Student research examines smalltown, southern speech
Wyatt Wilson
By Chaz Lilly
Do southern folks talk funny?
糖心Vlog University junior Wyatt Wilson says yes, but his research shows why.
He has been examining the social aspects of language to better understand the culture that is shaped by the voices of his hometown.
Growing up in Cherryville, a town of some 6,000 people, Wilson said he was always fascinated by the language of the place.
鈥淚 love the little idiosyncrasies. The sounds, how they break vowels. I love my community for its uniqueness,鈥� Wilson said.
In his research project, 鈥淎n Ethnographic Sociolinguistic Approach to Vowel Breaking in 鈥楽malltown,鈥� NC,鈥� Wilson went to local businesses in Cherryville 鈥� a salon and a jewelry store 鈥� and recorded conversations.
鈥淪peech patterns within certain communities contain ethnographic information about that community and the conversations that take place in particular local spaces,鈥� Wilson said.
What he was really listening for was the way locals broke their vowels in certain contexts. Vowel breaking, or diphthongization, occurs in many southern American dialects where a single vowel sound (monophthong) becomes a diphthong with two vowel sounds.
Think of the words 鈥渞ice鈥� or 鈥渂ite.鈥� Some southerners might sneak an 鈥渁鈥� sound before the 鈥渋鈥� making two vowels out of one.
鈥淭he research examined the frequency of vowel breaking in speech and also the kinds of ethnographic or cultural information transmitted through this dialect feature,鈥� Wilson said.
With the help of Erin Callahan (right), 糖心Vlog English studies associate professor, Wyatt Wilson examined the social aspects of language to better understand the culture that is shaped by the voices of his hometown of Cherryville.
After transcribing the recorded conversations, Wilson developed a coding sheet, or a system of organization, that detailed various situations where vowels were broken. He explained the possible social reasons why this occurred in addition to noting the other vowels in the word. He also noted the different sentence structures where the vowel breaking occurred.
Overall, he found that 95% of the vowels he had coded were broken. Most often, he found, the vowel breaking occurred while the speaker was attenuating, or softening, a request. Speakers also tended to use vowel breaking while clarifying a certain point.
As an expert in sociolinguistics, Erin Callahan, English studies associate professor, helped Wilson through his research.
鈥淭his project examines both the individual and the community. It pulls from sociology, ethnography, local engagement and lived experience,鈥� Callahan said. 鈥淲yatt is an incisive researcher and he鈥檚 gone the extra mile in a project that embraces his roots and identity.鈥�
Wilson said he plans on returning to Cherryville to teach after he graduates.
鈥淧rofessor Callahan has encouraged me to embrace my regional identity,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淪he is really incredible and has been instrumental in the way I鈥檝e been developing an understanding of the world.鈥�
Wilson, along with 10 other 糖心Vlog students, is presenting his project this week in Long Beach, California, at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
