Chapter2 NaturalMisunderstandings

_____________________________ Thestudyoflanguageineverydaylifecannotproceedveryfarwithout
encounteringmanyinefficiencies,miscommunicationsandmisunderstandings whichleadustothegeneralconvictionthatlanguagedoesnotworkaswellas wewouldlikeitto.Thischapterpursuesthequestionastowhetherlinguistic changesinprogressaremajorcontributorstomisunderstanding.Eachofthe speechcommunitiesstudiedinthe1960sand1970sNewYork,Philadelphia, Norwich,PanamaCity,Detroit,Chicagoshowedvigoroussoundchangesin apparenttimeasdocumentedinLYS1972andinvolumes1and2ofthiswork. Butitdoesnotfollowautomaticallythatgenerationalchangeinthecommunity, reflectedinagradientseriesofvaluesinapparenttime,willconfusemembersof thatcommunity.Suchchangemightbeconsideredequivalenttoaddingone moredimensionagetothemajorvariablesofthespeechcommunity:social class,genderandcontextualstyle.Speakersarenormallynotconfusedbythis variation.Iftheyknowavalueononedimensionofthematrixsaystylethey shouldbeabletoidentifytheprobablesocialclassofthespeakerbythevaluesof

thevariants.Ifchangeisinprogress,theymaybeabletoadjusttheirjudgments bytakingthespeakersageintoconsideration.Thesamelogicmightapplytothe identificationofthephonemiccategoryofasoundchangeinprogress. Recentresearchindicatesthatmembersofthespeechcommunitystore

rememberedtokenswithassociatedinformationontheage,gender,socialclass andpersonalidentityofthespeakerswhoutteredthem.ThusHay,Warrenand Drager2006showedthatlistenerswereinfluencedbysuchinformationin respondingcategoricallytotheongoingmergeroffear/ihr/vs.fair/ehr/inNew ZealandEnglish.Theirjudgmentsofwhetheratokenwithamidfrontingliding vowelwasamemberofthe/ihr/or/ehr/categorywereinfluencedbytheage andsocialclassofthepersonwhowassupposedtohaveutteredit.These findingswereinterpretedassupportforanexemplartheorythatepisodic memoriesarepreservedasthebasisofspeechperceptionandproduction (PierreHumbert2002,2006).Indeed,exemplartheorymightexplainwhy inefficienciesincommunicationhadnotbeenobservedasaresultofchanges inprogress(Weinreich,LabovandHerzog1968). Averyextensiverangeoflinguisticeventsthatmightproduce misunderstandinghasbeeninrecentsociolinguisticstudies.Weoftenfind radicalshiftsinthephoneticrealizationofagivenphoneme,wherethenewer formsoverlapthepositionsofone,twooreventhreeneighboringphonemesof thesamespeakersphonologicalsystems.ThusforyoungerNewYorkCity

speakers/h/inbadoverlapsthedistributionof/eh/inbaredand/ih/inbeard (Labov1966).Thechainshiftsdisplayedinsection1.5exhibitmanysuchradical shifts.InChicagoandothercitiesoftheInlandNorth,thefrontingof/o/has reachedapositionclosetothatoflowfront//amongtheoldestspeakers,and isalmostidenticaltothenormalpronunciationof//intheneighboring Midlandareas.InBirminghamandothercitiesoftheInlandSouth,advanced valuesof/ey/havedescendedtoapositionequivalenttothatofdiphthongal /ay/aspronouncedwithinandoutsideofthearea.Evenmorepressing challengestotheefficiencyofcommunicationappearintherapidexpansionof mergersacrosstheNorthAmericancontinent:thelowbackmergerof/o/ and/oh/,thecollapseof/w/and/wh/andthegrowingtendencytomerge vowelsbefore/l/. Twoquestionsariseinregardtothesedevelopments:(1)doconservative andadvancedspeakersunderstandeachothersproductionswithinthe community,and(2)domembersofotherspeechcommunitiesunderstandthese localformswhentheycomeintocontactwiththem?

2.1. The collection of natural misunderstandings

Onecommonresponsetothesequestionsistoassertthatcontextwill resolveanyambiguityproducedbysuchoverlappingdistributions(Eliasson 1997).Anotheristomeasurethefunctionalloadofanoppositionandthe consequencesofitslossbyacountofminimalpairs(Martinet1955),aprocedure

whichKing1969finds,inafirstapproximation,tobeinadequate.Ratherthan arguefromtheeffectofcompletedchanges,itmaybemorefruitfultoexamine howpeopledealwithchangesinprogress,themainstrategyofthesevolumes. Asafirststeptoanempiricalassessmentofthecognitiveconsequencesofsound changeinprogress,theProjectonCrossDialectalCommunication(henceforth CDC)undertookthecollectionofmisunderstandingsthattakeplaceineveryday life.Linguistsandlinguisticstudentswereaskedtonotedownanyobservations ofmisunderstandingonapadofprintedforms,asinFigure2.1. Theanalysisofthesedataarefarfromsystematic,butcertain generalizationswillemergefromthissizeabledatabase,andtheywillgiveus someinsightintotheeverydaybehaviorthatwillbeexaminedmore systematicallyinthecontrolledexperimentstofollowinChapters3and4. . Figure2.1.Standardformforrecordingnaturalmisunderstandings. MISUNDERSTANDINGS Date________________ Speaker_____________ Hearer______________ Dialectarea_____________ ____________________ Speakersaid[continueonbackforfullsetting]: Hearerheard: Hearercorrectedmishearingafter___sec____min ____beforeutterancewasover ____byspeakersresponsetolookorquery ____byinferencefromfurtherutterances ____byaccidentaleventsthatfollowed Thefollowingexampleswillillustratethevariousmodesofcorrection,using conventionsthatwillholdthroughoutthischapter.Acolonintroducesaspoken

utterance,andthedoublearrow=>aninterpretationinthemindoftheobserver (orifthelistenerisnottheobserver,thelistenerslateraccountofwhattheywere thinking).Unlessotherwisenoted,theobserveristhesecondspeaker.The geographicbackgroundofeachparticipantisgiven,whetherornotitisrelevant tothemisunderstanding.

2.2. Modes of correction

A. Beforeutterancewasover. Observersandlistenersoftenreportthemselvescorrectingtheirfirst misunderstandingbeforethesentenceisfinished,inlessthanasecond.

(1) DanaM.[NYC]:..intheSundayInquirer. RuthH.[CT]=>andthisSundayinchoir[waswonderingwhatchoir Danabelongsto] (2) JohnS.[SouthernIL]:..accountabletothedata... DebbieS.[Phila]=>...acannibaltothedata.. WL:YououghtaseeFrank'scrowwhenyourubhishead. GillianS.=>[problemwithwhoseheadgetsrubbed.] ClaudiaM.[OR]:IsDwightBolingeraCanadian? RuthH.[CT]=>IsDwightBolingeracomedian?

(3)

(4)

B.Byspeakersresponsetolookorquery Themostcommonsituationisthattheutteranceisperceivedaspragmatically oddorincomprehensible,andsomeformofqueryleadstoacorrectionwithin seconds.

(5) PatD.[Philadelphia]:Ihateddissecting(frogsandworms)inscienceso thesecondtimemyclassdissectedIdissectedanappleinstead,and thetimeafterthatIdissectedacarrot. LoisK.[=>Idissectedaparrot]:Youdissectedawhat? (6) Blackguy:Ifeelliketennails. Whiteguy:Youfeelliketinnails? Blackguy:[slowly]No,tennails. [observedbyRobinS.inGeorgia]

(7) SusanMann[CA]:CanIpourusbothjuice? RuthH.[CT]:What'saspokejuice?

(8)

AliceG.[Phila][toWL]:That'sagreatshirt! GillianS.:Whatdoyoumean,"grapefruit"?

C.Byinferencefromfurtherutterances. Almostascommonisthesituationwherenopragmaticanomalyissensed atfirst,buttheerrorisuncoveredinthecourseoftheensuingconversation.This maytakefrom10secondstoseveralminutes.

(9) DanaM.[NYC]:WhatareyougivingupforLent? CarolineH.[UK]=>WhatareyougivingoutforLent? Caroline[annoyed]:"Pancakes." Dana:You'regivingupPANCAKES?

(10) CharlotteM.[VA]:EverytimeRobintakesapictureofmeshegetsa "telephonepole"inthepicture. MaureenS.[PI]=>telephonecall Charlotte:Yes,shegetsatelephonepoleinthepictures,eveninthe livingroom. Maureen:Well,maybeshehascallforwarding,youknow. Charlotte:Callforwarding? Maureen:Yes,youknowthatservice. Charlotte:No,no,telephonepole. Maureen:Pole?Whatpole? D.Byaccidentaleventsthatfollowed.Thedatabaseshowsasmallernumberof itemswherethemisunderstandingwasnotuncoveredduringtheconversation atall,butonlybyaccidentinaneventthatoccurredsometimelater,sometimes manydays.

(11) OttoSantaAna[NM]:Hitcarriagereturn. EliseM.[WesternMA]=>[OttohitthekeythatIcall"ENTER"orjust "RETURN",andIthought,"Howodd,hecallsitcaricature."Acouple ofhourslater,hesaiditagainandIunderstoodit]. (12) Dr.Binz[EastCoast]:Whatareallcomplexitiesinlifedueto?Sets. AmyK.[Madison,WI]=>Sex.[Thismadenosense,soIaskedaperson nearby]. (13) LoudspeakeratOHareairport:Milwaukeepassengerreporttothe EasternAirlinescounter. FranzS.[Chicago]=>[wonderswhatwasluckyaboutthispassenger. Sometimelater,theannouncementwasrepeated,andheunderstood it.] (14) Thefollowingincidentisreconstructedfromanarticleinthe Philadelphia InquireronJanuary18,1989: Gasstationmanager:Itlookslikeabombonmybathroomfloor. RobinCorder,dispatcher:I'mgoingtogetsomebody[thatsomebody includedthefiredepartment]

Manager:Thefiredepartment? RC:Wellyes,that'sstandardprocedureonabombcall. Manager:Ohno,ma'am,Iwouldn'tbeanywherenearabomb.IsaidI haveabumonthebathroomfloor. [8firefighters,3sheriff'sdeputies&theYorkCo.emergency preparednessdirectorshowedupatthegasstationtoescortthe homelesstransientout.] E.Notatall.Inamuchsmallernumberofitems,themisunderstandingwasnot detectedbytheparticipants,butobservedbyathirdpersonwhodidnot communicateittothem.

(15)

JohnBaughreportedtoLouiseFeaginthatanonTexantoldaTexan thenameofhersonwas"Ian".TheTexancouldn'tunderstandwhy anybodywouldnameachildsomethingsostrangeasthepreposition IN.

ThefollowingincidentwasobservedbyWLatthehouseoftheD.familyin SouthPhiladelphia.

(16)

RosemarieD.:Allright,cometodinner![carryingoutthefoodona tray] WL:Yourunatightship. TomD.[herhusband]:Shemakesusslave. Rosemarie:WhywouldIwantyoutoleave? TomD.:Oneday,we'llexplainitalltoRosemarie. Themisunderstandingdisplayedin(16)istheresultofanongoingchange

inprogressinPhiladelphia,theraisingofchecked/ey/tohighposition, overlappingwith/iy/(Vol.2:Chs4,5).Thevowelofslaveapproximatesthe vowelofleave,andtheinitial/s/thatdifferentiatesthetwowordsisneutralized bythephoneticcontext.

Tom:[imeksslevz] Rosemarie=>[imekssliv] Ahumorousremarkwasinterpretedasabadtemperedinsult.Theirritation producedbythismisunderstandingsimmeredbelowthesurfaceforsometime. Neitherpartyrealizedthattherehadbeenamisunderstanding.

2.3. How common are misunderstandings?

Sinceoneofthemaingoalsofthisstudyistodeterminehowmuch misunderstandingisactuallycausedbychangeinprogress,thedistributionof thesefivetypesisrelevanttoourundertaking(Table2.1). Table2.1.Howmisunderstandingsweredetected. Duringtheutterance Byanimmediatequery Byinferenceafter Fromobservationoflaterevents Never Notreported Total 108 374 204 74 17 95 872

Itseemsclearthattheleastseriousdisruptionstocommunicationand understandingarethefirsttwotypes,andwithincreasingdelaythe

consequencesbecomemoreserious.Amomentsreflectionshowshowdifficultit istoestimatetheextentofmiscommunicationineverydaylife,sincethemore evidencethereis,themorelikelythatitwillbeobservedandcorrected.Howcan weestimatethefrequenciesoftypesC,DandE?Thesituationismostsevere withtypeE.Thereisnowaytoestimatehowoftentwopeoplemiscommunicate andgotheirwayswithdifferentviewsofwhatwasintended,saidand understood.TomdidnotrealizethatRosemariehadmisunderstoodhim,and wearilydecidednottoexplainhisjoke,whichwashardlyworthhistrouble. The872observationswerecollectedover14years,whichisalittlemore thanoneaweek.Thisdoesnotseemtobeaveryhighrateofmisunderstanding, butitturnsoutthataconsiderabledegreeofconcentrationisrequiredtorecord themishearingsofeverydaylife.Ifweasksomeonetorecallwhethertheyhad hadsuchanexperienceinthepastweek,theanswerisnormallyno.Themain efforttoconcentratetheseobservationswasexertedin19868,asshownin Figure2.2.Armedwithapadofformsforrecordingerrors,andconstant reminders,anobserverreturnedregularlyeachweekwith2,3or4cases.Oneof ourregularobservers,RuthHerold,recorded60misunderstandingsinthis period.Thecollectioncontinuedovertime,atalowerrate.Thereisofcoursea dangerthattheselaterobservationswillconcentratedialectmotivated misunderstandings,sothattherateduringthemainperiodofcollection,198688, isthebestindicator:27%ofthese544observationsweredialectmotivated,and

thisisidenticalwiththeoverallproportionof235outof869,or27%.Itthen seemstobeareasonableestimateofthefrequencyofmisunderstandingsthatare theresultoflinguisticchange.

350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00-

Figure2.1.Numbersofofobservationsofnaturalmisunderstandingsovertime

2.4. What is the role of sound change in misunderstanding?

Ourrecordsregularlyshowthatalittlemorethanonequarterofnatural misunderstandingscanbeattributedtodialectdifferences.Thisproportiondid notvaryovertheyearsinwhichobservationsweremade.Someofthesedialect differencesareduetostablevariables,likethepresenceofflappinginAmerican dialectsvs.itsabsenceinBritishEnglish,butthegreatmajorityareduetosound

changesinprogress.Theproportionofdialectmisunderstandingsmaycertainly havebeeninfluencedbytheobserversinterestinsoundchange,thoughevery effortwasmadetoavoidthisbias.Themainobserverswerelinguistswithgood phonetictraining,asshowninTable2.2. Mostoftheobserverswereclosetothegeneralmeanof27%dialect motivatederrors,withtheexceptionofBobergandMiller,whosecontributions arethesmallestinnumber.1Theareainwhichobservationsweremadeisof courserelevant.ThegoodmajoritywereinPhiladelphia,butobserversalso traveledwidelyoutsideofthatarea.AstrategiccontributorwasRobinSabino, whomovedtotheAuburnUniversityinAlabamashortlyaftertheprojectbegan, andthedatabasebenefitsfrommanyofherobservationsofcrossdialectal contactwithspeakersoftheSouthernShift.Anothermajorsourceofcross dialectalcontactwasbetweentheCanadiandialectofSankoffandtheNorthern NewJerseydialectofLabov,withconsiderablegeographicmovementtothe Montrealarea.Theleastwellrepresentedamongthemajorsoundchangesin NorthAmericaistheNorthernCitiesShift,butaswewillsee,thereisstill considerableevidenceofmisunderstandingfromthatsource.

Settingasidethesetwoobservers,thepercentdialectmotivatedremainsatover

onequarter,26.1%.

Table2.2.Majorcontributorstothecollectionofnaturalmisunderstandings HomedialectTotal Dialect observations motivated RobinSabino GillianSankoff WilliamLabov RuthHerold MarkKaran SherryAsh TomVeatch CharlesBoberg CoreyMiller Other Total LongIslandCity 137 Montreal NorthernNJ Connecticut NorthernNJ Chicago California Edmonton NYC 137 123 88 67 63 31 12 6 205 869 43 26 27 30 14 22 2 10 3 59 236 %Dialect motivated 31 19 22 34 21 35 6 83 50 28

Wecanconcludethattheproportionofmisunderstandingsduetodialect differencesisintheareaof25%.

2.5. The linguistic focus of the misunderstandings.

Eachofthemisunderstandingswasclassifiedbytherelativeeffectsof lexicon,phonology,syntax,andpragmaticsaswellasdialectdifferences:

whetherthataspectoftheutterancecontributedtothemisunderstanding, inhibitedit,orwasneutralinthisrespect.Figure2.2showsthedistributionof thesefactors.Asnotedabove,about2530%ofthecaseswerepromotedby dialectdifferences.Butoverall,phonologywasoverwhelminglythemajor contributortomisunderstanding,andmismatchwiththepragmaticsituation wasthemostcommonfactorthatbroughtittothelistenersattentionandledto itsbeingrecorded.

100 90 80 70
Percent

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Lexicon Dialect Phonology Pragmatics Syntax

Inhibiting Neutral Promoting

Figure2.2.Effectoflinguisticfactorsonmisunderstanding:percentinhibiting, neutraltoorpromotingmisunderstandingforfivefactors.

A. Variationinsyntacticanalysisofhomonymoussequences.See(3)and(16) aboveaswellas:

(17)Philadelphianewscaster:leavingathirdpassengertoodazedtoescape. RuthH.[CT]:...leavingathirdpassengertwodaystoescape.

(18) TomV.[CAL]:[writingdownitemstobuy]Twocsinbroccoli? RuthH.[CT]:Whatstwoseasonbroccoli? (19) JudyS.[Phila]:We'llgodowntoKnightsSt. MarkK.[NorthernNJ]=>We'llgodowntonight'sstreet. Somenearhomonymouscasesinvolvethefailureofsmallprosodic differencestotakeeffect: (20) RobinS.[LongIslandCity]:Theyhavetoucansthere. LisaB[LongIslandCity]=>Theyhavetwocansthere. B. Lossorinsertionofasegment. (21) CharlotteT.[VA]:IwasatBrooks&Company RobinS.[LongIslandCity]:=>atBooks&Co.[sheknowsCharlotte sellsbooks] (22) WL[NorthernNJ]:especiallyifyoutravelintwos. KatieS.[WI]=>especiallyifyoutravelintubes. C. Wrongidentificationofasinglesegment.Seeitems(5,6,12,14)above. D. Wrongidentificationoftwosegmentsinaword.See(10)aboveand (23) BambiS.[NYC]:Whattapesareinthecar? WL[NNJ]=>Whatkeepsherinthecar? E. Erroratthewordlevel.See(4,9,13)above. F. Reanalysisofwordsequenceswithphonologicaladjustments.See(1,2,7,8,11,15) above. Inwriting,thesemisunderstandingsproducethemostcomiceffects.But closeexaminationofthephoneticsinvolvedshowsthattheyoftenareproduced byminimalphoneticmismatches.Thuswehave (1) Inquirer inchoir [IkwaIr] [IkwaIr]

(2)

accountable acannibal

[kaonbl] [kanbl] [sbodIus] [sbokdIus] [krIdritrn] [krIkt]

(7)

usbothjuice aspokejuice

(11)

carriagereturn caricature

Themisunderstandingin(1)involvedasimplelossofashwa;in(2)thelossof theglideon/aw/,afrequentoccurrenceinpolysyllables;in(7)themishearing ofinterdental[]asvelar[k];andin(11)amishearingofapalatalaffricateasa velarstop,withlossofthefinalnasal. Someofthesemechanismsinvolvetheprocessesofmorphophonemic condensationinrapidspeech,whicharecommonacrossthemajordialects studiedhere.Othersinvolvesyntacticreanalysis,whichisgenerallynotsubject todialectalvariation.Wecanthereforeexpectmajordifferencesinthe distributionofthesemechanismsofmisunderstandingwhenwetabulatethe dialectmotivatedcasesagainstothers,asinTable2.2andFigure2.3

Table2.2.Percentdistributionoffocusofmisunderstandingfordialect motivatederrorsandothers Homo Segment One Two Whole Reanal nyms lost segment segments word ysis Dialect motivated 2.1 2.1 62.3 15.9 13.4 4.2

Total 100

Other

11.3

3.4

31.6

15.9

14.4

22.6

100

Figure2.3.Percentdistributionoffocusofmisunderstandingfordialect motivatederrorsandothers
70.0 60.0 50.0 Percent 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0
en ts s Re an al ys is t lo st se gm en on ym w or d

Dialect-motivated Other

se gm o

en t

O ne

Se

Focus of misunderstanding

Thereappeartobepolardifferencesinthemechanismsinvolvedindialect motivatedvs.othermisunderstandings.Thedialectmotivatedexamplesare heavilyconcentratedinthesinglesegmentcategory,whilethecasesinvolving reanalysisandrestructuringacrosswordboundariesarealmostfreeofdialect influence. Itfollowsthatmostdialectmotivatedmisunderstandingswillbe phonologicallyinfluenced,andthatthesmallernumberofcasesthatare syntacticallymotivatedwillbeconcentratedamongthosethathavenospecific dialectorigin(24ofthe26cases,chisquare6.00,p=.01).Thereisnosignificant differenceinthelexicalsourcesofmisunderstandingbetweendialectmotivation

Tw

W ho le

H om

gm

andothercases.Pragmaticfactorsarethemajorroutetothediscoveryof misunderstanding,fordialectmotivatedcasesandothers,anditisraretofind pragmaticfactorsfavoringmisunderstanding.Hereisonedramaticcase,which involvedadisplacementofafinal/d/.Thepragmaticsofthemedical examinationfavoredtenderinplaceoftheactualutterance,tenure.

(24) Resident,examiningGillian:Areyoutenured? GillianS.[CA]:Yes[=>tender] Resident:Forhowlong? Gillian:What? Resident:Howlonghaveyouhadit? Gillian:Whatdoyoumean? Resident:Howlonghaveyouhadtenure? Gillian:[laugh,andnursetoo,whounderstood'tender'] Anotherrarepragmaticmotivationappearsin(25): (25)Answeringmachine:You'vereachedSamandAnn's.Pleaseleavea messageafterthetoneandwe'llcallyouback. AtissaBanuazizi=>Annwillcallyouback.

Only9ofthe42casesofpragmaticmotivationwerealsodialectmotivated.Here isoneremarkablecasereportedbyaNewYorkerinChicago,whichinvolvesthe NorthernCitiesShiftbackingof/e/to//: (26)CoreyMiller[NYC]:PerceivedontheChicagocommutertrainthis morning:"I'vegotamutualfundcomingin".Thisdidn'tsoundso strange,giventhatmanyofthepeopleonthetrainarefinancialfolks. Iheardthepersonclarifytoherassociatewhoalsomisperceivedthe utterance,"amutualFRIEND". Iftheseanalysesofthepragmaticsituationarecorrect,thismeansthatmost

reportsofdialectmotivatedmisunderstandingsareheardascontrarytothe probableinferencesthataremadefromthesocialandlinguisticcontext.Thisof courseishowmostaredetectedandreported,asshowninTable2.2.Thegreat majorityweresooutofkeywiththeimmediatesituationthatthelistener respondedwithaquery,asin(58)and(27).

(27)

MarkKaran[NNJ]:Haveagooddayatschool. Jeremie[NNJ]=>Haveagoodday,scum. Whatdidyoucallme?

Whenthemisunderstandingpersists,thepursuitofunderstandingmayleadto considerablesocialfriction.Thisisevidentin(28)and(29): (28) AliceGoffman(7yrsold):Iwanttotalktoyouaboutthekitty. GillianSankoff:[=>aboutthecake.] Youwantapieceofit? Alice:Areyououtofyourmind? Gillian:Don'tsaythattoyourmother. Alice:Whywouldyouwanttocutthekitty? LeightonW.[boss]:I'mgoinghomeforaboutanhourkittycats. Shelah[employee]=>takeanap. [WhensomeonecalledforLW,shetoldhimhehadgonetotakeanap. LW.'swifecalledafterwardsandwantedtoknow,angrily, whereherhusbandwasgoingtotakeanap.]

(29)

Wehavealreadyseenthatanyestimateofthefrequencyofmisunderstandingsis lowerthentheactualfigure,sinceourobservationsareboundtobeskewed towardsthemostdetectableevents.Itcanalsobesaidthatdeferredor undetectedmisunderstandings,nowmatterhowinfrequent,arethosethatput thegreateststrainonthefabricofsociability.

Wecannowturntothespecificmergers,chainshiftsandothersound changesthathavebeenthemajorfocusofourstudiesoflinguisticchangesin progress,andseehowandtowhatextenttheyaresourcesofmisunderstanding.

2.6.The effect of mergers

Thelowbackmerger
Thelargestsinglegroupofdialectmotivatedmisunderstandingshaveto dowiththemajorunconditionedmergerinNorthAmericanEnglish:thelow backmergerof/o/and/oh/incotandcaught,Donanddawn,etc.ANAEshows thismergerasdominantinEasternNewEngland,Canada,Western PennsylvaniaandtheWest,withtransitionalstateintheMidlandandsporadic mergerintheSouth(Maps9.14).Thelowbackmergeraccountedfor32ofthe 235cases,or14%.Tenoftheseinvolvedthesamepairofwords:coffeeandcopy.2 (30) CarlR.[Boston]:Howdidthecoffeemachineworkout? SherryA.[Chicago]:[beganastoryabouthercopyingmachine] (31) GillianS.[Montreal]:Wewon'tsaveanytimetocomehereforacopy shop. WL[NorthernNJ]:Coffeeshop? (32)GillianS.,[Montreal]:Oh!Copyshop!Hereitis! WL[NorthernNJ][looksforcoffeeshop] (33) GillianS.[Montreal]:Iwonderifthere'sacopyplaceneartheairport? WL[NorthernNJ][=>Whywouldsheneedcoffee?]
2

Originallypresentedinchapter11ofvolume1,andreproducedherein

condensedform.

(34)DavidS.[Montreal]:It'stimetomakethecopies. WL[NorthernNJ]:ButI'vealreadyhadmycoffee. (35) DavidS.[Montreal]:I'llgetyourcopyrightaway. WL[NorthernNJ][=>Whyishegettinguscoffee?] (36)AnnT.[Vancouver]:Doyouhavethecopykey? DonR.[KY]:Isthereakeytothecoffee? (37) DavidB.[OK]:Thereisanicecoffeestainonthisone. MarkK.[NorthernNJ]=>Thereisanicecopystainonthisone. (38)RuthH.[CT]:ThesearecopiedfromMauriceSendak. Woman[?]:IthoughtyousaidyouweregettingcoffeeforMaurice Sendak. (39) EdwardL.[?]:DoyouknowanyplacewhereIcangetsomecoffee? RobinS.[NYC]=>..getsomecopies

Thisserieshasseveralpointsofinterestforourcurrentinquiry.Copyand coffeewouldnotappearinanylistofminimalpairsfor/o/and/oh/,butthe /p/~/f/contrastisnothoweversalientinintervocalicposition.Whenthe mergedvowelisproducedbyaspeakerfromCanadaorNewEngland,asin(30 36),itisinbackroundedposition,withheightenedallophonicroundingfromthe followinglabial:thisleadstotheautomaticidentificationwith/oh/byspeakers oftheunmergeddialect.WhenthemergedvowelisproducedbyaWestern speaker,usuallyinanunroundedposition,itisinterpretedasunrounded/o/by anunmergedspeaker,asin(37).MarkK.afterwardsnotedthe[a]qualityofthe misunderstoodcoffee.3
3

In(38)and(39),thedialectidentitiesofthespeakersandthemechanismsare

Thecomicalnatureofthisseries,whichcreatesprolongedlaughterinoral presentations,isanimportantpartofthestory.4Thecharactersinvolvedare linguists,whoknowmoreaboutthelowbackmergerthananyone.Yettheyhave notlearnedfromrepeatedexperience,butcontinuemechanicallyto misunderstandtimeaftertime.Inmanycases,thepragmaticsofthesituation stronglysupportedthecorrectinterpretation,yetdidnotaffecttheoutcome.In (31),(32)and(33),WLknewverywellthattheyweresearchingforacopyshop andhadalreadyhadcoffee,yetheheardthemergedproductionofcopy[kpi]as coffee. Anotherseriesofrepeatedmisunderstandingsinvolvedtheminimalpair DonandDawn.Atthetimeofthecollection,thePennDepartmentofLinguistics includedagraduatestudentDawnSuvinoandthefacultymemberDonRinge. (40)GillianS.[Montreal]:ItwouldbeevenbetterifDoncouldtakehertothe airport. WL[NNJ]=>wonderedforsometimeabouthowDawn,whoisblind, couldtakeher. (41)MaryA.[RI]:IstartedsneezinginGreekMeterandafterawhileI figuredDawnsdogmustvebeeninthere. AnnT.[CA]:Dondoesnthaveadog. Mary:No,DAWN!

uncertainbuttheyareaddedheretocompletethecoffee/copyparadigm.Ina similarcase,GillianS.scoffeepotwasmisunderstoodbyWLascopperpot.
4

ThiscouldbeobservedinanextremeformatapresentationonNatural

Misunderstandingsatthe2008meetingofNWAVEinHouston.

(42) AnnT.[CA]:[atthemeetingofnewstudents]Elisespentquitealong timetalkingtoDawn. RuthH.[CT]:Whatdoyoumean?[sinceDonisnotanewstudent] (43) SherryA.[Chicago]:IvebeentalkingtoDawnhere.. CarlR.[Boston]:..Hindle?[=>DonHindle] (44) PeterP.[GA]:ImworkingforDawn. CarolC.[Phila]:DonRinge? Herewehaveasmallcommunity,allfullyawareofthepresenceofthetwo individualsandthehomonymyoftheirnames,whorepeatedlyconfusethem evenwhenthepragmaticsofthesituationpointtothecorrectidentification. Again,themajorityaretrainedphoneticians,yettheydonotusetheirknowledge ofthelinguisticsituationtoavoidmisunderstanding. Wecannowapplythesedatatothegeneralquestionofthemechanismof thelowbackmerger.InHeroldswellknownproposal(1990)theexpansionof themergerinacontactsituationistheresultofrepeatedmisunderstandingsby thetwophonemespeakersofproductionsoftheonephonemespeakers,asa resultoftryingtomaptheirallophonicdifferencesintoseparatephonemic categories.Ontheotherhand,onephonemespeakersdonotmakesuch mistakes,astheydonotrelyuponphoneticdifferencestodistinguishthe/o/ and/oh/classes.Thedatafromnaturalmisunderstandingsgivesreasonable supporttoHeroldsposition.Ofthese35cases,wecanbecertainofthestatusof themergerofbothspeakerandhearerin25.5Table2.3showsthedistributionof

ThecasesofuncertaintymostlyinvolvetheSouth.AsFeagin1993andANAE

errorsbyspeakerandhearer. Table2.3.Distributionof/o/~/oh/errorsbyspeakerandhearer Speaker Merged Unmerged Merged Unmerged Hearer Unmerged Merged Merged Unmerged Cases 20 5 0 0

Afull80%ofthemisunderstandingsrecordedconformtoHeroldsmodel.This supportisencouraging.However,itdoessuggestthatadultslearnfromtheir mistakes,andabandontheirrelianceonthe/o/~/oh/distinctionin interpretingtheproductionsofothers.Therestillremainsthequestionastohow suchashiftinspeechperceptionleadstoacollapseof/o/and/oh/intheir childrensspeechproduction.6 EvenmorestrikinginTable2.4isthefactthattherearenoclearcasesof misunderstandingbetweenmergedspeakersorbetweenunmergedspeakers. Thisleadsustobelievethatmergerseventheunconditionedmergerofword classeslike/o/and/oh/arenotamajorsourceofmisunderstandingwithin

(Chapter9)report,thebackupglidethatdistinguishes/oh/from/o/isbeing lostwithresultantmergerinmanycities.
6

SeeJohnson2006:Chapter5,forthesuddenexpansionofthelowbackmerger

amongyoungchildrenalongtheRhodeIsland/Massachusettsborder.

thecommunity.Themisunderstandingsproducedbythelowbackmergerarea contactphenomenon,nottheresultofthelossofcontrastwithinthedialectof thespeechcommunity.

Thepin/penmerger
AmongtheconditionedmergersofNorthAmericanEnglish,oneofthe mostvigorouslyexpandingisthelossofthedistinctionbetween/i/and/e/ beforenasals,usuallyinfavorof/i/butsometimeswith/e/.Itischaracteristic oftheSouthgenerallyandtheSouthMidland,aswellasAfricanAmerican speakerseverywhere,andoccurssporadicallyintheWest(ANAEMap9.5). Thereare11casesinthedataset,someinvolvingtheclassicpin/penconfusion, othersinlessexpectedpositions. (45) Bankteller[AfricanAmerican]:YouhaveyourPennID? SherryA.[Chicago]:PINID? Teller:YourPennID? Sherry:PINID? (46) MelissaH.[TN]:EverytineIsayINsurance... RuthH.[CT]=>EverytimeIsayentrance Herethedistributionsofspeakersandhearersresmbledthatfoundforthelow backmerger.Oftheelevencases,eightinvolvedmergedspeakersandunmerged hearers,andonlyonethereverse.Buttwosuchconfusionsoccurredbetween speakersoftheunmergeddialect.

Mergersbefore/l/
ANAEshowsavarietyofmergerstakingplacebefore/l/(pp.69ff).A goodtenpercentofthe762speakersshowacompletemergerofboth/il~iyl/ and/ul~/uwl/,butinverydifferentgeographicregions.Misunderstandingsof feelingsandfillings,pullandpooloccurinthedatasetofnatural misunderstandings,reflectingongoingmergers,butthemostcommoncases involvemisplacementofthemidlowbackandmidbackvowelsduetodifferent phoneticrealizationsacrossdialects:CanadianbowlheardasballbyMidAtlantic hearers,MidAtlanticcalledheardascoldbyCanadians.

2.7. Chain shifts

ThemajorsourcesofdivergenceinNorthAmericanEnglisharethechain shiftswhichrotatevowelsystemsinopposingdirections:theNorthernCities Shift,theSouthernShift,theCanadianShift,thePittsburghShift,theSouthern BackUpglideShift,andtheBackChainShiftbefore/r/,asdescribedinLYS, PLCvolume1,ANAE,anddisplayedinthecurrentviewofphonologicalspace attheendofchapter1ofthisvolume.Chainshiftsarewellrepresentedamong thedialectmotivatedmisunderstandings.

TheNorthernCitiesShift
SincenoneofourmajorobserverswerelocatedinNorthernCitiesShift territory,wedidnotexpecttoobserveasmanymisunderstandingsmotivatedby

thischainshiftaswiththelowbackmerger.However,almostasmanyappeared: 22,representingfivestagesoftheNCS(Figure1.4).Thefirststage,thegeneral raisingof//ismostlikelytobemisunderstoodwhenitoccursbeforevoiceless stops.Inthisposition,itcanbemisheardbyspeakersofotherdialectsas prenasal,sinceforthemthatisthepredominantraisingenvironment.Thuswhen PattyPlumfromSyracuseintroducedherself,RobinSabinounderstoodherfirst nametobeCandy.WhenIaskedLindaNovakofRochesterwhereherfather worked,sheanswered[kodik],whichIunderstoodasCodinguntilon repetitionitappearedasthemoreexpectedKodak. Thesecondstage,thefrontingof/o/,isrepresentedinsix misunderstandings:culotte>coolads,costumes>casting,God>Dad,operations >aberrations,blocks>blacks,chopstick>chapstick.BeatriceSantorinihearda newsannouncersaying,TheEdenExpresswayisjammedsalad.Itwasagood tensecondsintothebroadcastbeforesherealizedwhathadactuallybeensaid. Thelastthreeoftheseinvolvethereinterpretationofasinglesegment,thatis, minimalpairs. Thesemisunderstandingsinvolvethemishearingoftherotatedvowelsby speakersofotherdialects.Wealsogetthereverse,wherepeoplefromtheInland Northwronglycategorizethespeechofothers.JaneGoodheartreports: (47)NeithermyboyfriendDavenorIarenativestoMichigan,andweare notNCSspeakers.Davehadthefollowingmisunderstandinghappen threetimesintheLansingarea,attwodifferentgrocerystores,with twodifferentworkers:heaskedfor'catfish'andthemanbehindthe

countergavehimcod,thinkinghesaid'codfish.

TheshiftsofNCS/e/providetwodifferentsourcesfor misunderstanding.Theearlyloweringof/e/towardslowfrontpositioncreated considerableoverlapwiththe/o/tokenswhicharefrontingtothesameposition (LabovandBaranowski2006).Thisleadstotheconfusionof/e/and/o/ reflectedin(48): (48) Telephonesurveyor[Chicago]:Doyouhaveanypetsinthehouse? BrianT.[EasternUS]=>pots[thoughtthat'pot'wasnotlikelysince everyonehaspotsandpot=marijuanawastoopersonal;askedfor repetitionseveraltimesuntilunderstood.] FiveothermisunderstandingsofInlandNorth/e/reflectthebackingtooverlap withthe//ofolderspeakersandotherdialects:Betty>Buddy,best>bus,Tech Net>TechNut,andtheexampleof(49).Hereonecanseehowthephoneticfacts leadtoamisinterpretation,thoughallelementsofthecontextsupportan/e/ reading: (49)LauraW.[Madison]:TheymakeTreksinWisconsin[whilepushingbike alongandtalkingaboutwhereshegotit] CharlesB.[Edmonton]=>trucks Theloweringof/oh/canleadtoconfusionwith/o/ofotherdialects,butmore likelywith//.Theloweringandbackingof/i/,theleastprominentoftheNCS stages,appearsinthemisunderstandingofHicksasHex. Ofthe22casesofmisunderstandingduetotheNCS,19werefrom outsidersperceptionofNCSproductions,onewasthereversecaseof(46),and

onewaswithintheNCScommunity(13).Itappearsthattheoriginandlocation ofourobserversisresponsiblefortheabsenceofmisunderstandingswithinthe NCS;theexperimentstobereportedinthenextchaptertestifytotheir prevalence.

TheSouthernShift
TheothermajorrotationofNorthAmericanVowelsistheSouthernShift, asdisplayedinFigure1.5.Thefirststageisthemonophthongizationof/ay/, whichismaccompaniedbyaslightfrontingmovement.Seven misunderstandingsinvolvedthisprocess:right>rot,right>rat,nice>nots,diet >dat,andalibis>alabaster.Itisnotablethatthemostcommonpatternis misunderstandingofmonophthongizationbeforevoicelessconsonants,which (exceptintheInlandSouth)isasociallymarkedandstigmatizedfeature.Thus themostcommonexpression,WellrightnowspokenbyaMissourian,was brieflymisunderstoodbyRobinS.asrotnow.Onecaseofaninverseerrorwas observed:blondjokewasheardasblindjoke,bothequallylikely. ThesecondstageoftheSouthernShift,theloweringof/ey/alongthe nonperipheraltrack,isrepresentedbythemishearingofspacesuitasspicesuit,a lesslikelycombination.IntheElPasoairport,JoannaLabovhearditannounced thattheplanewasgoingtobelight. Theraisingoftheshortfrontvowelstoperipheralposition,stages3and5 oftheSouthernShift,appearinthemishearingofGlennasgrand,spedupasspit

up,DingasDean,wingsasweenies.ListeningtoMichaelMontgomerydiscuss Varbrul,RobinSabinoheardwhenyoumakeasalefilebutquicklycorrected thistocellfile. MostofthesemishearingsoftheSouthernShiftweremadebytheNew YorkobserverRobinSabinoinAlabama.However,shedidreporta misunderstandingwithinasoutheastAlabamafamily.NancyH.wasdescribing anewcombtoherdaughterJane,andaskedDoyouwanttoseeit?Jane answeredthatshedidnotwanttosit.Thisreflectsthedevelopmentofthe inglidewithperipheral/i/,whichischaracteristicoftheSouthernShiftandwill playamajorroleinthenextchapter.Sabinoalsoobserved(50): (50) KevinH.[Crossville,AL]:Wehavenoright... ChristinaJ.[Atlanta]=>Wehavenorat... Chapter3willpresentmoresystematicevidenceonhowwellSoutherners understandtheoutputoftheSouthernShift.Sledd(1953)arguedthatthe frontingthataccompaniesthemonophthongizationof/ay/establishesadistinct phonemeforSouthernerswhichallowsthemtodistinguish/h/in baadfrom thevowelofliedandahdinThewomanahdandohd.Thiswouldforcethe notation/lahd/inliedvs./hd/inahd.Thuswithinthecommunity,blind wouldnotbeconfusedwithblandorblondorrightwithratorrot.However,(50) suggeststhatthedistinctionbetweenrat,rightandrotmaynotalwaysbe maintainedintheSouth. Itmaybeusefultoexaminethewholesetofmishearingsinvolvingthe

wordright.InadditiontothemisunderstandingsofSouthernrightasrotandrat, aMissourianmisunderstoodaNewYorkersallrightjobaswrotejob.The examples(51)and(52)showerrorsoutsideoftheSouththathavenothingtodo withmonophthongizationofthevowel.Theybothdepartfromthehomonymy ofwriteandright,whichistheproductofthemuchearlierandnowuniversal mergerof/wr/and/r/. (51) AliceG[Phila]:Ihavetodothatwritingsample. GillianS.[Montreal]:?[=>Ihavetodothatrightexample]. AliceG.:Ihavetodolikeabigasswritingsample. (52)GillianS.[Montreal]:Wouldyouhelpmerightthetableagain?[referring toanoutsidetablethathadbeentiltedovertodrainthewateroff] W[NorthernNJ]=>Wouldyouhelpmewritemypaperagain? [puzzled,looksforrepetition] GillianS.:[repeats]. WL[=>firstmisunderstands,andfinallygetsit].

TheCanadianShift
Thedownwardandbackwardshiftof/e/and//istriggeredinCanada bythemergerof/o/and/oh/inlowermidbackposition(Figure1.6).Itis representedinthemisunderstandingdatabythemishearingof blackasblockand theexampleof(53),whichshowshowthephoneticsofCanadian//canforcea wronginterpretationagainstallcontextuallikelihood.

(53) RuthH.[CT]:[lookingatbedframe]Whatsupportsthemattress? Saleswoman[Canada]:There'sarackunderneath. Ruth:Arock? Saleswoman:No,arack.

2.8. Philadelphia sound changes

Chapter4and5ofvolume2,presentedadetailedviewofthreenewand vigoroussoundchangesinthecityofPhiladelphia.Sincemanyofour observationsweremadeinthatcity,onewouldexpectagoodrepresentationof naturallyoccurringmisunderstandingsmotivatedbythesechangesinprogress.

TheBackVowelShiftbefore/r/
InPhiladelphiaasinmanypartsoftheU.S.,thelowcentralvowel before/ahr/shiftstomidbackposition,withanaccompanyingshiftof/ohr/to highbackposition,usuallymergingwith/uhr/(Figure1.7).Thisshiftis completeinPhiladelphia,withnosignificantvariationbysocialclass,genderor age(Labov2001:134).Accordingly,wehaveoutsidershearingPhiladelphia farmsasforms,farasfour,andcardascourt. (54) SteveN.[Phila]:Webettergetholdofhimsoon,becausehis[d:ns krd]isgoingtobefilledup. GillianS.[Canada]=>dancecourt[couldn'tfigureoutwhathemeant; butaftershehungup,realizedthathehadmeantdancecard].

Thefrontingandraisingof/aw/.
Inthe1970sconservativeolderspeakersinPhiladelphiarealized/aw/ withalowfrontnucleus[].Youngerspeakershaveshiftedto[o]andinmore advancedforms[e]withalowbackglidetarget.Connsrestudyof Philadelphia(2005)showsthatthisprocessoffrontingandraisingreacheda

maximumamongthoseborninthe1950s,andisrecedingsteadilyamong youngerspeakers.Wagner2008confirmsthisrecessionof(aw). OurdatasetshowssixmisunderstandingsofPhiladelphia/aw/that reflecttheuppermidpositionofthenucleus.Typically,theuppermidfront nucleusisidentifiedwithavowelinthatareaandthebackroundedglideislost. Thus/aw/ismisheardasthevowelof/h/,whichisusuallyhigherandfronter buthasaninglidethatdescendsonlyto[].Thusfrownisheardasfan,groundas grand.Whensoundisheardassales,wenoteaconfusionoftherounded[]glide withbackunrounded[](seebelowonthevocalizationof/l/).Whenmouseis heardasmess,theglideisnotobservedatall.Afullyarticulatedglidecanleadto areanalysis,amisunderstandingthattakessomefurthereventstoreverse. (55) Motheroftoddler[Phila]:Getup[offthefloor]andsitdown! CharlesBoberg[Edmonton]=>sitdayold[asindayoldbread]

Oneresultofthe/aw/shiftisthehomonymyofcrownandcrayon,whichis pervasivethroughoutthecityevenamongconservativespeakers,facilitatedby theuseof/oh/inthesecondsyllable.Thereversemisunderstandingof(56) suggeststhatPhiladelphia/aw/maybereanalyzedas/eyoh/: (56) BrianK.[Philasuburbs]:Youknowwhatelseisthere[inEaston,PA]? TheCrayolaCrayonfactory. SherryAsh[Chicago]=>TheCrayolacrownfactory. In(57),weseePhiladelphianrepeatingcrowninawaythatanonPhiladelphian interpretsascrayon.

(57)LaurelM.[havinglookedupthenameStephen]Oh,it'sfromtheGreekfor crown. JeanF.[Phila]:Right,cr[w]n. KyleG.[Cincinnati]:What?Crayon? JeanF.:No,cr[w]n,likeakingwears! KyleG.:Ohhh,cr[aw]n!! Asimilardevelopmentof/aw/as[e]intheInlandSouthproducedthe misunderstanding(58): (58) ChristineK.[So.TN]:Laurelleaveswereusedtomakecrowns RobinS.[NYC]=>tomakecrayons

Theraisingofchecked/ey/.
AmongthenewandvigoroussoundchangesinPhiladelphiaistheraising of/ey/incheckedsyllablestothepointthatitlargelyoverlapsthedistribution of/iy/.Conn2005showsthatthischangehascontinuedtoprogressinthe21st century.Thiswasthebasisofthemisunderstandingofslavesasleavein(15). FurthermisunderstandingsofPhiladelphia(eyC)haveappeared:eightaseat, snakeassneak,fashionmateasfashionme,andtrainastreen. AmisunderstandingovermanyyearsisreportedbyRonKim.Intheearly 1990s,helistenedtoalocalrockstationthatfrequentlybroadcastadsfora PhiladelphiajewelrystorewhichheunderstoodasRobbinsEthanWalnut, withthesloganOurnameisouraddress!Overtheyears,heremembered EthanWalnutStreetasastrangeaddress.In1998,hewaswalkingweston WalnutSt.inPhiladelphiasOldCity,passed8thSt.,andsawthestorewithits

signreadingRobbins8thandWalnut.

Theloweringof/e/.
Inthe1970s,theloweringof/e/appearedasanincipientchangeinthevowel systemofPhiladelphia,partofthegeneralreorientationofthefrontvowel systemtoaNorthernratherthanMidlandmodel,consistentwiththeraising of/ey/incheckedsyllables.Therearemanyindicationsthatthischangeis progressinginPhiladelphia,andthenaturalmisunderstandingdataconfirmthis.
(59) Hairdresser[Phila]:..dressan'everything.

GillianS.[Montreal]=>grassan'everything. Hairdresser:Iwaswearingasilkdress. GillianS.=>suckgrass...[quicklyrealizedshemeantsilkdress]

Thecaseof(59)isparalleledbythemishearingsofreq[uisition]asrackandJerryas JarryinonecaseandJaredinanother.

Thevocalizationof/l/
InmanyareasoftheU.S.,syllablefinal/l/isundergoingvocalization. ANAEdoesnottracethisvariable,sinceitisnotreliablyrecordedintelephone interviews,butdoesreportonanumberofmergersofvowelsbefore/l/that appeartobelargelyassociatedwithvocalization.Thevocalizationof/l/isone ofthemaincontributorstomisunderstandinginthisdataset,with25instances. Incodaposition,theunroundedgliderepresenting/l/isoftenheardasa roundedglide.Thusholdwasheardaswho?andBillaswhos,rentalasReno,

StrasselasStrasso.Conversely,an/l/notintendedcanbesupplied,asinthe mishearingsofgoasgoal,Onegativeasallnegative,omissionsasallmissions,and sulkingforsoaking.Inpreconsonantalcodaposition,/l/ismostoftenlost,asin boatsforbolts,andofficeforalphas. Themostnumerousanddramaticexamplesofmisunderstandingappear inintervocalicposition,andthese13casesareheavilyconcentratedin Philadelphia,wherevocalizationof/l/isextendedtothisposition(Ash 1982a,b).7Aleadingandparadigmaticitemistheconfusionbalanceandbounce.It hasbeenobservedexperimentallythatifcustomerswalkintoarunningshoe storeinPhiladelphiaandaskforNewBounceshoes,theywillbeshown New Balanceshoeswithoutfurtherquestion.Inthedatasetweobserve: (60) JeffreyW.[Phila]:...toseeifthepayrollsheetsbalance CoreyM.[NY]=>toseeifthepayrollsheetsbounce. (61) LarryB.[Phila,speakingtohis4yearoldsonJonathan]"...balance." Jonathan,4:Bounce.[repeat,andbeginstobounceupanddown] observedbyRuthH.
(62)JohnM.[Phila]:Youmeettwokindsofpeopleinlife,somecanbalance

theircheckbooksandsomecan't. MarkK.[NorthernNJ]=>bounce.

ThephenomenonisnotconfinedtoPhiladelphia. (63) MaryAnn[TXtravelagent]:There'sasmallbalancedue. RuthH.[CT]:There'sawhatdue?[=>hadnoidea,soundedlike 'bounce'ifanything.

7

Andpostconsonantal/l/,thoughthisdoesnotplayamajorroleinthe

discussiontofollow.

Wehaverecordedalongstringofmisunderstandingsofintervocalic/l/spoken byPhiladelphians.AtellerreadingmynameWilliamwasheardtosay WHAM.AmanonthephonesaidTellhimitsHarvey,andthelistenerheard ThomasHarvey.VolleyballcourtswasheardasBiblecourts.APhiladelphianasking foracoolerwasunderstoodasaskingforaCoor(oneoftheminoritycasesin whichthepragmaticsituationfavoredthemisunderstanding).Spellingwasheard asspine. Theconverseerrorisalsofoundwithintervocalic/l/.ThusinRuth Heroldswork,sheaskedamaninEasternPennsylvaniawherehisfatherwas born.Havingheardmanydeletionsofintervocalic/l/,sheheardhimsay Williamsburg,andonlyaftersometimedidshefindoutthathehadsaid, Waynesburg.Thoughmostoftheseerrorsareincommunicationbetween Philadelphiansandothers,(64)occurredinaconversationbetweentwo Philadelphians,observedbyanoutsider. (64) Instructor[Phila]:Tellmewhatthissentenceimpliestoyou:"Mr. Williamsstrodeintotheoffice." Student[Phila]:Itmeanshewasrealcasual. Instructor:Forstrode?Asinstride?Doyouknowwhat"stride"means? Student:I'msorry,Ithoughtyousaid"strolled"."Strode"means 'forcefully.'

2.10. r-less vs. r-ful dialects

Thereissometendencytowardsthevocalizationof/r/codasin

Philadelphia(Myhill1988),butthechiefsourcesofrlessnessinourdataare fromBritish,NewYorkCityandAfricanAmericanspeakers.ThusoneNew YorkerheardthefloorofanotherNewYorkerasflaw,andalistenerraisedin upperNewYorkStateheardasNewYorkersyarnasyawn.TheCarlofone AfricanAmericanspeakerwasheardascallbyanotherAfricanAmerican listener.Asiswellknown,theinsertionof/r/whereitwasnotintendedisalso quitefrequent.ANewYorkerheardaMidAtlanticautisticasartistic,and anotherNewYorkerheardMidlandAubiesasArbies.Giventhegeneral variationof/r/withzero,evenaMidlandlistenermayhear/r/whereitwas notintended. (65) JillN.[NYC]:Theyhaveanewpawnshopnow. NaomiN.[NE]=>Theyhaveanewpornshopnow.

Itwasagood30secondsbeforethismisunderstandingwasstraightenedoutby succeedingevents.

2.10. Sound changes general to North America

Tothispoint,wehavebeenexaminingtheeffectoncomprehensionof regionaldifferences,andprimarilytheeffectofdialectcontact.Somesound changesgeneraltoallormostofNorthAmericaproducemisunderstandings. ShortaisraisedbeforenasalconsonantstooneextentoranotherinallAmerican dialects,tomidandhighinglidingposition,sothatIanisinmanyareas

homonymouswithAnn.ThusaNewYorkerheardaPhiladelphiansayAnn ArborasIanArborandaSouthernerheardaNewYorkersIanHancockasAnn Hancock.Thishighingliding/h/canbetruncatedandismostcommonly misheardas/i/: (66) CharlotteA.[VA]:IsAnncoming? MarybethL.[Philasuburbs]:Incoming?Incomingfromwhere? Itisalsonotuncommonfortensedshortatobeheardasshort/e/.Thuswefind KennedyforCanada,pensforpans,bedforbadandbreadforgrass.

Thefrontingofbackvowels
ANAEChapter12showsthat/uw/isgenerallyfrontedthroughout NorthAmerica,withtheexceptionoflimitedareasinEasternNewEnglandand inWisconsin/Minnesota.Thisfrontingfrequentlyreacheshighfrontnon peripheralpositionwithanucleusat[].Whenthebackglideistruncatedor fronted,thisvowelcanbemisheardas/iy/.ThusPhiladelphiascooterwasheard byanotherPhiladelphianasskeeter.Wealsonoteyouthmisheardasyeast,shoeas cheese,andboozeyasbeesy. Theparallelfrontingofthenucleusof/ow/isgeneraltotheMidAtlantic region,theMidlandandtheSouth.Thefrontednucleusisheardasan unroundedvowel.ThusaPhiladelphiansOceanCitywasmisheardasNations City;aPittsburghersphonesasfilms.RuthH.observedthefollowingstruggleto understandthePhiladelphiaversionofboat:

(67) Philadelphiawoman[boardingPiedmontFlightfromPhiladelphiato Florida]:I'mgoingdowntoLauderdaleandthenonaboat. Stewardess[mimickingextremePhiladelphiapronunciationasifitwere aplacename]Abewte?where'sthat? Passenger:Aboat. Stewardess=>? Passenger:Aboat. Stewardess[finallyunderstands].

2.12. An overview of natural misunderstandings

Thesetof869naturalmisunderstandingsyieldssomeinsightintothe natureandextentofcrossdialectalcomprehension,butitplainlyhaslimitations. Wehaveonlyoccasionalrecordsofthephoneticformoftheinputwhichwe largelyprojectfromthedialectbackgroundofthespeakers.Wehaveno informationontheabsolutefrequencyofmisunderstandingascomparedto understanding.Thedatadogiveusanideaoftherelativenumberof misunderstandingsduetodialectmotivation,thoughwecannotbesureofthe extenttowhichtheobserversattentionwasbiasedtowardscasesofthistype. Mostofthemisunderstandingsnotedherewereacrossdialectboundaries;there arerelativelyfewamongspeakersofthesamedialect,butthecomparisonisnot acontrolledone. Theselimitationswillbecorrectedinchapters3and4,whichreport controlledexperimentsoncrossdialectalcomprehension.Conversely,theresults fromnaturalmisunderstandingwillservetocorrectthelimitationsofthese controlledexperiments,whichevokeresponsesinanenvironmentthatis

inevitablyassociatedwiththenormsofcareful,nonlocalspeechpatterns.The dataonnaturalmisunderstandingsarefreefromsucheffects.Wecanofcourse projectothermethodsofstudyingmisunderstanding.Onecanexamineerrorsin thetranscriptionsofrecordedtextsorsearchthroughtaperecordingsof sociolinguisticinterviews.Frompastexperience,however,itseemsthatthefirst willprovidetoomanyerrors,thesecondtoofew.Withallitslimitations,the methodweusedhereemergesasonevalidwayofcapturingthecognitive consequencesoflinguisticchange. TheseresultsruncountertothecommonillusionthatNorthAmerican EnglishspeakershavenotroubleunderstandingotherNorthAmericandialects ofEnglish.Ifthestoredmemoriesofourpreviousexperiencewereavailablefor searchandcomparison,alongwithourmemoriesofwhosaidwhat,asexemplar theoryargues,wewouldnotgoonrepeatedlyconfusingtheCanadian allophonesofcoffeeandcopy.Insteadweheartheseutterancesthroughthefilter ofourowncategories:theallophone[]incopyisheardasthephoneme/oh/in coffee.Thisresultgiveslittlesupporttothenotionthatovertheyears,we constructapandialectalphonologyinthespiritofC.J.Bailey(1972),totranslate fromonesystemintoanother.Thestudyofnaturalmisunderstandingsdisplays apersistent,mechanicalandcomicalincompetenceonthepartofthemosthighly trainedandknowledgeableobservers.Whyaretheseerrorssocomical?Itis becausetheyshowustobevictimsofourownhabitualbehavior,unabletomake

useoftherichstoreofknowledgethatweaccessthroughconsciousreflection. Wecanreturntotheobservationthataverylargepartofthesenatural misunderstandingscomefromlinguistswhoseprofessionalcompetencerestson theirknowledgeofdialectdifferences.Iwriteinthethirdpersonaboutthese mishearers,thoughIwasmyselfaprominentmemberofthegroup.Ifanyone shouldbeabletodrawuponapandialectalgrammar,builtoveryearsofstudy andexperience,tointerprettheproductionsofspeakersofotherdialects,they shouldhavebeenabletodoso.Buttheydidnot. Thisviewofthecognitiveconsequencesoflinguisticchangemakesiteven moreurgentthatwepursuethesearchforthedrivingforcesresponsiblefor theselargescalerotations,mergersandconfusions.PartBofthisvolumewill makeanefforttodoso.Butitseemsthatwhateverforcesareoperatingto producetheresultsdisplayedinthischapterareoutsideofourcontrol.Itwould becomfortingtothinkthatlinguisticchangeistheworkofactiveagencyin whichweallmaximizeourstatusthroughthemanipulationofsocialvariants. Butthese869observationsofnaturalmisunderstandingsshowconsiderable distancebetweenintentionandachievementinlinguisticinteraction.Weobserve nodesiretobemisunderstoodortomisunderstand,buttotheextentthatwe recognizeit,asenseofstrongdismaythatsomethinghasupsetthelinguistic applecart.