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The formation and development of New Zealand English: interaction of gender-related variation and linguistic change
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 00:30 authored by Nicola WoodsThis research assesses the relative roles played by men and women in the development of New Zealand English. Real-time evidence on the development of NZ English over the past fifty years is provided by comparison of speakers recorded in 1948 and their present day descendants recorded recently. Elements of two vowel shifts are studied, and particular attention is paid to the vowel variables in words such as MOUTH, TRAP and DRESS. Results indicate that women lead in changes which are new and dynamic, but lag behind men in the use of variables representing older changes. While these results mirror patterns of gender-related variation observed in other contexts, explanations in terms of prestige which are often assumed to account for this pattern of variation are found to be inadequate in the New Zealand case. Rather, a hypothesis in terms of dialect contact, and specifically women’s preferred discourse strategies in contact situations, is used to explain the process and progress of linguistic change in NZ English.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Journal Of SociolinguisticsISSN
1360-6441Publisher
Blackwell PublishingExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
1Page range
95 - 125ISBN
1360-6441Department affiliated with
- English Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06Usage metrics
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