Labov's Martha Vineyard Study Flashcards
What is Martha’s Vineyard?
An island off the coast of America
Which 2 phonetic variables did Labov study here?
The ‘ay’ phoneme (as in like aye) and the ‘aw’ phoneme (as in like awe)
Where were the regional forms found the most on the island?
In the locals
What was expected of the upper class people’s pronunciations in Martha’s Vineyard? Why?
They would have used standard American pronunciations as they were tourists
Why did Martha’s Vineyard residents who werent tourists keep regional pronunciations?
To differentiate themselves from tourists
What correlation was found with Martha’s Vineyard residents with the pronunciations they used?
Residents who liked the island used the “ay” and “aw” pronunciations more
How many older people used the regional “ay” and “aw” pronunciations?
40 people
