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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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