Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Firm-Level Analysis of the Occupational Effects on Southern U.S. English

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

Sociolinguists have traditionally found strong correlations between occupation and linguistic variables. Some approaches rest on the assumption that occupational effects arise from the differential social needs and goals that speakers have in different occupations. However, this perspective has never been investigated using large-scale, quantitative data within a single workplace. The current study is an analysis of the use of six Southern vowels by speakers in a range of occupations within a single firm. The current study will address: 1) whether required job skills correlate with Southern features 2) which features individuals manipulate on the job versus in casual settings 3) experiences of linguistic discrimination within the workplace. This work investigates the use of Southern features among workers at a single technology firm, providing a more nuanced picture of the relationship between occupation and linguistic features. Individuals may show linguistic grouping based on different job skills illustrating the role of the workplace in sorting individuals into the groups seen in the aggregate. With the addition of stylistic data from casual, work, and interview settings, this study can more accurately pinpoint which Southern features speakers avoid for workplace situations. Lastly, speakers' recounting of experiences of linguistic discrimination within the workplace will highlight the social consequences that Southern speakers may face on the job. This study will further our understanding of how linguistic discrimination operates within the workplace, and it will specifically identify which features of the Southern Vowel Shift receive the greatest degree of stigma. The specific experiences of linguistic discrimination will help to bring awareness to the importance of language in promoting subconscious discriminatory practices, allowing for public policy that directly addresses these issues. Direct evidence tying the use of stigmatized dialect features with negative social outcomes will provide the foundation for legal protections for workers who speak with non-standard dialects.