This thesis made a phonological analysis of the features in the Appalachian speech pattern used by native speakers of western Steuben County, New York: (1) to identify phonological features predominant in this specific area of Appalachia, (2) to describe the speech patterns of the elderly inhabitants, and (3) to identify possible phonological trends among three discrete age groups of native speakers.The selected sample of twelve speakers, who had been born in and had spent most of their lives in the area, comprised three age groups which represented the population distribution of the area.In addition to the predominance of the fronted nasal /a/, the predominance of high nasal /ae/, centralized /I/, diphthongs before /r/, and the distinctive pronunciation of Chili, Castile, Lima, and Nunda, there is a tendency toward unrounding which leads to preference for /U/ over /u/ and for /^/ over // in unstressed position.It was concluded that more phonological agreement exists within the oldest and the youngest age groups, that more phonological agreement exists between the oldest and the middle age groups, and that greatest disagreements between age groups occurs between the oldest and the youngest groups of speakers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/180863 |
| Date | January 1974 |
| Creators | Dille, Jeane L., 1924- |
| Contributors | Houck, Charles L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | v, 87 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-ny |
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