Northern Cities Vowel Shift region English
E82531
Northern Cities Vowel Shift region English is a distinctive Midwestern American English variety characterized by a systematic rotation of short vowel sounds, especially in cities around the Great Lakes.
Aliases (2)
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Midwestern English dialect
→
regional dialect of English → variety of American English → |
| contrastsWith |
Canadian English
→
General American English → Southern American English → |
| documentedBy |
William Labov
→
|
| documentedIn |
Atlas of North American English
→
|
| hasExampleWordPronunciation |
"block" pronounced with fronted /ɑ/
→
"cat" pronounced with raised and tensed /æ/ → "caught" pronounced with lowered and fronted /ɔ/ → |
| hasLinguisticFeature |
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
→
|
| hasPerceptualEffect |
can sound "nasal" or "twangy" to non-local listeners
→
|
| hasPhonologicalFeature |
distinctive short-a system
→
monophthongal realization of some diphthongs in informal speech → |
| hasPhonologicalProcess |
/æ/ raising and tensing
→
/ɑ/ fronting → /ɔ/ lowering and fronting → /ɛ/ backing → /ɪ/ lowering and backing → /ʌ/ backing → systematic rotation of short vowels → |
| hasSociolinguisticAssociation |
Rust Belt cities
→
urban speech → white working-class speakers → |
| hasStatus |
undergoing change and possible reversal in younger speakers
→
|
| hasVowelSystemType |
chain shift of short vowels
→
|
| isRecognizedBy |
North American dialectologists
→
|
| isSubsetOf |
Inland North American English
→
|
| spokenIn |
Great Lakes region
→
Inland North region → United States → |
| spokenInCity |
Buffalo
→
Chicago → Cleveland → Detroit → Flint, Michigan → Gary, Indiana → Milwaukee → Rochester, New York NERFINISHED → Syracuse, New York → Toledo, Ohio → |
| studiedInField |
phonology
→
sociolinguistics → |
| timePeriodOfMajorDevelopment |
20th century
→
|
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Wisconsin English
("Northern Cities Vowel Shift (in some speakers)")
→
|
hasFeature |
|
Northern Cities Vowel Shift region English
("Northern Cities Vowel Shift")
→
|
hasLinguisticFeature |
|
Midwestern American English
→
|
hasSubvariety |