scholarly journals Ejectives in Scottish English: A social perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen McCarthy ◽  
Jane Stuart-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Speech Styles ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
High School Girls ◽  
The Social ◽  
School Girls ◽  
Relevant Word ◽  
Auditory Analysis ◽  
Casual Speech

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the realization of word-final /k/ in a sample of read and casual speech by 28 female pupils from a single-sex Glaswegian high school. Girls differed in age, socioeconomic background, and ethnicity. Ejectives were the most usual variant for /k/ in both speech styles, occurring in the speech of every pupil in our sample. Our narrow auditory analysis revealed a continuum of ejective production, from weak to intense stops. Results from multinomial logistic regression show that ejective production is promoted by phonetic, linguistic and interactional factors: ejectives were used more in read speech, when /k/ occurred in the /-ŋk/ cluster (e.g.tank), and when the relevant word was either at the end of a clause or sentence, or in turn-final position. At the same time, significant interactions between style, and position in turn, and the social factors of age and ethnicity, show that the use of ejectives by these girls is subject to a fine degree of sociolinguistic control, alongside interactional factors. Finally, cautious comparison of these data with recordings made in 1997 suggests that these results may also reflect a sound change in progress, given the very substantial real-time increase in ejective realizations of /k/ in Glasgow over the past fourteen years.

Style, indexicality, and the social meaning of tag questions

2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMMA MOORE ◽  
ROBERT PODESVA
Keyword(s):  
Social Meaning ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Community Members ◽  
High School Girls ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interactional Context ◽  
School Girls ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Tag Questions

ABSTRACTThis article illustrates how the notions of style and indexicality can illuminate understanding of the social meaning of a specific linguistic variable, the tag question. Drawing on conversational speech and ethnographic data from a community of high school girls in northwest England, it quantitatively and qualitatively examines the discourse, grammatical, and phonological design of tag questions in this community. Members of four social groups are shown to use tag questions to similar effect, as a means of conducing particular points of view. However, these groups also exhibit striking differences in the stylistic composition of tags, distinctions that indexically construct stances and personas, which may in turn come to represent group identity. These data suggest that the social meaning of tag questions can be best ascertained by examining their internal composition and by situating them in their broader discursive and social stylistic contexts. (Adolescents, ethnography, indexicality, interactional context, quantitative discourse analysis, social meaning, style, tag questions)

Hedges in Japanese conversation: The influence of age, sex, and formality

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shizuka Lauwereyns
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
The Social ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
Casual Speech ◽  
Two Age Groups

Hedges in Japanese conversation are discussed in relation to three social variables: age, sex, and formality. In the present study, hedges are defined as expressions of uncertainty, possibility, or tentativeness, all of which convey a sense of vagueness. I quantified the use of 26 Japanese hedges (e.g., toka ‘or something’, kana ‘I wonder’, nanka ‘like’, and tabun ‘probably’). Three hypotheses were posited to investigate the effect of the social variables: hedges are used (1) more often by younger speakers than by older speakers; (2) more often by women than by men; (3) more often in casual speech than in formal speech. Data of 20 single-sex dyads were collected from two age groups and from both sexes. The data supported hypotheses (1) and (2), but not (3). Most notably, younger female speakers use hedges often. Social factors of the speaker as well as context play an important role in the use of hedges in Japanese conversation.

Schwa Deletion in Word-Initial Syllables of Polysyllabic Words

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaru Wu ◽  
Martine Adda-Decker ◽  
Lori Lamel
Keyword(s):  
Speech Styles ◽  
Casual Speech

This study aims to analyse factors that could influence schwa deletion in word-initial syllables of polysyllabic words in continuous French speech. Both phonological and extralinguistic factors were considered: number of consonants, post-lexical context, speech style, sex and profession. Three large corpora covering different speech styles were explored using forced alignment with optional schwa variants. Formal journalistic ESTER corpus, conversational journalistic ETAPE corpus and casual speech NCCFr corpus were used in this study. We observe that schwa tends to be deleted more for 2C-words than for 3C-words. Words preceded by a consonant or a pause tend to prevent schwa deletion whereas words preceded by a vowel tend to facilitate schwa deletion. The less formal the speech style is, the more schwas are deleted. Males tend to delete schwas more frequently than females. Interestingly, journalists tend to delete more schwas than politicians in our data.

Different versus Equal: The 1920s

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Woloch
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Women's Movement ◽  
Equal Rights Amendment ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Woman's Party ◽  
Women's Politics

This chapter revisits Adkins and considers the feud over protective laws that arose in the women's movement in the 1920s. The clash between friends and foes of the Equal Rights Amendment—and over the protective laws for women workers that it would surely invalidate—fueled women's politics in the 1920s. Both sides claimed precedent-setting accomplishments. In 1923, the National Woman's Party proposed the historic ERA, which incurred conflict that lasted for decades. The social feminist contingent—larger and more powerful—gained favor briefly among congressional lawmakers, expanded the number and strength of state laws, saw the minimum wage gain a foothold, and promoted protection through the federal Women's Bureau. Neither faction, however, achieved the advances it sought. Instead, a fight between factions underscored competing contentions about single-sex protective laws and their effect on women workers.

Relationship between breastfeeding and obesity in high school girls

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1003-1008
Author(s):  
Mahnaz Mardani ◽  
Sadegh Rezapour ◽  
Fereshteh Hajipour
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
High School ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
School Type ◽  
Parental Occupation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
High School Girls ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
School Girls

AbstractObjectivesSome factors in infancy can play a role in the development of adolescent obesity. Understanding these factors can help prevent early complications in adolescents associated with obesity in adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among high school girls in Khorramabad and its relationship with breastfeeding history.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. This study was conducted in 832 high school girls during the academic year 2016–2017. Samples were selected by multi-stage random sampling. General questionnaires, physical activity, and 24-h food questions were completed through interviews with students. Data regarding breastfeeding was obtained by mothers.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight and obesity in the study population was 16.3 and 5.8%, respectively. Overweight and obesity had a significant association with breastfeeding history (p = 0.001), while there was no significant relationship between overweight and obesity with school type, student’s age, parental occupation, education Parents, household size, birth rate, physical activity, and energy intake.ConclusionsThe results of this study showed that breast feeding has a protective effect on overweight and obesity during adolescence. To reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity, necessary education regarding breastfeeding should be provided.

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