Variation in /u/ fronting in the American Midwest

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Sociophonetics
• Phonetics

Background:

• Previous studies link social indexing to phonetic reduction.
• Social indexing involves gender, race, and regional background.
• Linguistic contexts can promote phonetic reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if social indexing is greater in phonetic reduction contexts.
• To examine the American Midwest /u/ fronting sound change.
• To analyze the influence of lexical frequency, phonological neighborhood density, discourse mention, and speaking style on /u/ fronting.

Main Methods:

• Examined the ongoing /u/ fronting sound change.
• Analyzed four linguistic factors: lexical frequency, phonological neighborhood density, discourse mention, and speaking style.
• Compared /u/ fronting in plain vs. clear laboratory speech.
• Compared /u/ fronting in low-frequency, low-density words vs. low-frequency, high-density words.

Main Results:

• Minimal effects of linguistic factors on /u/ fronting for advanced talkers, suggesting completion of the sound change.
• More /u/ fronting in plain speech than clear speech for less advanced talkers.
• More /u/ fronting in low-frequency, low-density words than low-frequency, high-density words for less advanced talkers.
• Effects align with the hypothesis that social indexing is greater in reduction-promoting contexts.

Conclusions:

• The /u/ fronting sound change is nearing completion for some American Midwesterners.
• Speaking style influences social indexing more than lexical properties like frequency and density.
• Phonetic reduction contexts may enhance social indexing of background characteristics.