The Canadian Shift among Filipinos in Metro Vancouver by Pocholo Umbal B.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 2012 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Linguistics Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Ó Pocholo Umbal 2016 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2016 Approval Name: Pocholo Umbal Degree: Master of Arts Title: The Canadian Shift among Filipinos in Metro Vancouver Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Yue Wang Associate Professor Dr. Panayiotis A. Pappas Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Suzanne K. Hilgendorf Supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Nicole Rosen External Examiner Associate Professor Department of Linguistics University of Manitoba Date Defended/Approved: December 6, 2016 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract The present study provides preliminary insight into the linguistic patterns of Filipinos in Metro Vancouver, an important ethnic community in the region. Specifically, this thesis sought to explore whether Filipinos are (linguistically) integrated by determining if they participated in the Canadian Shift (CS), an on-going change in Canadian English involving the lowering and/or retracting of the vowels /æ, ɛ, ɪ/. Twelve second-generation Filipinos between the ages of 19 and 30 took part in sociolinguistic interviews, and formant frequency data based on 408 tokens of /æ, ɛ, ɪ/ were constructed from recordings of Boberg’s (2008) word list. The results revealed that CS is robust, with evidence of women in the lead. These indicated that there are no substrate language transfer effects at least concerning this phonetic variable. This study ultimately demonstrates that despite remaining a marginalized demographic, second-generation Filipinos are linguistically integrated and are therefore rightful members of the region’s speech community. Keywords: Variationist sociolinguistics; Second-generation Filipinos; Canadian Shift; Canadian English; Linguistic integration; Ethnic variation iv Dedication To my Lola, for always being on my side. v Acknowledgements “Just keep swimming!” -Dory, Finding Nemo (2003) That quote has always been my favourite. It comes from “Finding Nemo,” a movie about a clown fish named Marlin in search for his lost son, Nemo. Marlin is accompanied by Dory, a blue reef fish who suffers from short-term memory loss. In one scene, Marlin is overcome with hopelessness of ever finding Nemo; and as a way to keep Marlin’s spirits up, Dory enthusiastically tells him, “just keep swimming!” Working on this project, there were many days where I, too, felt hopeless. And during those days, that quote kept me going. And luckily, just like Marlin, I am also accompanied by many amazing people who, for each time I felt lost, would always say (well, not exactly), “just keep swimming!” And to these people I am tremendously grateful: First and foremost, my gratitude goes to all the Filipinos who participated in this study. Please know that without your voice – literally and figuratively – this thesis would not have come to life. I am thankful to have engaged in this dialogue with each and every one of you. I am indebted to my senior supervisor, Dr. Panos Pappas. My sincerest thanks goes to you for all your guidance and support. You have been with me every step of this journey, and your thought-provoking questions and feedback turned this thesis into a more sophisticated version of itself. Thank you also for the RA opportunity; your BC English project provided me with the necessary tools that ultimately shaped this thesis. I am very proud to have worked under your supervision. I am enormously thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Suzanne K. Hilgendorf. Being part of your sociolinguistics class as an undergraduate student inspired me to pursue graduate studies. Over the years, our insightful discussions about language and society has not vi only richened my appreciation for the field, but also helped immensely in writing the thesis. And for that, I thank you sincerely. Language truly is a social phenomenon. For bringing Filipinos into the spotlight, I thank Dr. Nicole Rosen. Knowing that there are scholars interested in the Filipino community is motivating. My appreciation goes to you for agreeing to sit on my committee, and for all the valuable comments and feedback on my work. I also extend my utmost appreciation to Dr. John Alderete, for encouraging me to keep writing. Your voice inside my head telling me to write even for just an hour each day motivated me unimaginably. Furthermore, I also appreciate the RA opportunity you have provided: working on Bauan Fijian gave me a chance to take a break from my own thesis, which then allowed me to always go back to it with a fresh perspective. I am very privileged to have worked alongside you. Special thanks goes to Dr. Ashley Farris-Trimble for contributing so much to my new found passion for research; your constant encouragement is definitely motivating. I dedicate my first ever conference presentation to you. You have inspired me in so many ways, and I am forever thankful. For investing in my growth as a student and academic, I thank the entire SFU Linguistics faculty. I am very fortunate to have learned a lot from all of you, not only as your student, but also as your TA. My special thanks goes to Dr. Yue Wang and Dr. Cliff Burgess for the always taking the time to check up on me; I always found that encouraging. And to Dr. Anne Rimrott, with whom I enjoyed working as a TA in LING 220 as well as a glorified proctor in practically all the classes that she taught. Of course, I also want to thank the SFU Linguistics staff (both past and present), especially Judi Levang. Thank you for always being supportive; for answering all of my questions; and for simply being there for me. My friends and fellow colleagues deserve my utmost gratitude, especially Emma Mileva, Irina Presnyakova, Kyeong-min Kim, Queenie Chan, and Lisa Shorten. Each and every one of you have impacted me greatly in a very positive way. Words cannot describe how vii thankful I am to have shared this experience with you. Please know that our journey together does not end here. I will always be a phone call away. Thank you to Shai, Marvin, Che, Jam, and JM for being my endless source of laughter and escape. I am grateful especially to Shai and Marvin for encouraging me every step of the way; and for listening and providing input on my thesis. Weekends are my favourite because I get to see you. To Kristel, Kris, and Camille. Thank you to each of you for always being a constant in my life. It amazes me that we have gone through so much in our 15 years of friendship. During stressful times, I would imagine us living together in LA like we had planned back in high school; but then I realize, it would not have been such a good idea. Anyway, I look forward to more storytelling with you over brunch in the next 15 years. My family may not know much about linguistics and what exactly I have been doing the past few years, but I thank my mom and dad especially for always supporting and encouraging me anyway. It always makes me happy when you brag about me to your friends. I hope this thesis makes you proud. And finally to TJ, thanks for doing my physics homework back in July of 2009; that’s when I knew I should keep you by my side always. viii Table of Contents Approval ................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ................................................................................................... iii Abstract ................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ............................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. vi Table of Contents ................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xi List of Figures ....................................................................................................... xii List of Acronyms .................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1. Background ................................................................................... 1 1.1. Ethnolects ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 1.1.2. The role of ethnicity and participation in on-going changes ............ 3 1.2. Filipinos in Metro Vancouver ...................................................................... 11 1.2.1. Introduction .................................................................................... 11 1.2.2. Immigration history and patterns ................................................... 11 1.2.3. In search of better lives ................................................................. 14 1.2.4. Linguistic landscape ...................................................................... 15 1.2.5. Residential patterns and enclave status ........................................ 20 1.2.6. Community organization ................................................................ 21 1.3. The Canadian Shift