Focussing and Levelling in the Auckland Voices Project
Focussing and Levelling in the Auckland Voices Project
Author(s): Miriam Meyerhoff, Elaine Ballard, Catherine Watson, Alexandra BirchfieldSubject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Sociology, Language acquisition, Sociolinguistics, Migration Studies
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: dialect levelling; focussing; generational change; language and migration; New Zealand English; relative clauses
Summary/Abstract: Levelling and focussing are well-documented processes, central to the emergence of new dialects, including to the emergence of New Zealand English as a distinct variety in the last hundred and fifty years. We draw on recent recordings from three areas in Auckland to examine the extent to which levelling and focussing continue to be relevant today. Most work on NZ English as a new dialect has concentrated on phonology; we extend the analysis to syntax. We consider the structure of relative clauses used in communities which have very different demographic profiles and histories of immigration. We find evidence that levelling and focussing continue to underpin the development of post-colonial English in New Zealand. Our data suggests that speakers draw on linguistically motivated solutions to the choice among variants when focussing occurs.
Journal: Roczniki Humanistyczne
- Issue Year: 71/2023
- Issue No: 6S
- Page Range: 151-164
- Page Count: 14
- Language: English
