Intraspeaker Variation: Stop Devoicing in Elderly Black Speakers
Weissler, Rachel Elizabeth
The current study looks at intraspeaker variation in the usage of final stop devoicing in
elderly speakers of African American Vernacular English. The speakers were interviewed
in one-on-one situations and a group-style situation. The results indicated that
participants used final stop devoicing significantly more when they were in a group
interview than when they were in a one-on-one interview. In addition to these findings,
one of the speakers exhibited apparent differences between quoted speech and speech "as
self." However, upon analysis, the difference in usage of final devoicing by itself was not
statistically significant. While the feature alone may not be statistically significant, it
could be a part of a larger pattern that is significant. Finally, when confronted with
questions about language attitudes, participants varied in apparent metalinguistic
awareness, discussing educational status as being a factor in how they were treated earlier
in life, with one participant asserting that they recognize situations where they need to
"speak well," and change their speech accordingly.
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