The Dynamic Development of Post-Insular Native American English Varieties

后海岛时代美洲原住民英语品种的动态发展

• 批准号: 9616331
• 负责人: Walter Wolfram
• 金额: $ 24.12万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-03-01 至 2001-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9616331&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dynamic; Development; Post; Insular; Native

Studies of Native American varieties of English indicate that these varieties may combine source language transfer from ancestral Native American languages, generalized adaptive interlanguage processes, and even the elements of a more expansive, pan Native American English variety. Although a limited tradition of sociolinguistic inquiry into Native American English varieties has now developed, some essential dimensions of these varieties remain largely ignored. Curiously, one of the most critical but neglected areas of study with respect to Native American varieties of English is the extent to which these varieties may or may not adopt local dialect norms. Such linguistic accommodation is often an important index of assimilation and may indicate in subtle but essential ways how such groups situate themselves sociolinguistically and culturally. Furthermore, the investigation of the types of sociolinguistic boundaries that exist between vernacular varieties, particularly in tri-ethnic contexts, is critical in addressing central issues concerning the dynamic nature of ethnolinguistic boundaries in American English varieties. This research examines language change and variation in the English of three post-insular Native American communities in rural North Carolina. The Lumbee, Haliwa Saponi, and Cherokee Native American communities of North Carolina represent instructive contrasts in terms of (1) their recognized status as Native Americans communities, (2) their historic isolation from surrounding communities, and (3) their past and present language contact situations. These situations thus offer a unique laboratory for comparing how ethnic groups configure their sociolinguistic identity over time and space. Extensive cross-generational sociolinguistic interviews are being conducted in each research site, both with local Native Americans and with cohort speakers from corresponding contact varieties. Qualitative-descriptive and quantitative-variationist analytical models are applied to the emerging data, and the objective analysis of language variation is complemented by the analysis of data obtained from subjective speaker identification tasks. The comparative analysis includes both intra- and inter-regional dimensions in order to determine the dynamic nature of sociolinguistic boundaries. In addition, data gathered in a variety of speech situations will be utilized in the examination of intraspeaker variation. The research seeks to explicate on an empirical basis the principles and mechanisms that account for language adaptation, variation and change found in language contact situations

对美洲土著英语变体的研究表明，这些变体可能结合了来自祖先美洲土著语言的源语言迁移，广义适应性中介语过程，甚至是更广泛的泛美洲土著英语变体的元素。虽然对美洲土著英语变体进行社会语言学研究的有限传统现已发展起来，但这些变体的一些基本方面在很大程度上仍被忽视。奇怪的是，关于美洲土著英语变体的研究中最关键但又被忽视的一个领域是，这些变体在多大程度上可能采用或不采用当地方言规范。这种语言适应往往是同化的重要指标，可能以微妙但重要的方式表明这些群体如何在社会语言学和文化上定位自己。此外，对白话变体之间存在的社会语言边界类型的调查，特别是在三民族背景下，对于解决有关美国英语变体中民族语言边界动态性质的核心问题至关重要。本研究考察了北卡罗莱纳农村三个后岛屿美洲原住民社区的英语语言变化和变异。北卡罗莱纳的蓝比族、哈利瓦·萨波尼族和切罗基族印第安人社区在以下方面表现出具有指导意义的对比：(1)他们作为印第安人社区的公认地位；(2)他们与周围社区的历史隔离；(3)他们过去和现在的语言接触情况。因此，这些情况提供了一个独特的实验室，可以比较种族群体如何在时间和空间上配置他们的社会语言学身份。在每个研究地点都进行了广泛的跨代社会语言学访谈，访谈对象包括当地的美国原住民和来自相应接触品种的同代人。定性-描述性和定量-变异分析模型应用于新出现的数据，并通过主观说话者识别任务获得的数据分析来补充语言变异的客观分析。比较分析包括区域内和区域间的维度，以确定社会语言学边界的动态性质。此外，在各种演讲情境中收集的数据将用于检查说话者的内部变化。本研究试图在实证的基础上阐明语言接触情境中语言适应、变异和变化的原理和机制