University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Fall 2009 Language Shift and the Speech Community: Sociolinguistic Change in a Garifuna Community in Belize Maya Ravindranath University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Commons Recommended Citation Ravindranath, Maya, "Language Shift and the Speech Community: Sociolinguistic Change in a Garifuna Community in Belize" (2009). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 33. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/33 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/33 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Language Shift and the Speech Community: Sociolinguistic Change in a Garifuna Community in Belize Abstract Language shift is the process by which a speech community in a contact situation (i.e. consisting of bilingual speakers) gradually stops using one of its two languages in favor of the other. The causal factors of language shift are generally considered to be social, and researchers have focused on speakers’ attitudes (both explicit and unstated) toward a language and domains of language use in the community, as well as other macro social factors. Additional research has focused on the effects of language shift, generally on the (changing) structure of the language itself. The goal of this thesis is to examine the relationship between social and linguistic factors in considering the causes and effects of language shift, focusing on age-based variation in the speech community. This dissertation examines the linguistic and social correlates of early language shift in a Garifuna community in Belize. An apparent time analysis shows an externally-motivated change in the status of the sociolinguistic variable (ch) that is evidence for a shift in the dominant language in the community. A second change in progress, variable deletion of intervocalic r, is described for the first time as an internally-motivated change, albeit progressing alongside contact-induced changes. Evidence is also presented to propose that the behavior of the transitional generation (speakers aged 30-49) shows interesting characteristics with regard to these two variables as a result of shifting language ideologies in the village. These ideological shifts are examined along with changing attitudes in the community toward English, Belizean Creole, and Garifuna. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Linguistics First Advisor Gillian Sankoff Second Advisor David Embick Third Advisor William Labov Keywords sociolinguistics, language shift, speech community, Garifuna, Belize, endangered language Subject Categories Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics | Linguistics This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/33 LANGUAGE SHIFT AND THE SPEECH COMMUNITY: SOCIOLINGUISTIC CHANGE IN A GARIFUNA COMMUNITY IN BELIZE Maya Ravindranath A DISSERTATION in Linguistics Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009 Supervisor of Dissertation Co-Supervisor Gillian Sankoff David Embick Professor, Linguistics Associate Professor, Linguistics Graduate Group Chairperson Eugene Buckley, Associate Professor of Linguistics Dissertation Committee William Labov, Fassit Professor of Linguistics ! Language Change and the Speech Community: Sociolinguistic Change in a Garifuna Community in Belize COPYRIGHT 2009 Maya Ravindranath Abtahian ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My biggest thank you must go to my committee: Gillian Sankoff, Dave Embick, and Bill Labov. It goes without saying that all three have inspired me with their own work; they have also consistently offered invaluable insights into mine. I feel truly fortunate to have had their support. As co-supervisors, Gillian and Dave both went out of their way on multiple occasions to provide me with assistance, commentary, and advice. To the village of Hopkins, Seremein. In particular I want to thank Krishna Molefi, Rudolph Coleman, Francis Lewis and family, the late Clarine Castillo; all of my interviewees, and my host family: Thomasa, Joycelyn, Jess, Prudence, Barbara, Avis, and Ivan Nunez. During my fieldwork in Hopkins the late Bertie Murphy was also a great friend and sounding board. Without Roy Cayetano and Austin Arzu I never would have made it to Hopkins in the first place. These two men have been both mentor and friend to me during my time in Belize and beyond, and have encouraged me in all my efforts to learn about Garifuna and Belize. The late Andy Palacio was also a Garifuna mentor and friend, and his music is an inspiration. Perhaps more than anyone else I have to thank Zita Castillo. Without her native speaker insights, consultations, and coding help – in addition to her friendship - this dissertation would never have been written. In addition to my committee there have been a number of teachers and linguists along the way who have influenced my life in important ways and pushed me to do things ! """! I wouldn’t have done without their encouragement. In particular I am grateful to Rob Wirscycz, Noriko Hayashi, Roopa Dewan, Abby Cohn, and Tony Kroch. There is a large group of people without whom I never would have finished my degree, my thesis, or even Syntax I. In addition to the other linguists with whom I overlapped at Penn, these include first and foremost my cohort: Lukasz Abramowicz, Aaron Dinkin, Michael Friesner, Damien Hall, Tatjana Scheffler, Carmen del Solar Valdés, and Joel Wallenberg. I could not have asked for a more supportive, interesting, and motivating group of colleagues. Suzanne Evans Wagner deserves a special mention as a friend and colleague who has served as a sounding board and support through every aspect of this journey. I am grateful to Sue Sheehan, Maureen Miller, and Amy Forsyth for never losing patience with me and for helping me to get this far. David Miros at the Midwest Jesuit Archives in St. Louis, Marquis Walsh at the University of New Hampshire and Joseph Palacio of the University of the West Indies provided unexpected insights into my research and graciously answered emails and questions. I am very grateful to have had the invaluable suppport of Jared Bjornholm, my writing partner for the last two years. My family has supported me in ways large and small throughout this process. My sister Sonya has edited almost everything I’ve ever written, given countless amounts of statistical advice and has still not lost interest in what I do. My husband Farhad continues to ask the right question at the right time. In addition to his emotional support, he has made me a better researcher. My parents have unquestioningly supported me in every step of my life, including this one, and have always served as role models for the type of person I want to be. ! "#! ABSTRACT LANGUAGE SHIFT AND THE SPEECH COMMUNITY: SOCIOLINGUISTIC CHANGE IN THE GARIFUNA OF BELIZE Maya Ravindranath Supervisor: Gillian Sankoff Language shift is the process by which a speech community in a contact situation (i.e. consisting of bilingual speakers) gradually stops using one of its two languages in favor of the other. The causal factors of language shift are generally considered to be social, and researchers have focused on speakers’ attitudes (both explicit and unstated) toward a language and domains of language use in the community, as well as other macro social factors. Additional research has focused on the effects of language shift, generally on the (changing) structure of the language itself. The goal of this thesis is to examine the relationship between social and linguistic factors in considering the causes and effects of language shift, focusing on age-based variation in the speech community. Hopkins is a multilingual speech community in Belize where complete language shift from the heritage language, Garifuna, to the dominant national languages, English and Belizean Creole (BC), has not yet occurred, despite the fact that Garifuna is no longer spoken in similar nearby communities. This dissertation examines the linguistic and social correlates of early language shift in Hopkins using an apparent-time perspective. The thesis employs interview data from fifty-two (52) speakers aged five to eighty-one, surveys collected from teachers in the rural Garifuna communities in Belize, and ! #! participant observation of caregiver-child and peer interactions in Hopkins to examine two phonological changes in progress in the language, as well as generational differences in language attitudes toward Garifuna and BC. An apparent time analysis shows an externally-motivated change in the status of the sociolinguistic variable (ch) that is evidence for a shift in the dominant language in the community. A second change in progress, variable deletion of intervocalic r, is described for the first time as an internally- motivated change, albeit progressing alongside contact-induced changes. Evidence is also presented to propose that the behavior of the transitional generation (speakers aged 30- 49) shows interesting characteristics with regard to these two variables as a result of shifting language ideologies in the village. These ideological shifts are examined along with changing attitudes in the community toward English, BC, and Garifuna. ! #"! TABLE OF