Dialect as a Form of Identity

Laura P.

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Dialect as a Form of Identity

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Abstract

Every time a person opens his or her mouth to speak that person is speaking not only a language but a dialect of that language as well. It is a common misconception that only certain people whose pronunciations vary from what is considered Standard American English, speak a dialect. In fact, there are so many different dialects of American English today that it has been said looking at the different varieties is like looking at varieties of the American climate, "how many we find depends on how closely we look." 1
In this paper I would like to take a closer look at one of the common uses of a dialect, namely, the use of a dialect as a form of identity. I would also like to examine factors that could potentially alter whether or not a person continues to use a dialect in this manner. I have previously done some research on the Finnish influenced dialect of English found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (2002) and its use as a form of identity and I see many similarities with William Labov's findings regarding dialect as a form of identity on Martha's Vineyard (1962, 1972). However, I have also uncovered some more recent research that indicates this use of the dialect is phasing out on Martha's Vineyard (Josey 2002). This did not appear to be the case in the Upper Peninsula. I will propose that this variation is a result of the differences in population growth and economic structure between the Upper Peninsula and Martha's Vineyard.

Introduction
Dialect defined
Language > Dialect > Idiolect
Characteristics of the upper peninsula and Martha's Vinyard Dialects
Geographical influences on dialect
Possible causes of the decreasing use of dialect as identity
Conclusion
Bibliography

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[...] Pinker, Steven 1999 Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language. New York: Basic Books. Reed, Carroll E Dialects of American English. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. Remlinger, Kathryn 2002 Crossing Methodological Borders: Critical Discourse Analysis and Ethnodialectology. Paper presented at Methods in Dialectology XI, University of Joensuu, Finland, August 5. Remlinger, Kathryn 2002 The Finnish of the Copper Country. KeweenawNow, February Scharton, Maurice and Janice Neuleib 2002 Code-Switching from Inside Out: A Guide to Writing, Electronic document, http://www.ilstu.edu/~tghigus/coderat.html, accessed November 12. [...]

[...] An increase in population goes hand in hand with an increase in population density and with an increase in population density there is more opportunity for wider linguistic contacts.19 So looking back at Labov's Vineyard research, leads me to wonder why, if the population was already steadily increasing during the time of his research, he didn't notice a leveling out of the dialect as identity use in the 1970's. Because of this factor, I believe that the change in dialect use on Martha's Vineyard has to do with a combination of the population increase as well as another notable societal change the island has experienced, namely, the changes in the economy and economic structure of the island. [...]

[...] Pg BABEL Language and Identity 2001 A Language is a Dialect with an Army and a Navy. Electronic document. Pg Josey, Meredith 2001 A Sociolinguistic Study on the Status of on a Northeastern Island: Martha's Vineyard Revisited. Pg University of Pennsylvania 2001 Dipthong Centralization on Martha's Vineyard. Electronic document. Pg Metcalf, Allan 2000 How We Talk: American Regional English Today. Pg xi 7 Bryson, Bill 1990 The Mother Tongue - English and How it Got That Way. Pg University of California 2002 Style and Ethnicity: The Evolution of Symbolic Traits. [...]

[...] Pg Josey, Meredith 2001 A Sociolinguistic Study on the Status of on a Northeastern Island: Martha's Vineyard Revisited. Pg 3 Bibliography Bryson, Bill 1990 The Mother Tongue - English and How it Got That Way. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. Centre for Linguistics, University of Western Australia 1998 Diglossia and Multilingualism, Electronic document, http://www.arts.uwa.edu.au/LingWWW/LIN101-102/NOTES-102/Socio6.html, accessed November Daniels, Jeff, dir Escanaba in da Moonlight min. Monarch Home Video. Dialect Map of American English 2002 Dialect Map of American English. Electronic document, http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1906/dialects.html, accessed October 25. [...]

[...] In fact, attitude has even been named as one of the criterion of the usage of different pronunciations in an electronic document reviewing Labov's findings.12 It should also be recognized that when a dialect is used as a form of identity it generally serves one of four purposes; to establish, maintain, cross or break down group boundaries. These group boundaries can be social, cultural, regional or a combination thereof. In Michigan, the Upper and Lower Peninsulas are divided by the Great Lakes and Martha's Vineyard is separated from mainland Massachusetts by the Nantucket Sound. [...]

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