Shifting Parameters of Individual and Group Variation
- 1 June 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of English Linguistics
- Vol. 33 (2), 161-184
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424205278952
Abstract
The relationship of the individual to the group is one of the central issues in language variation, particularly in mono-ethnic enclaves. This study examines the role of the individual and the group in Roanoke Island, NC, the largest African American community on the Outer Banks. Phonological and morphosyntactic variables representing four generations of African American speakers indicate increasing group accommodation to regional dialect norms while preserving core ethnolinguistic traits. Despite the macro-level trends, the speech of individuals on Roanoke Island reveals high levels of variation within each generation. Several factors may affect the variable frequencies expressed by individuals: mobility (both realized and desired), inter-ethnic contact, and personal versus public identities. We investigate how multiple factors affect individual variation, demonstrating both common and distinctive generational trends. Although individuals often align with the overall patterns of their generational cohorts, their speech also exhibits flexibility of group affiliation and personal style.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- African American English in AppalachiaEnglish World-Wide, 2004
- Insularity and Linguistic EndemicityJournal of English Linguistics, 2003
- The dynamics of new Englishes: From identity construction to dialect birthLanguage, 2003
- African American EnglishPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2002
- Identity and Language Variation in a Rural CommunityLanguage, 2002
- On the nature of isolated and post‐isolated dialects: Innovation, variation and differentiationJournal of Sociolinguistics, 2002
- The Development of African American EnglishPublished by Wiley ,2002
- Investigating “self-conscious” speech: The performance register in Ocracoke EnglishLanguage in Society, 1998
- Varieties of Variation in a Very Small Place: Social Homogeneity, Prestige Norms, and Linguistic VariationLanguage, 1994
- Contraction, Deletion, and Inherent Variability of the English CopulaLanguage, 1969