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Stylistic Variation and Social Perception in Second Dialect Acquisition

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Stylistic Variation and Social Perception in Second Dialect Acquisition Stylistic Variation and Social Perception in Second Dialect Acquisition Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Yuhan Lin ∼6 6 Graduate Program in Linguistics The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee: Professor Kathryn Campbell-Kibler, Advisor Professor Cynthia Clopper Professor Marjorie K.M. Chan Professor Donald Winford © Yuhan Lin, 2018 Abstract This dissertation examines how mobile speakers’ language use and social perception of language interact with their place-based identities. Specifically, I examine audience-based and topic-based style shift in speech production, as well as the social perception of second dialect (D2) use. This work focuses on Mandarin speakers from Xiamen, a city in Southern China, who moved to Beijing for college education. It investigates three linguistic features that differentiated Northern and Xiamen Mandarin: the /s/-/ʂ/ contrast, neutral tone, and /w/->[ʋ]. The effect of audience regional background (Northern vs. Xiamen) was examined by the means of a friend-with-friend conversation task, followed by wordlist reading. Effects of audience regional background (Northern vs. Xiamen) and speaker’s Beijing orientation were found for /ʂ/ and neutral tone: the mobile speakers used more Northern Mandarin variants when talking to their Northern friend, and those who were more oriented towards Beijing also had more Northern Mandarin-like production. Additionally, an interaction of audience and Beijing orientation was found for /ʂ/, such that speakers who were less oriented to Beijing were more likely to use Xiamen Mandarin with a Xiamen friend than those that had more positive Beijing orientation. The effect of place-based topic was examined through speakers’ production of two read- ing passages, which were Xiamen-themed and Beijing-themed, respectively. No significant effect of topic was observed for /s/-/ʂ/ and neutral tone, and there was a significant effect for /w/->[ʋ] in the unexpected direction. The social perception study adopted a between-speaker matched-guise technique to in- vestigate how mobile Xiamen speakers perceived the acquisition of Northern Mandarin. The effects for the three linguistic features were examined separately. The results showed that ii when D2 Northern Mandarin features were incorporated into the speech of Xiamen Man- darin speakers, they were perceived as more likely to build a connection to the Northern community and more talkative and energetic compared to when they used the D1 variants. For /w/->[ʋ], the use of Northern Mandarin guise was perceived as less likable. An inter- action was found between the listeners’ intention to return to Xiamen and guise: those who were less likely to return to Xiamen were more likely to rate the D2 Northern Mandarin guise as more Beijing-oriented. This dissertation is one of the first few large-scale studies that have shown audience- based style shift for second dialect users. This finding calls for closer examination of how researchers’ own linguistic background affects D2 learners’ production. In addition, this work has also found effects of attitude (i.e Beijing orientation) on D2 use (for /ʂ/ and neutral tone) and style-shift (for /ʂ/). Comparing how the attitude effect differs across the linguistic variables, I concluded that factors like explicit knowledge, prestige and the overall extent of D2 use can play a role for this effect. The comparison between the results of the production and social perception revealed that, for /ʂ/ and neutral tone, there was a congruence in the relationship between place- based identities and D2 use: the more Beijing-oriented speakers used more D2 features, and those who used more D2 features were perceived as more likely to form connections with the Northern Mandarin-speaking community. For /w/->[ʋ], there was an asymmetry such that it did not exhibit expected style shift, but could index several social meanings in perception. This finding suggests in addition to examining place-based identity in production, it is crucial to also include a perceptual perspective. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude for the college students from Xiamen who generously shared with me their life as people who are pursuing their dreams away from home. I am also immensely grateful for all the other subjects who participated in this study. This dissertation would not have been possible without their kindness. My dissertation committee has given me wonderful support throughout my graduate study. I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Kathryn Campbell-Kibler, who will always remain an inspiration. She has guided me through the process of translating my interests into theoretically-sound projects with great passion, and has helped me grow as a scholar and a person. I am also profoundly grateful for Cynthia Clopper, who has been on my committee since my first qualifying paper. From her, I have learned so much – from phonetics to statistics to the importance of rigorous scholarship. A special thanks goes to Marjorie K.M. Chan, or Ma Laoshi, who has been a great mentor, collaborator, and a source of positive energy. I enjoyed our many stimulating conversations about the Chinese language(s) and culture. I would also like to thank Donald Winford, who actually taught my first sociolinguistics class, for his invaluable advice on my dissertation research. He has always reminded me to link my own work to the larger questions in the field. I am also extremely fortunate to have been surrounded with many wonderful people at OSU. I would like to express my gratitude for the following faculty and staff who have provided me with generous support beyond my committee: Anna Babel, Brian Joseph, Shari Speer, Hope Dawson, Julie McGory, Julia Papke, and Jim Harmon. I would like to thank my undergraduate research assistants Lijuan Hu and Shichun Xuan for their hard work on the transcription and coding of the data. iv My dear friends and colleagues have made my life in graduate school more pleasant: Alec Buchner, Lara Downing, Evan Jaffe, Stephany Lu, Nathan Rasmussen, Zack De, Keeta Jones, Rachel Burdin, Kodi Weatherholtz, Seth Wiener, Nandi Sims, Ariana Steele, Carly Dickerson, Antonio Hernandez, Lifeng Jin, Yuhong Zhu, Jingdi Shen, Yutian Tan, Litong Chen, Tsz-him Tsui, Qian Wang, Seojin Yang, Sha Huan, Junquan Pan, Daniel Puthawala, Elena Vaiksnoraite, Clint Awai, Willy Cheung, Ellen Dossey, Gina Ndoci, Jordan Needle, Shuan Karim, Katie Carmichael, Cynthia Johnson, Rory Turnbull, and Mike Phelan. I would like to thank Martha Austen and Zack Jones for being such awesome office mates, who have made the last few months of dissertating more delightful. Manjuan Duan and Qingyang Yan have been my support system in Columbus. Your kindness and friendship have brought so much joy into my life. Abby Walker and Shontael Elward, my big sisters in linguistics, have looked after me since day one. As women and scholars, you have been and will continue to be my role models. Friends outside OSU have also provided me with much support at a personal and profes- sional level. I thank my one and only linguistic roommate Annette (Hui) Zhao for the many fun conversations that later became the foundation of this dissertation. My dear kouhai Xin Chen, a friend who happens to also know about linguistics, has created a space for me to share stories about both worlds. I am especially grateful for her help in connecting me to the different communities for my projects. I am indebted to Siqi Zhao for generously offering me a place to stay during my fieldwork in Beijing. I would like to thank Jingyi and Yijin for their long-lasting friendship. Huajuan and Danjuan, I feel blessed to have you in my life. To my parents, thank you for respecting and supporting my decision to pursue my graduate study, and for being happy for me every step along the way. Thank you for your love and everything you have done for me. Even though I have been miles away from my parents, my family in Dublin has made me feel at home. My uncle Feng Lin, aunt Cindy Lin, my cousins Kevin and Michael, thank you for the delicious meals, delightful conversations, v and your generous help. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband Yingyi. I am extremely lucky to have met you and spent so many years with you. Your unwavering love and support have kept me going and made my life brighter. vi Vita 2012 . B.A. English Language and Literature, Beijing Foreign Studies University Publications Lin, Yuhan. (2018). The role of educational factors in the development of lexical splits. Asia-Pacific Language Variation, 4(1), 36–73. Fields of Study Linguisitics vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ................................................................... iv Vita ................................................................................. vii List of Figures ....................................................................... xi List of Tables ........................................................................ xiv 1 Introduction ..................................................................... 1 1.1 Second Dialect Studies .............................. 2 1.1.1 Length of residence ............................ 3 1.1.2 Social interaction ............................. 4 1.1.3 Identity and attitudes .......................... 6 1.2 Language and Place ..............................
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