25.3708, Diss: French; Phonology, Sociolinguistics: Pipe: 'Accent Levelling in the Regional French of Alsace'

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-25-3708. Mon Sep 22 2014. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 25.3708, Diss: French; Phonology, Sociolinguistics: Pipe: 'Accent Levelling in the Regional French of Alsace'

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Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 23:43:00
From: Katharine Pipe [k.j.pipe at ex.ac.uk]
Subject: Accent Levelling in the Regional French of Alsace

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Institution: University of Exeter 
Program: Department of Language and Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2014 

Author: Katharine Pipe

Dissertation Title: Accent Levelling in the Regional French of Alsace 

Dissertation URL:  http://hdl.handle.net/10871/15556

Linguistic Field(s): Phonology
                     Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): French (fra)


Dissertation Director(s):
Zoë Boughton
Aidan Coveney

Dissertation Abstract:

The aim of this study is to investigate the process of accent levelling in the
Regional French of Alsace and its relationship with the social variables of
age, gender, social class, urban or rural origin of speakers and feelings of
regional attachment. Accent levelling, which can be defined as the process of
speakers abandoning local phonological forms in favour of supralocal variants,
has been the focus of much recent sociolinguistic research on British English,
French and other languages. Since knowledge of Alsatian (a Germanic language
spoken in Alsace) is decreasing, it is possible that the resulting lack of
interference between Alsatian and French is leading to levelling of the
traditional accent features of Alsatian Regional French.
In order to provide data for this research project, sociolinguistic interviews
were conducted and written questionnaires used in Strasbourg and in the
village of Helsheim (a fictional name used for reasons of confidentiality)
with 56 informants. The data obtained were then subjected to quantitative
analysis with regard to the linguistic variables of aspirate h (which can be
realised as a supralocal zero variant or as a regional [h] variant) and the
devoicing of canonically voiced plosives and fricatives (for example, sage
pronounced [saʃ]).
The results of the data analysis revealed that the regional variants of both
linguistic variables are used more frequently by older than younger, working
class than middle class, rural than urban speakers and that level of regional
attachment correlates with use of the linguistic variables, as predicted in
the research hypotheses. However, the relationship between levelling and
gender proved to be more unexpected, with no clear pattern emerging for the
(h) variable and a complex one involving the acquisition of supralocal
patterns of sociolinguistic variation as well as the supralocal phonological
variant in the case of consonant devoicing.







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