Ressource pédagogique : Methodological considerations in the study of sociophonetic variation in an underdocumented minority language: Somali Bantu Kizigua as a case study / Holman Tse

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Methodological considerations in the study of sociophonetic variation in an underdocumented minority language: Somali Bantu Kizigua as a case study / Holman Tse, in colloque "Variation et variabilité dans les Sciences du langage : analyser, mesurer, contextualiser", organisé par le Comité d'organisation des Journées d'Études Toulousaines (JETOU), en collaboration avec les laboratoires CLESS-ERSS, Octogone, dont le laboratoire Jacques Lordat, et le Centre Pluridisciplinaire de Sémiotique Textuelle, Université Toulouse II-Le Mirail, 16-17 mai 2013. *Prix Jétou 2013 pour la meilleure communication orale. This paper presents an example of how research can be done on sociophonetic variation within a community of speakers of an underdocumented minority language. The paper begins with a discussion and critique of the Labovian sociolinguistic interview, which has formed the basis of a large body of work on variation. Current research on Somali Bantu Kizigua, a minority language from East Africa, is discussed. A modified Labovian sociolinguistic interview was implemented for collecting data on the language. Results from  this study reveal evidence of a sound change in which a historically voiceless prenasalized velar stop, */nk/, becomes a voiceless glottal fricative, /h/, with uvular consonants as intermediate stages. This change appears to confirm speaker’s intuitions about age as a major factor in variation within the community. The paper concludes with a discussion of opportunities for increased collaboration between documentary linguists and sociolinguists.

"Domaine(s)" et indice(s) Dewey

• Sociolinguistique, ethnolinguistique (306.44)
• Phonologie. Phonétique (414)

Thème(s)