (‘ICPhS’ and ‘SST’). Studies were included if they reported the prevalence of creaky voice in naturalistic samples of English spoken by vocally-healthy speakers. Reference lists of included studies were cross-checked. Results Only ten studies meeting inclusion criteria were identified. All studies sampled a small number of speakers and/or short durations of speech. Nine were recent studies of American-English speakers, and many of these sampled young, female, college students. Across the ten studies, creaky voice was detected using three types of methods, and prevalence was calculated using five different formulae. The findings show that prevalence varies across groups, individuals, and contexts. However, the precise nature of this variability remains unclear due to the scarcity and methodological heterogeneity of the research. Conclusions This paper illustrated the application of systematic literature review methods in sociophonetic research—a field in which such methods are not common. The review found that creaky voice prevalence in English is not well understood, and that widespread claims of its recent increase among young American women have not been empirically confirmed. A number of specific limitations in the existing research are highlighted, which may serve as a guide for future research design.

Journal of SociolinguisticsVolume 24, Issue 3 p. 410-412 BOOK REVIEW Experimental Research Methods in Sociolinguistics Katie Drager Bloomsbury Academic “Research Methods in Linguistics” series. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. 2018. 216 pp. PB 35.95 USD list price 23.39 GBP; HB 100 USD list price 67.50 GBP; EPUB/MOBI/PDF Ebook 32.35 USD list price 22.45 GBP. Gerard J. Docherty, Gerard J. Docherty gerry.docherty@griffith.edu.au orcid.org/0000-0003-3908-9834 Griffith University, Brisbane, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author Gerard J. Docherty, Gerard J. Docherty gerry.docherty@griffith.edu.au orcid.org/0000-0003-3908-9834 Griffith University, Brisbane, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 04 March 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12411Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume24, Issue3June 2020Pages 410-412 RelatedInformation

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Anecdotal claims of increasing prevalence of creaky voice in varieties of English, particularly among younger female speakers, have piqued the interest of sociophonetic researchers, speech pathologists, and public commentators alike. However, studies quantifying creaky voice prevalence are few in number and modest in scale, possibly because manual annotation of creaky voice – the method most often used for its detection – is time-intensive. Since low F0 characterizes most manifestations of creaky voice, it is conceivable that it can be detected, with a high degree of approximation, using an automated F0based method. This paper describes such an approach, drawing on previous work by Dorreen [7], and explores its application and validity across male and female speakers of Australian English and across speaking tasks. Our findings suggest that our approach is an effective means of estimating creaky voice prevalence, with potential for generating new insights in an area where a reliable evidence base is much-needed.

Analytical tools from Information Theory were used to quantify behaviour in cross-accent vowel perception by Australian, London, New Zealand, Yorkshire and Newcastle UK listeners. Results show that Australian listeners impose expected patterns of perceptual similarity from their own accent experience on unfamiliar accents, regardless of the actual phonetic distance between accents.