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Field Work in Utah English. English Language Society Meeting February 8, 2007. Utahisms!. What do these signs have in common?. Why is it important to do field work in a language like Utah English?. dialect prejudice dialect change dialect acquisition social factors that influence dialect
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Field Work in Utah English English Language Society Meeting February 8, 2007
Utahisms! What do these signs have in common?
Why is it important to do field work in a language like Utah English? • dialect prejudice • dialect change • dialect acquisition • social factors that influence dialect • speech pathology • computer language processing • heritage/ genealogy
Why do field work in Utah English? From The Phonological Atlas of Northern America
Why do field work in Utah English? Utah is also a great place to study dialect acquisition and social factors (like religion)
How do you do field work in a language like English? Usually we need a lot of speakers, so . . . • interviews • phone calls • covert observations • public forums • door-to-door We decided on door-to-door—so the four of us got a map of Utah County and each took a different section
The Utah English Project Team Diane, Wendy, Jared and Danny
Some of the Questions from the Survey • In what building does a farmer keep his animals? • Name the days of the week • What is the term for a sweetened carbonated beverage? • If you had to say there’s a difference, what’s the difference between a bag and a sack? • What do you say when people say thank you to you?
What were some of the challenges of doing field work in dialects of English? • Achievement of a random sample • Recording of the speakers • Confusion over some of the questions • Worry about keeping anonymity • Worry about saying the wrong thing • Anger of some of the groups (non-LDS participants) • Belief that they did not have a Utah “accent” • Suspicions about our work/danger to us
Some more fun things we encountered • Overexcitement about helping us out • People’s feelings about Utah English • Coaching by husbands/wives