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Phonetic Variation, Sound Change, and Identity in Scottish Gaelic. Phd Thesis, University of Glasgow

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Phonetic Variation, Sound Change, and Identity in Scottish Gaelic. Phd Thesis, University of Glasgow Nance, Claire (2013) Phonetic variation, sound change, and identity in Scottish Gaelic. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4603 Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Phonetic variation, sound change, and identity in Scottish Gaelic Claire Nance Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities / Sgoil nan Daonnachdan College of Arts University of Glasgow 2013 Abstract This thesis examines language variation and change in a context of minority language revitali- sation. In particular, I concentrate on young fluent speakers of Scottish Gaelic, a minority language of Scotland that is currently undergoing revitalisation. Data from three groups of speakers are presented: older speakers in the Isle of Lewis, a Gaelic heartland area in north-west Scotland; adolescent Gaelic-speakers in Lewis learning the language in immersion schooling; and adolescent Gaelic-speakers in immersion schooling in Glasgow, an urban centre where Gaelic has not traditionally been spoken as a widespread community language. The sociolinguistic analysis examines potential language changes, explores patterns of linguistic variation, and uncovers the role that Gaelic plays in identity formation for each of the participants. In order to gain an insight into the role of Gaelic in different speakers’ lives, I report on ethnographic studies carried out in Lewis and in Glasgow. The phonetic analysis then explores patterns of variation in the production of laterals, vowels, and tone and intonation. The results indicate large differences between the speech of older and adolescent speakers in Lewis, while differences between young speakers in Lewis and Glasgow suggest that Glasgow Gaelic is developing as a phonetically and socially distinct variety of the language. For example, older speakers in Lewis speak Gaelic as a partial tone language, unlike young people in Lewis and in Glasgow. Differences are also present between young people in Lewis and in Glasgow, such as in the acoustics of the vowel [0], the production of the lateral system, and intonation patterns. The developments detailed in this thesis are the result of a complex interaction between the internal sound structure of Gaelic, language contact with varieties of English, identity construction, and differing conceptions of the self. All of these factors are conditioned by the status of Gaelic as a minority endangered and revitalised language. In exploring these avenues, I advance an account of language variation and change and apply it to a context of minority language revitalisation. i Contents Abstract i List of Tables ix List of Figures xii Acknowledgement xiii Author’s Declaration xiv 1 Introduction 1 2 Linguistic and social background 5 2.1 Introduction: defining language revitalisation . .6 2.2 Sound change . .7 2.2.1 Actuation of sound change . .7 2.2.2 Variationist models of sound change . .8 2.3 Language contact . 11 2.3.1 Actuation of contact-induced change . 12 2.3.2 Types of change through language contact . 13 2.4 Identity and language change . 20 2.4.1 Defining identity . 20 2.4.2 Identity in sociolinguistics . 24 2.5 Studies of language revitalisation . 26 2.5.1 Welsh (Jones 1998; Gathercole & Thomas 2009; Morris 2013) . 26 2.5.2 Irish (Maguire 1991; O´ Curnain´ 2007; O´ Giollagain´ 2007) . 27 2.5.3 Hebrew (Ravid 1995; Zuckermann 2008) . 28 2.5.4 Canadian French (Mougeon, Rehner, Nadasdi, McKinnie, Uritrescu 2003-2008) . 28 2.5.5 Maori¯ (King, Watson, Keegan & Maclagan 2009) . 29 2.5.6 Language revitalisation summary . 29 2.6 The status of revitalisation or ‘new’ speakers . 30 2.7 Summary and remaining questions . 31 ii 3 Scottish Gaelic 33 3.1 Introduction . 33 3.2 Gaelic in Scotland . 34 3.2.1 Historical background . 34 3.2.2 Gaelic Scotland as an ‘internal colony’ . 36 3.2.3 Gaelic today nationally . 38 3.2.4 Gaelic and identity . 44 3.3 Gaelic in the Isle of Lewis . 45 3.3.1 Social history of Lewis . 45 3.3.2 Gaelic in Lewis . 47 3.4 Gaelic in Glasgow . 49 3.4.1 Historical background . 49 3.4.2 The current status of Gaelic in Glasgow . 51 3.4.3 Summary: Background to Gaelic in Glasgow . 52 3.5 Summary . 52 4 Methodology 54 4.1 Ethnographic methods . 55 4.2 Variationist sociolinguistics and sociophonetics . 56 4.2.1 Apparent-time . 56 4.3 Fieldwork sites . 57 4.4 Sampling of participants . 58 4.4.1 Older speakers in Lewis . 58 4.4.2 Younger speakers in Lewis . 59 4.4.3 Teachers in Glasgow . 59 4.4.4 Younger speakers in Glasgow . 60 4.4.5 Summary: Sampling of participants . 60 4.5 Interview methodology . 61 4.5.1 Older speakers in Lewis . 63 4.5.2 Younger speakers in Lewis . 64 4.5.3 Teachers in Glasgow . 64 4.5.4 Younger speakers in Glasgow . 64 4.5.5 Biographical and language use questionnaire . 65 4.6 Linguistic features . 66 4.6.1 ‘The variable’ in variationist research . 66 4.6.2 Features analysed here . 66 4.7 Statistical analysis . 68 4.8 Ethical approval . 70 4.9 Summary . 70 iii 5 Ethnography 71 5.1 Fieldwork in Lewis . 71 5.1.1 Life on an Outer Hebridean island . 72 5.1.2 Older Lewis speakers . 74 5.1.3 Adolescents in Lewis . 79 5.2 Fieldwork in Glasgow . 84 5.2.1 Adolescents in Glasgow . 85 5.3 Summary of participants . 95 5.4 Discussion . 99 6 Three Scottish Gaelic laterals 101 6.1 Introduction . 101 6.1.1 Articulation of lateral sounds . 102 6.1.2 Acoustic correlates of lateral articulations . 103 6.1.3 Previous studies of Irish and Scottish Gaelic laterals . 105 6.1.4 Laterals in Lewis English and Glasgow English . 106 6.2 Method . 107 6.2.1 Coding . 109 6.2.2 Auditory analysis . 109 6.2.3 Acoustic analysis . 111 6.3 Results . 115 6.3.1 Auditory analysis . 115 6.3.2 Static acoustic analysis . 119 6.3.3 Dynamic acoustic analysis . 125 6.3.4 Summary of results . 128 6.4 Discussion . 128 6.4.1 Phonetic evidence for three phonemic laterals in Scottish Gaelic . 128 6.4.2 Change in the lateral system . 129 6.4.3 Differences between Lewis and Glasgow young people . 131 6.5 Interim conclusions . 131 7 Vocalic variation, change, and identity 133 7.1 Introduction . 133 7.2 Background . 134 7.2.1 Previous studies of /u/ allophones in Gaelic . 134 7.2.2 Previous studies of /u/ variation in English . 135 7.2.3 Defining Gaelic and English /u/ in the present study . 136 7.3 Methods . 137 7.3.1 Tokens included . 137 7.3.2 Coding . 138 iv 7.3.3 Labelling . 138 7.3.4 Formant extraction . 139 7.3.5 Auditory scaling and normalisation . 139 7.3.6 Quantitative measures of vowel differences . 140 7.3.7 Statistical analysis . 142 7.4 Results . 144 7.4.1 Intergenerational differences in Lewis . 144 7.4.2 Differences between Lewis and Glasgow . 146 7.4.3 Local identities and vocalic variation . 148 7.4.4 Summary of results . 154 7.5 Discussion . 155 7.5.1 Intergenerational differences in Lewis . 155 7.5.2 Differences between Lewis and Glasgow . 156 7.5.3 Local identities and vocalic variation . 156 7.6 Interim conclusions . 158 8 Tone and intonation 159 8.1 Introduction . ..
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