Northern

Cities
Canadian
Shift
The Life History of Linguistic Shift

Change Inland
North: Back
front /o/ vowel
shift
Low back merger Increase phonetic
distance Eastern
seaboard:
Pittsburgh raise /oh/
chain shift
South:
add Back
upglide upglide
chain
shift
William Labov, University of
Pennsylvania
/o/ ~ /oh/
Skewed opposition
depending on length
ICHL Montreal 1
August 2007
www.ling.upenn.edu/~labov

2
 A sequence of linguistic changes

A’ B’

Unidirectional Causally linked

A B
Bidirectional Contingent alternatives

Triggering event Unstable condition

3
 Components of a sequence of linguistic changes

1. Triggering events: the first in the chain of causally

connected events
2. Governing principles: constraints that determine the
unidirectional character of changes
3. Forks in the road: alternate pathways of change that
differentiate sister dialects
4. Driving forces: factors that lead to the continued
incrementation of the changes
5. Re-analysis: the process that leads to the uniform
distribution of the changes across the speech community.

4
 Two ways of looking at the problems of language change

Weinreich, Labov & Herzog 1968 This presentation

Accounting for changes Accounting for sequences of changes

1. The actuation problem Triggering events

2. Constraints problem Governing principles
3. The transition problem Forks in the road
4. The embedding problem Driving forces
5. The evaluation problem Re-analysis

5
 ANAE notation for the word classes of North American English

LONG
SHORT Upgliding Ingliding
Front upgliding Back upgliding
V Vy Vw Vh
nucleus front back front back front back unrounded rounded
high i u iy iw uw

mid e ¦ ey oy ow oh

low Q o ay aw ah

6
 ANAE notation aligned with JC Wells’ word classes for American English

LONG
SHORT Upgliding Ingliding
Front upgliding Back upgliding
V Vy Vw Vh
nucleus front back front back front back unrounded rounded
high i u iy uw
KIT FOOT FLEECE GOOSE
mid e ¦ ey oy ow ´h oh
DRESS STRUT FACE CHOICE GOAT NURSE THOUGHT
low æ O ay aw ah
TRAP LOT PRICE MOUTH PALM

7
Triggering events

8
The Canadian Shift in the vowel system of Marsha M., 24 [1997], Montreal, TS659

lowering of /e/

merger of
/o/ and /oh

backing of /æ/
9
The Canadian Shift in the vowel system of Hubert B., 17, Toronto, TS798

lowering of /e/

merger of
/o/ and /oh

backing of /æ/
10
 The Canadian Shift: mean values of Canadian Telsur
subjects [N=25] compared to all others [N=414].
F2
2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000
500
/i/
550

600

650
Canadian

F1
/e/ All others
700

750
/æ
/o/
/
800

850

Source: The Atlas of North American English

11
The Canadian Shift nested in the Low Back Merger area (ANAE Map 11.7)

Low back merger

isogloss

12
 The Canadian Shift

2 1

13
The low back merger of /o/ and /oh/ in cot and caught, etc. (ANAE Map 9.1)

Canada

E.N.E.

The West
W. Pa.

14
 OE ME EME
thought, off, cost, water,
bought vocaliza- cloth, strong wash
tion of /x/
The development of /oh/

ah oht o wa
av __f,s,T,N
breaking
fought, hawk,
taught laundry length-
eah round-
ening ing
vocaliza-
rounding tion of /v/
thaw,
straw, aw [au [ç:] /oh/
claw ]
vocaliza- σ σ −> denasal-
vocaliza-
tion of /g/ σ ization mono-
tion of /l/
phthong-
ag alC au a+u aN ization
applaud, brawn, lawn,
maw, talk,
because pawn spawn
saw, call, 15
draw all OF
Minimal pairs contrasting /o/ and /oh/

/o/ /oh/
cot caught
Don dawn
hock hawk
stock stalk
odd awed
cod cawed
Sol Saul
odd ability audibility
... ...
16
 Contrast of /o/ and /oh/ after tensing of /o/

a /o/ /o/ -> /oh/ /oh/

p t cot, tot, hot, got, dot caught. bought, taut, fought
i d odd, hod, god, sod awed, hawed, gaud, sawed
c s toss, moss, floss, cost sauce, exhaust, caustic
a z Oz, positive cause, clause, hawser, paws
l n don, don, pond on dawn, awn, yawn, lawn
s
l doll, moll, collar all, tall, maul, caller
p hop, pop, top, sop ----------
b rob, hob daub, bauble
c& Scotch, botch, watch ----------
j lodge, dodge, Roger ----------
g log. hog, cog, dog auger, augment, augur, August
k stock, hock, clock stalk, hawk, talk
f {boff} off, doff, scoff, cough,
T {Goth} cloth, moth, ----------
S gosh, bosh, tosh ----------
D bother ----------
z& ---------- ----------
m bomb, Tom, prom ----------
N {ping pong} strong. song, wrong ----------
# ---------- law, saw, flaw, thaw, claw 17
 A linguistic sequence
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o

Low back
merger

/oh/ ~ /o/ Unstable condition

EME ç:
Mod E. off, lost, song
ME
ç(:}u OF an
ME av
ME a(:}u
OE oht OF au OF a+u
OE eah 18
OE aw OE au OE ah
 A linguistic sequence 1
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o

Merge /o/ Triggering event

--> /oh/

/oh/ ~ /o/ Unstable condition

19
Governing principles

20
 General principles of merger

Garde’s Principle:
Mergers cannot be reversed by linguistic means

Herzog’s Corollary:
Mergers expand at the expense of distinctions

21
 A linguistic sequence 1
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o

Merge /o/ Unidirectional

--> /oh/

/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/

22
 General principles of chain shifting

In chain shifts,
I. Long vowels rise.
II. Short nuclei fall.
II. Back nuclei shift to the front.
--Labov, Yaeger & Steiner 1972

23
 General principles of chain shifting

In chain shifts,
I. Tense nuclei rise along a peripheral track
II. Lax nuclei fall along a non-peripheral track

24
 Martinet on maximal dispersion

Phonemes co-existing in a language tend naturally to optimize

the possibilities that are available from the speech organs; they

tend to be as distant from their neighbors as possible while

remaining easy to articulate and easy to perceive. . .

Martinet 1955:62 (tr. WL),

attributed to de Groot TCLP 1931:121

25
A stable distribution of English low vowels: an outlier not
recognized as a member of the /æ/ distribution

mean F2 1700 Hz

/æ/ /o/ /oh/

26
A stable distribution of English low vowels: an outlier not
recognized as a member of the /æ/ distribution

mean F2 1700 Hz

/æ/ /o/ /oh/

27
An unstable distribution of English low vowels: /o/ merged with /oh/ so
that the /æ/ outlier affects the central tendency of /æ/,

mean F2 1650 Hz

/æ/ /o=oh/

28
 The Canadian Shift across subsystems

Long and ingliding vowels

Short vowels

/oh/
/e/

/æ/ /o/

29
 A linguistic sequence 1
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o
Unidirectional

Merge /o/ Unidirectional

--> /oh/

/oh/ ~ /o/

30
Forks in the road

31
Forks in the road of the Canadian Shift

/i/ /u/
/e/ / / /oh/

/æ/ /o/

32
The Pittsburgh Shift in the vowel system of Ken K., 35, TS 258

33
 The Pittsburgh Shift in a Plotnik display of means of 21 dialects
PI = Pittsburgh; WPA = Western Pennsylvania; CA = Canada; IN = Inland North; M =
Midland; MA = Mid-Atlantic; PR = Providence; IS = Inland South

no lowering
of /^/

,CA

low back
merger
no backing backing
of /æ/ of /æ/ lowering 34
of /^/
 A linguistic sequence 2
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o Unidirectional

Unidirectional

Bidirectional Merge /o/

--> /oh/

oh Unidirectional
o
Pittsburgh
Shift

/oh/ ~ /o/

35
 A linguistic sequence 3
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o Unidirectional

Unidirectional

Bidirectional Merge /o/

--> /oh/
Bidirectional
unround-
ing /o/
Unidirectional
oh
o
Pittsburgh
Shift

/oh/ ~ /o/

36
Unrounding of /o/ in Western New England

Burlington

F2(o) < 1300 Hz

Rutland Manchester F2(o) >= 1300 Hz

Boston

37
 The merger of /o/ and /ah/

llama pasta taco Scarlatti Rama

pajama Obama Bach Iraq …..

off
cloth
loss /oh/ /o/ [A] /ah/ half
lost bath
strong
EME ç: EME A: past
song aunt
…. dance
ME ME ç:u …..
OE oht çXt
ME av salve
ME a:u
halve
OF an pa
OE eah ma
OF au
spa calm
a+u
bra palm
OE aw
hah
OE au OE ah
38
father
 A linguistic sequence 3
Canadian
e
Shift
oh
æ o Unidirectional

Unidirectional Unidirectional

Bidirectional Merge /o/ Merge /o/

--> /oh/ --> /ah/ balm = bomb
father = bother
Bidirectional
unround-
ing /o/
Unidirectional
oh
o
Pittsburgh
Shift

/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/

39
 A linguistic sequence 3
Canadian
e
Shift Inland
oh North:
æ o Unidirectional
fronting
of /o, ah/

Unidirectional Unidirectional

Bidirectional Merge /o/ Merge /o/

--> /oh/ --> /ah/
Bidirectional
unround-
ing /o/
Unidirectional
oh
o
Pittsburgh
Shift

/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/

40
Fronting of /o,ah/ in the Inland North (ANAE Map 14.5).

41
 The Northern Cities Shift

Ked
cud cawed

a
cad chod

42
 The Northern Cities Shift

desk busses

bosses

mat head

block
socks

43
 Northern
A linguistic sequence Cities e oh
Shift
Canadian
e
Shift Inland æh ah
oh North:
æ o Unidirectional Unidirectional
fronting
of /o, ah/

Unidirectional Unidirectional

Bidirectional Merge /o/ Merge /o/

--> /oh/ --> /ah/
Bidirectional
unround-
ing /o/
Unidirectional
oh
o
Pittsburgh
Shift

/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/

44
Raising of /oh/ in the Mid-Atlantic States: Providence to Baltimore

Magenta symbols:
F1(oh) < 700 Hz

45
 Northern
A linguistic sequence 4 Cities e oh
Shift
Canadian
e
Shift Inland æ ah
oh North: Unidirectional
æ o Unidirectional
front /ah/
Bidirectional
oh(r)
Unidirectional Eastern
Unidirectional ah(r)
seaboard: Back
Bidirectional Merge /o/ Merge /o/ vowel
raise /oh/
--> /oh/ --> /ah/ shift
Bidirectional Unidirectional
unround-
ing /o/
Unidirectional
oh
o
Pittsburgh
Shift

/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/

46
Three areas of resistance to the low back merger (ANAE Map 11.2)

47
 Northern
A linguistic sequence 5 Cities e oh
Shift
Canadian
e
Shift Inland æ ah
oh North: Unidirectional
æ o Unidirectional
front /ah/
Bidirectional
oh(r)
Unidirectional Eastern
Unidirectional ah(r)
seaboard: Back
Bidirectional Merge /o/ Merge /o/ vowel
raise /oh/
--> /oh/ --> /ah/ shift
Bidirectional Unidirectional

round- unround-
ing /o/ oh [ç:]
Unidirectional ing /o/ Bidirectional
oh [ço]
o South: add
Pittsburgh upglide to /oh/ æw aw [Ao
Shift
Unidirectional
Back]
upglide
/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/ chain shift

48
Merger of /o/ and /oh/ in cot and caught, Don and dawn, hock and hawk

49
Alternatives to the low back merger

NCS
NCS

Back
Vowel
Shift

Back Upglide
Shift

50
Low back merger and alternatives to the low back merger

Canadidn
Shift

NCS
NCS

Pitts-
Back
burgh
Vowel
Shift
Shift

Back Upglide
Shift

51
Driving forces

52
Gender and social category determination of five elements of the
Northern City Shift in a Detroit suburban high school

70
Male Jocks
Male Burnouts
Percent advanced tokens

60 Female Jocks
Female Burnouts
50

40

30

20

10

œ
æ o oh e U

Source: Eckert 2000

53
 Social correlates of four measures
of the Northern Cities Shift [N=71]

Age * Female Years of

25 yrs Gender Education

Raising /æ/ 34* 8.6*

/e/-/æ/ reversal 34* 26*

/e/-/o/ alignment 112***

/^/-/o/ reversal 37 -16*

54
Three areas of resistance to the low back merger

St. Louis corridor

55
The St. Louis corridor along Interstate I-55

Fairbury

56
Fronting of /o,ah/ in the Inland North (ANAE Map 14.5).

9 Telsur
speakers from
No. Illinois ** **
* * ** *
**
9 Telsur
speakers from
the St. Louis ***
corridor
****
57
 Distribution of NCS measures in No. Illinois and the St. Louis corridor

Northern Illinois AE1 O2 EAQ EOD UD Age Rank

Sterling IL 34 1
Elgin IL SS 19 1
Elign IL RS 42 1
Joliet IL 30 1
Rockford JG 37 2
Belvidere IL 33 2
Hammond IN 45 3
Rockford IL VS 65 4
Lena IL 47 5
St. Louis Corridor Corr 0.738
St. Louis MH 48 1
St. Louis JH2 57 2
Fairbury IL 25 3
Springfield AK 60 4
Bloomington 27 5
Springfield KR 32 6
Springfield WK 67 6
St. Louis JH 53 6
St. Louis RM 38 6 58
Corr -0.05
 Northern
A linguistic sequence 5 Cities e oh
Shift
Canadian
e
Shift Inland æ ah
oh North: Unidirectional
æ o Unidirectional
front /ah/
Bidirectional
oh(r)
Unidirectional Eastern
Unidirectional ah(r)
seaboard: Back
Bidirectional Merge /o/ Merge /o/ vowel
raise /oh/
--> /oh/ --> /ah/ shift
Bidirectional Unidirectional

round- unround-
Unidirectional ing /o/ ing /o/ Bidirectional oh
oh
o South: add æw aw
Pittsburgh upglide to /oh/
Shift Unidirectional
Back
upglide
chain shift
/oh/ ~ /o/ ~ /ah/

59
 The Pittsburgh Shift across subsystems

Long and ingliding vowels

Short vowels

/o,oh/
/oh/
/e/

/æ/ /o/

60