Vowel variation, style, and identity construction in the English of Latinos in Washington, D.C

This study investigates the interrelationship of language, identity, and /ae/ ("ash") variation along the first-formant (F1) and second-formant (F2) dimensions, in first- and second- generation Latinos in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. /ae/ was selected since Latino English /ae/ tends to be lower and more backed than in general American English, particularly in pre-nasal context. Methods integrate quantitative analysis of social and stylistic patterning of /ae/ variation and qualitative analysis of how speakers use these features to convey and shape social and personal meanings in interaction. The relationship between style, social factors, and substrate-related phonetic variation in emergent dialects has important implications for language system development and social identity construction in situations of bilingualism and language contact. Specific research questions were 1) how does /ae/, a phonological feature showing a well-documented distinction between Chicano English and general American English varieties, vary in the English of Washington, D.C. Latinos? 2) How does /ae/ variation contribute to stylistic variation and interactional construction of identity in sociolinguistic interviews and other interactional contexts? Quantitative mixed-model statistical regression analysis addressed inter-speaker and topic-related variation in sociolinguistic interviews and self-recorded data. Results showed that low, backed /ae/ is stylistically active among Washington, D.C.-area Latinos. Changing settlement patterns are also reflected in the data. Suburban participants show a lower realization of /ae/ than residents of D.C. proper (p<0.05), as gentrification and rising housing prices have prompted Latinos to move out of the city. Unraised /ae/ is a feature of native, not learner English, and its presence in multiple Latino Englishes suggests that the linguistic process at work may be similar to that affecting Chicano English /ae/. The contrast between the Latino English and general American English /ae/ patterns appears to be used for identity work that goes beyond a direct ethnic index. Qualitative analysis of interactional positioning (Bamberg 1997) showed that sociophonetic patterning took place in identity-salient stretches of discourse (Podesva, 2007), within and across topic boundaries. Meta-discursive commentary indicated that speakers had a salient sense of ethnic identity and local place related to language practices. Multifaceted methodological and analytic approaches to variation can present a more complete picture of the interrelation between variable linguistic patterning and social meaning. These connections affect language practices across generations, as emergent language varieties become legitimate language systems with important cultural and identity associations.