Name : Dwi Retno Andansari
Std. Number : [Link].0.006
SOME FINDINGS AND ISSUES
1. An Early Study
One of the earliest studies of variation was Fischer’s study (1958) of the (ng) variatiable,
i.e., pronunciation like singing [ᵑ] versus singin’ [n]. Today in some circles in the United
Kingdom, necessarily privileged ones, people still go huntin’, shootin’, and fishin’, not
hunting, shooting, and fishing. He observed several interesting facts. As children relaxed in
the most formal situation they produced more instances of –in’. Such usage was also
associated with specific verbs, so that verbs like hit, chew, swim, and punch, i.e., verbs
describing everyday activities, were much more likely to be given –in’ endings than more
‘formal’ verbs like criticize, correct, read, and visit. Fischer’s conclusion is that ‘ the choice
between the –ing and the –in’ variants appears to be related to sex, class, personality, and
mood of the speaker, to the formality of the conversation and to the specific verb spoken.
2. New York City
One of the earliest studies of linguistic variation was a small-scale investigation of the (r)
variable (Labov, 1966). Labov believed that r-pronunciation after vowels was being
reintroduced into New York speech from above, was a feature of the speech of younger people
rather than of older people, was more likely to occur as the formality level in speech increased,
and would be more likely at the ends of words (floor) than before consonants (fourth).
Labov claims that today in New York City pronunciations of words like car and guard
with the r pronounced are highly valued. New York City was r-pronouncing in the eighteenth
century but became r-less in the nineteenth, and r-lessness predominated until World War II.
At that time r-pronunciation became prestigious again, possibly as a result of large population
movements to the city. Labov also investigated the (th) variable in New York City, focusing
on the pronunciation of the initial consonant in words like thing and three. There are three
possible variants: [t], [tᶿ], and [ᶿ].
3. Norwich and Reading
Trudgill (1974) investigated sixteen different phonological variables in his work in
Norwich, England. He demonstrates, in much the same way as Labov does in New York City,
how use the variants is related to social class and level of formality. Trudgill’s analysisof the
variables (ng), (t), and (h) shows, for example, that the higher the social class the more
frequent is the use of the [ᵑ], [t], and [h] variants in words like singing, butter, and hammer.
However, whereas members of the lower working class almost invariably say singin’, they do
not almost invariably say ‘ammer.
In an investigation of linguistic variation in Reading, England, Cheshire (1978) focused
on the (s) variable in the speech of three groups of boys and girls. The (s) variable in this case
is the extension of third-person singular verb marking to all other persons, e.g., I knows, you
knows, we has, and they calls. Further investigation showed that, if a verb took a finite
complement, i.e, if it was allowed by a clause in which the verb is marked for tense, then there
was no use of thi –s ending with persons other than third-person singular.
Some social factors operate, too, in the pattern of variation. Cheshire found that high
frequencies of –s usage went with high index scores and low frequencies with low index
scores. Girl used the –s ending as much as boys, but did not exhibit the same correlation
between frequency of use and index score.
4. A Variety of Study
The Detroit study (1968) investigated the use of multile negation as a linguistic variable
in Norwich. The study showed that there is a very close relationship between the use of
multiple negation and social class. Whereas upper-middle class spekares used such negation
on about 2 percent of possible occasions, the corresponding percentages for the other three
social classes were as follows: lower middle class, 11 percent; upper working class, 38
percent; and lower working class, 70 percent.
Wolfram’s study was an attempt to show how the distribution of lingyistic variables
correlated with such factors as social class, gender, age, and racial origin in Detroit. He then
attempted to show characteristics differences in linguistic behavior. Wolfram’s general
fondongs in Detroit were that social status was the simple most important variable correlating
with linguistic differences, with the clearest boundary being between te lower middle and
upper working classes. In each class, however, female used more standard-language forms
than males.
Another study which looked at all these is Macaulay’s study (1977) of five variables in
Glasgow: the vowels in words such as hit, school, hat, and now and the occurance of glottal
stops as replacements for [t] in words like better and get. He found a clear correlation between
variation and social class, but in addition he was able to make certain further interesting
observations. finally, Macaulay found that, when individual rather than group behavior was
plotted for each variable, a continuum of behavior was exhibited in each case.
Kiesling’s research (1998) on the use of (ng) variable among a small group of fraternity
men at a university in the United States shows how it might be possible to account for
individual differences in usage. He concluded that each of the individuals achieved a personal
objective in using –in’ so frequently: for ‘Speed’ the use of –in’ symbolized, among other
things, values such as hard work, practically, and freedom as well as certain rebelliousness
and independence. Kiesling says that the (ng) variable is here being used to create identity.
There are two studies oftheFrench spoken in Montreal. The first study is by Sankoff and
Cedergren (1971). They found that the distribution of the variants of the variable in Montreal
French is related to both phonological and grammatical factors, not just social ones. This is
affected by its relationship to the following phonological segment and whether it occurs in
either a personal or impersonal pronoun, when these are even of identical form, i.e., il.
The second example from Montreal French is Sankoff and Vincent’s study (1977) of the
use of the negative particle ne. They found that ne is very rarely used at all in Montreal; in
fact, it is not used 99.5 percent of the cases in which it would be required in formal written
French. However, ne has not disappeared entirely from Montreal French. Its use is
characteristic of a certain style or effect that speakers wish to achieve.
5. Belfast
The Milroys took a rather different approach to variation in their study (Milroy and
Milroy, 1980, 1987a) of a certain aspects of speech in three working-class areas in Belfast,
Northern Ireland. The Milroys were able to show how a stable set of linguistic norms emerges
and maintains itself in a community. Lesley Milroy calls these vernacular norms, norms
which are ‘perceived as symbolizing values of solidarity and reciprocity rather than status,
and are not publicy codified or recognized’. The result support Milroy’s hypothesis that
‘acloseknit network has the capacity to function as a norm enforcement mechanism; there is
no reason to suppose that linguistic norms are exempted from this process.’
6. Controversies
In their discussion of linguistic variation, Wolfram and Fasold (1974) present data from
an earlier study by Fasold (1972) to show that it is possible to state how two or more factors,
or constraints, interact to affect the distribution of a variable. Wolfram and Fasold point out
that the constraint of appearing before a non-vowel has a greater effect than the constraint of
appearing after a sonorant, i.e., appearance of the stop before a non-vowel leads to a greater
amount of deletion than appearance after a soronant.
Constraints may also mix phonological and grammatical features. Wolfram explains a
situation in Detroit in which black speakers also delete final stop in clusters, but in this case
make a distinction according to the grammatical function of the stop.
