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Doc quoted

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:50 am
by LukeJavan8
Our good Doctor was quoted today in an online
email called "Delancey Place":


http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com ... cXgxtxU%3D

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 12:38 pm
by Slava
Too bad it says he is wrong, wrong, wrong. :evil:

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:15 pm
by LukeJavan8
True, that. But he is recognized beyond Agora at least.

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:39 pm
by Perry Lassiter
I too posted under Dialects.

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:35 pm
by Dr. Goodword
William Labov is a dialectologist who described "Black English" as a standard dialect back in the 60's. I've met him once in Philadelphia when we both read papers at a conference at the University of Pennsylvania. His paper reported on his experience as an expert witness in a court case. I recall he chided me for a muffled laugh I made in response to a jibe by one of his colleagues at UP.

He had done little if any research in the South, where I come from, as of my retirement. All my nieces, nephews and in particular my grandnieces and grandnephews speak the English of radio and TV without a trace of the rural Southern accent that I grew up with. My "Rebel-Yankee Test" becomes less relevant with each passing year.

In fact, the famous Brooklyn and Queens accent has also all but vanished. You seldom hear the strongest form of Archie Bunker's accent (terlet for toilet, boid for bird) any more.

I'll read his book and check the locations and sizes of his samples and get back to you.

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:58 am
by MTC
Among Dr. Labov's many academic honors are the Henry Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dolittle Award for Preservation of Regional Dialects. When not in the field jabbing a microphone at his startled subjects Dr. Labov can often be found in his study, relaxing with his pet parrot, "Liza."

Those wishing to know more about the real Dr. William Labov may wish to read his profile at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Labov

.

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 1:12 pm
by Philip Hudson
While linguistics is not an exact science, it is indeed a science. Much of it is observational and statistical. Pronunciation and choice of words are influenced by many factors. I am well acquainted with Dr. Goodword and am somewhat acquainted with Dr. Labov. I respect them both.

From the hinterlands of my abode, I see both regional trends. I do not have the tools at my disposal to determine the dominant trend.

I come from a recently educated Southern family and have an experiential view of only a part of American pronunciations and word choices. As education increases and as we associate with educated people, we are likely to see a decrease of regionalisms. There are still variations and I can wax anecdotally on them, ad nauseam. I will only wax moderately here.

It is obvious to me that modified Southern accents are taking over in America. I attribute this to the influence of people like Dan Rather, but also to the rising popularity of country music and southern culture. If you aren’t in love with Paula Deen and you are from the USA, then you are really missing some good Southern cooking and talking. For our friends from England and the rest of the world: Paula Deen is the quintessential Southern lady who has a cooking show and a notorious weight problem with type 2 diabetes to go with it.

The people on TV news are one of my windows to accents and word choices. I cringe every time Brian Williams says "unbelievable" instead of "amazing" or even "unimaginable". I blame him personally for polluting the language with this horrible word choice error. I groan when someone uses literally when she/he means figuratively. Midwesterners still say pah-‘jam-as instead of pə-‘jah-mahs. My backwoods cousins (the backwoods are even more distant than the hinterlands) still say, “I haint et nuttun yit,” for “I haven’t eaten anything yet.” Many of my contemporaries say, “Sgueet,” for “Let’s go eat.” Our gifted Hispanic and African American newscasters in Texas have never had ethnic accents. They make up a sizeable portion of the newscasters in Texas. But the first time I heard the new, young, female meteorologist, I knew immediately she was from Atlanta. A couple among my friends both claim to be from Atlanta. I believed Gary and I finally got Bonnie to admit she was from Sand Mountain, a region in north Alabama. I had already pegged her as being from near Birmingham, Alabama.

So, I have waxed enough. Here’s to regionalisms! If they are declining, it is a shame.

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:29 pm
by Perry Lassiter
In HS and college speech classes I was told midwest as practiced by radio and tv announcers was standard. They worked on us to eliminate regional sounds. All across the south and into Texas you hear a log of southern drawl and variations of the sort Philip mentioned. Not dying at all, at least on the street. Come visit and listen!

Re: Doc quoted

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:24 pm
by Dr. Goodword
Good grief! Did this topic come up in June? I was busy creating a major word list at that time and didn't have time to read Labov's book carefully.

My reply has been posted now in the blog at

http://www.alphadictionary.com/blog/?p=1582