Journal of English Linguistics current issue

Editors' Note

Curzan, A., Queen, R. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:54 PST

Local and External Language Standards in African American English

Kendall, T., Wolfram, W. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:54 PST

This investigation attempts to determine the social distribution and contextual shifting of African American English (AAE) within rural Southern African American communities. The study compares selective diagnostic AAE variables and features of speech rate and pause in the speech of three recognized sociopolitical leaders in public presentations and sociolinguistic interviews. The results show that there are not significant shifts in the use of AAE from the sociolinguistic interview to the public presentation settings and that leaders do not necessarily align their speech with their age and sex cohorts in terms of vernacular AAE usage. The authors conclude that the relative autonomy of the community, its endocentric versus exocentric orientation, the primary public service constituency of the leader, the different social affiliations and divisions within the community, the speaker’s personal background and history, and the socialized demands and expectations for public presentation are all factors in understanding the leaders’ use of local vernacular and mainstream standard variants.

Defining Dialect, Perceiving Dialect, and New Dialect Formation: Sarah Palin's Speech

Purnell, T., Raimy, E., Salmons, J. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:54 PST

Nonlinguists prove surprisingly good at recognizing dialects, even as dialects rapidly evolve. During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s speech was intensely discussed among linguists, the media, and laypeople. Though Palin is from Alaska, her speech was often identified with the Upper Midwest.The authors explore what this mismatch can tell us about dialects and their perception, starting from a description of Palin’s speech as commented on in the media.They review some pragmatic features and provide quantitative treatment of her "g-dropping." Then, they undertake acoustic analysis of Palin’s vowels and final /z/ devoicing, including Western features and features that create an impression of her speech as Upper Midwestern. Regional settlement history, research on "new dialect formation," and research on perception of variation inform the authors’ finding that a few acoustic and other characteristics trigger a specific national perception of Palin’s verbal behavior.

"Shut Up and Listen": An Interview with Richard W. Bailey

Adams, M. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:54 PST

In the Profession: Choosing the Right Journal for Your Manuscript

Johnstone, B. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:54 PST

Book Review: English: Meaning and Culture. By Anna Wierzbicka. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. vi + 352. ISBN: 0-19-517474-7; 0-19-517475-5 (pbk)

Dancygier, B. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:54 PST