Cours 10 : Temporal variation

Question 1

synchronic VS diachronic variation

Answer 1

synchronic : a variation that takes place at one point in time

diachronic : looking at how a variant is realised at one point in time, and then at another point in time

Question 2

Weinreich’s laws on temporal variation

Answer 2

1. law of mobility : contact breeds imitation and imitation breeds linguistic convergence
2. law of isolation : linguistic divergence results from secession, estrangement, loosening of contact

Question 3

categoricity VS transition in temporal variation

Answer 3

two states of a variety are distinguished by time (ex. Middle English and Modern English)

even though we categorise them as completely different, it was actually just a smooth transition between these languages

Question 4

what is the methodological solution to longitudinal studies ?

Answer 4

apparent VS real time theory

Question 5

critical period hypothesis

Answer 5

it postulates that native acquisition is very difficult beyond childhood, meaning that at some point in our life, language becomes fixed

we are carrying our phonological heritage throughout our lifetime

Question 6

age graded change VS generationally progressive change

Answer 6

age-graded change : a change that recurs at a particular age in successive generations -> developmental stages for kids

1. holophrastic stage
2. two-word stage
3. telegraphic stage
4. overall tendency to over/underextension

all these stages are essential for the reconstruction of apparent time

Question 7

York study on temporal variation

Answer 7

examinating tag questions and the non-standard variants of affirmative and negative (“were” use)

overall observation : there is a strong correlation between age and gender

> gender variation and communities of practice determined by gender
crossover effect in the 50-70 age group
Yorkshire English is heading toward the non-standard variant
women lead the change

Question 8

Onze study on temporal variation

Answer 8

mobile unit recording people, they’re comparing how people from 1946 and 2004 speak

1946 : for people that settled in NZ later, there was a huge amount of variation

2004 : the recordings were much more homogeneous, so we observe convergence.
> because there have been groups of people in contact with each other, moving closer to each other linguistically

Question 9

Blondeau’s panel study on Montreal French

Answer 9

he wanted to compare the use of the non-standard trilled alveolar /r/ to the normal /r/

the use of the non-standard variant decreases through time, and the use of the standard variant increases
> people adopt the standard variant to distance themselves from the “English” version and mark their Frenchspeakerhood

this data is concerning because it contradicts the initial claim, as the same speakers change the way they speak themselves

Question 10

comparing Labov’s study (1972) and Pope’s study (2003) on Martha’s Vineyard

Answer 10

in the newer data, the trend is faster than expected, but it is now reversed : the younger generations are moving towards the standard variant of /ai/

the /ai/ diphtong has stopped being the marker of islander identity, and the new marker is /ow/