Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ethnicity, Substrate Effects, and Sound Change in New York City

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Ethnicity and race have been pivotal in analyses of linguistic variation in the United States. A strong ethnic identity and non-alignment with the majority "white" group has been commonly taken to account for the presence of distinct features, as well as the absence of regional dialect features, in the speech of minority groups. This dissertation research aims to further our understanding of the social and linguistic factors that determine an ethnic group's choice of variables by investigating how the speech of white ethnics (Polish Americans) who grew up in a majority minority setting (New York City) reflects their complex identities. With the goal of unpacking speakers' complex identities, such as "Polish", "white" and "New Yorker", this research analyzes the co-occurrence of potential substrate effects from Polish and regional features of New York City English in the speech of individual speakers. On the linguistic level, this research investigates whether the presence of one substrate effect entails the presence of another, and whether the presence of one substrate effect can block the adoption of a regional feature. On the social level, through a self-reported Polish orientation survey, this research explores whether a strong Polish cultural orientation and frequent use of Polish are good predictors of the occurrence and rates of substrate effects. Social and linguistic data will be collected through sociolinguistic interviews with first and second generation bilingual Polish Americans. Additional data will come from reading tasks, a Polish cultural orientation survey, and ethnographic observations. This research will be of interest to educators and parents of bilingual children whose foreign accents may cause them stigmatization in schools, the workforce, and the legal system due to negative language attitudes. A deeper understanding of how a speaker's first language (L1) can influence the second language (L2) could help educators and caregivers to distinguish ethnic features from learning disabilities. Funding this award will enhance the training of a promising graduate student.