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==Phonology== | ==Phonology== | ||
[[File:Whitsoot english vowels.png|thumb|right|Averaged vowel formants for speakers from Whitsoot. Note the heavily fronted /oʊ/ in words like ''sew'', ''rowed'', ''mown'', and ''bow'' (for a violin), and the backed /o/ in words like ''so'', ''road'', ''moan'', and ''beau''.]] | [[File:Whitsoot english vowels.png|thumb|right|Averaged vowel formants for speakers from Prichette County, Oregon, including Whitsoot and many of its suburbs. Note the heavily fronted /oʊ/ in words like ''sew'', ''rowed'', ''mown'', and ''bow'' (for a violin), and the backed /o/ in words like ''so'', ''road'', ''moan'', and ''beau''.]] | ||
Whitsoot English is distinguished by the following phonological features: | Whitsoot English is distinguished by the following phonological features: | ||
* Like most American English, Whitsoot English is firmly rhotic; /r/ is realized as the typical Western American [ɻ~ɻʷ]. | * Like most American English, Whitsoot English is firmly rhotic; /r/ is realized as the typical Western American [ɻ~ɻʷ]. | ||
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* The sew-so split, a feature unique to Whitsoot English, which involves /oʊ/ splitting into two phonemes: | * The sew-so split, a feature unique to Whitsoot English, which involves /oʊ/ splitting into two phonemes: | ||
:* A fronted vowel whose quality can range from [ɜʊ~əʊ] to [øː~øʉ]. This is used after [[w:coronal consonant|coronal consonants]] except before /l/ and labial consonants (''soak'', ''note'', ''stoat'', ''dose'', ''joke'' - but not ''soul'', ''dope'', ''Toby''), in open syllables (''sew'', ''mow'', ''row''), and in conjugations of these morphologically open syllables (''sewed'', ''mown'', ''rows'' - but not ''soda'', ''moan'', or ''rose''). | :* A fronted vowel whose quality can range from [ɜʊ~əʊ] to [øː~øʉ]. This is used after [[w:coronal consonant|coronal consonants]] except before /l/ and labial consonants (''soak'', ''note'', ''stoat'', ''dose'', ''joke'' - but not ''soul'', ''dope'', ''Toby''), in open syllables (''sew'', ''mow'', ''row''), and in conjugations of these morphologically open syllables (''sewed'', ''mown'', ''rows'' - but not ''soda'', ''moan'', or ''rose''). | ||
:* A backed, monophthongized vowel [oː]. This is used in all other phonetic environments (''boast'', ''loan'', ''roach'', ''cone''), in some [[w:function word|function word]]s where the fronted vowel would be expected (''so'', ''though'', ''ago''), and in many foreign or novel words (''Osaka'', ''lo mein'', ''Kodak''). | :* A backed, monophthongized vowel [oː~ɔ̝ː], represented here with the symbol /o/. This is used in all other phonetic environments (''boast'', ''loan'', ''roach'', ''cone''), in some [[w:function word|function word]]s where the fronted vowel would be expected (''so'', ''though'', ''ago''), and in many foreign or novel words (''Osaka'', ''lo mein'', ''Kodak''). | ||
:* Younger speakers produce a greater phonetic difference between the two phonemes: fronter realizations of /oʊ/ and higher realizations of /o/. | |||
* Some raising of /æ/ before nasals and /g/, but unlike most of the Western United States, it only raises to about [æə] or [ɛ̞ə] at the highest. | * Some raising of /æ/ before nasals and /g/, but unlike most of the Western United States, it only raises to about [æə] or [ɛ̞ə] at the highest. | ||
* Limited to nonexistent raising of front vowels before /ŋ/ - for example, ''sing'' is just [sɛ̝ŋ] instead of [siŋ]. | * Limited to nonexistent raising of front vowels before /ŋ/ - for example, ''sing'' is just [sɛ̝ŋ] instead of [siŋ]. This may be changing with the youngest speakers, however; more research is needed. | ||
* Limited to nonexistent [[w:Canadian raising|Canadian raising]] of either /aɪ/ or /aʊ/. | * Limited to nonexistent [[w:Canadian raising|Canadian raising]] of either /aɪ/ or /aʊ/. This may also be changing with the youngest speakers. | ||
* The Whitsoot Diphthong Shift, a clockwise chain shift of rising diphthongs: | * The Whitsoot Diphthong Shift, a clockwise chain shift of rising diphthongs: | ||
:* First, /eɪ/ loses its glide and may raise slightly, to [eː~ɪː]. Second, /aʊ/ raises to [æʊ~eo]. Both of these features are typical in the Western United States. | :* First, /eɪ/ loses its glide and may raise slightly, to [eː~ɪː]. Second, /aʊ/ raises to [æʊ~eo]. Both of these features are typical in the Western United States. | ||
:* Third, however, /aɪ/ fronts to [ai~æɪ]. This feature is rare outside the Upper Midwest. | :* Third, however, /aɪ/ fronts to [ai~æɪ]. This feature is rare outside the Upper Midwest. | ||
:* Fourth, and most unusually, /ɔɪ/ is unrounded and often lowered to [ʌɪ~ɑi]. A well-known billboard near the edge of Whitsoot, which greets new residents and is a common location for photographs by tourists, says "Movin' to Whitsoot? Ya made a good chice!" | :* Fourth, and most unusually, /ɔɪ/ is unrounded and often lowered to [ʌɪ~ɑi]. A well-known billboard near the edge of Whitsoot, which greets new residents and is a common location for photographs by tourists, says "Movin' to Whitsoot? Ya made a good chice!" The sociolinguistics of this feature are complicated: it is more common among men and the working-classes, but also among younger speakers, and thus it may be increasing in frequency. Field research shows that it is widely seen as a "fun-loving" and "friendly" feature. | ||
* Initial /θ/ voices to /ð/ when the consonant after the next vowel is also voiced. For example, ''thanks'' | * Initial /θ/ often voices to /ð/, especially intervocalically, when the consonant after the next vowel is also voiced. For example, ''thanks'' may be pronounced [ðaŋks], which is written "the-anks" or "th'anks" in [[w:eye dialect|eye dialect]] as a hallmark of Whitsoot English. ''Thick and thin'' [θɛ̝k ən ðɛ̝n], written as "thick 'n then", is another common [[w:shibboleth|shibboleth]]. However, this is considered a particularly stigmatized feature and is less frequent among younger speakers. | ||
==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
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* Omission of the verb "to be" in constructions such as "the car needs washed", which has a similar geographic distribution. | * Omission of the verb "to be" in constructions such as "the car needs washed", which has a similar geographic distribution. | ||
* Positive "any", which is a generic quantifier meaning "at least one". It formed in a similar process to positive "anymore", namely by the word "not" in sentences like "I don't go there anymore" being dropped to create a new meaning. | * Positive "any", which is a generic quantifier meaning "at least one". It formed in a similar process to positive "anymore", namely by the word "not" in sentences like "I don't go there anymore" being dropped to create a new meaning. | ||
:* Compare "She doesn't want any books" to "she wants any books" - the second sentence implies that the person wants a number of books greater than zero. | :* Compare "She doesn't want any books" to "she wants any books" - the second sentence implies that the person wants a number of books greater than zero (though it does not imply that she is desperate and not picky, as the stressed "she wants ''any'' books" would). | ||
* Use of some prepositions like adjectives, such as ''between'' ("conflicted, stressed"), ''along'' ("prudent, culturally aware, on the right track in life"), ''without'' ("ascetic, minimalist"). These novel adjectives can even be conjugated ("He's alonger than he was last year"). | * Use of some prepositions like adjectives, such as ''between'' ("conflicted, stressed"), ''along'' ("prudent, culturally aware, on the right track in life"), ''without'' ("ascetic, minimalist"). These novel adjectives can even be conjugated ("He's alonger than he was last year"). | ||
* ''Meena'', a modal word derived from "mean to", which implies a weak desire to do something eventually, but not in the near future. It does not conjugate ("She meena visit Hawaii" - ''She would like to visit Hawaii one day, but it's alright if it never happens''). | * ''Meena'', a modal word derived from "mean to", which implies a weak desire to do something eventually, but not in the near future. It does not conjugate ("She meena visit Hawaii" - ''She would like to visit Hawaii one day, but it's alright if it never happens''). | ||
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* ''scoy'' - organized, in order, clean, professional (from the Japanese ''[[Wiktionary:sugoi|sugoi]]'') | * ''scoy'' - organized, in order, clean, professional (from the Japanese ''[[Wiktionary:sugoi|sugoi]]'') | ||
* ''springy'' - attractive, cute | * ''springy'' - attractive, cute | ||
Other terminology that groups Whitsoot English with certain regions, and distances it from others, includes: | |||
* ''soda'' to refer to a soft drink, as in California, parts of the Midwest, and the Northeast, versus ''pop'' in most of the Midwest and Northwest and ''coke'' in the South | |||
* ''you guys'' to refer to multiple people, as in most of the United States, versus ''y'all'' in the South, ''yinz'' in Western Pennsylvania, and ''youse'' in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City | |||
* ''sparky'' to refer to an insect with a glowing body, versus ''firefly'' in most of the West and Northeast and ''lightning bug'' in the Midwest and South | |||
* ''garden'' to refer to the grassy strip in between the street and sidewalk, versus many other terms around the country | |||