Eicher 1 Allyssa Eicher Dr.

Steven Hartman-Keiser ENGL 4110: Linguistics 2 December 2013

THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF [ash] AND [e] SPEAKERS INTRODUCTION

Ever since arriving at Marquette University, it has been made evident to me that the pronunciation of the word bag is largely disputed. Growing up in Minnesota, I had never heard another pronunciation of this word, but it seems that the majority of the student population at Marquette pronounces this word, and words with the same sound sequence as the one that ends bag (such as aggravated and antagonize), differently than I do. This difference has been a topic of frequent discussion throughout my past two years at Marquette, due to the fact that it seems to be brought up every time I utter this sound sequence in front of my non-Minnesotan friends. Because of this, I was drawn to the exploration of the occurrence of this sound sequence for my research project. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the geographical distribution of speakers who use the vowel [ash] and speakers who use the vowel [e] when they occur in the sound sequence followed by a [g].

METHODOLOGY
The methodology performed for this research was quite varied due to the unexpected results obtained throughout the collection of data. At first, there were two goals to this research. The first was to determine the region in Wisconsin where the switch occurs in regards to speakers who use [ash] and speakers who use [e] in sound sequences followed by a [g]. The second was to determine whether or not a speakers preferred vowel in this sound sequence occurred every

Eicher 2 time the sequence occurred. In order to accomplish this, I had planned to create a list of words that all included this sound sequence, such as bag and rag, and ask friends from various parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin to repeat the words while I recorded them.

After the feedback I received from my research proposal, I realized the need for a more varied sample of speakers based on their location, in case the switch did not occur in Wisconsin. Because of this, I made a much longer list of forty-one speakers from a wider range of places, including states outside of the Midwest. (This list can be seen in the Appendix.) At this point one of the two goals of this research had already changed, as the first goal was broadened to determine the region in the United States, instead of the region in Wisconsin, where the switch occurred. This feedback also suggested that the list of words to be used to test the speakers was too obvious and would cause the inability to collect natural language data. Therefore, based on the suggestion of Dr. Steven Hartman-Keiser, a paragraph that included words with this sound sequence was created to collect data. After a series of exchanges with Dr. Hartman-Keiser, this paragraph was perfected, and the collection of data began. (This paragraph can be seen in the Appendix.)

After initially testing fifteen people, it was evident that every person was either all [ash] or all [e]. (These initial findings can be found in the Appendix.) Therefore, based on the suggestion of Dr. Hartman-Keiser, the second goal of this research was dropped, as it was evident that a speakers preferred vowel for this sound sequence did occur every time the sequence occurred. Because of this, the focus of this research shifted to solely focus on the geographic distribution of this sound sequence. It was decided that the best method to display the data of this

Eicher 3 distribution was through the use of a map. Therefore, a map, was used to accomplish the revised goal of this research. Initially, a map of the United States was used to identify this geographical distribution. However, it was identified that the vowel switch occurred in the Midwest, so an additional map, of the Midwest region, was added to more accurately view where the switch occurs. These maps are displayed and explained in the following sections.

DATA
In the maps below, the black squares represent [ash] users, and the blue dots represent [e] users. During the data collection, it was found that all speakers who came from the same region used the same vowel. Therefore, there are squares and dots that represent more than one speaker tested.

Eicher 4

DISCUSSION
In the first map, of the entire United States, all speakers from states outside of the Midwest were [ash] users. However, every speaker from the states of the upper Midwest, namely Wisconsin and Minnesota, are [e] users, but the speakers from Illinois are [ash] users like the rest of the country. This is made even more evident in the second map. It can be assumed that all speakers from Illinois are [ash] users because the speaker tested from Gurnee, IL, which is a city just across the Illinois-Wisconsin border, is an [ash] user. Wisconsin speakers near to the IllinoisWisconsin border are [e] users. However, none of the Wisconsin speakers tested live as close to the border as the speaker from Gurnee, IL. Because Gurnee is just across the border, and

Eicher 5 speakers there are [ash] users, it is probable that the vowel switch occurs somewhere in the southeastern region of Wisconsin.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the geographical distribution of speakers who use the vowel [ash] and those who use the vowel [e] when followed by [g] was accomplished, as shown in the data presented in this paper. The discussion of this data suggests that this distribution conclusively shows where the switch in vowel usage for this sound sequence occurs. According to this distribution, it occurs in the southeastern region of Wisconsin. Though this research serves as a good representation of the geographical distribution of the occurrence of this particular sound sequence, further research might seek to identify whether the age of the speaker could be a factor. In this study, only two of the participants were over the age of thirty due to the limitations of age variance on Marquettes campus. However, it has always been understood that language is always adapting and changing, and this is very evident in generational language differences. Therefore, it would be interesting to see if a generational language change has occurred in the geographical distribution of this sound sequence. Regardless of this age limitation, the overall evidence presented in this study has helped to identify the geographical distribution of this sound sequence, as well as helped to discover the region of the United States where this vowel switch occurs.

Eicher 6

APPENDIX
Speakers tested during data collection: Name Maddie John Meg Grant Kevin Grady Olivia Colleen Lenore Mona Bridget Mike Joe Olivia Luke Jena Theresa Alec Larry Eric Drew Rachel Location Mendota Heights, MN Burnsville, MN Edina, MN Woodbury, MN Waseca, MN Waseca, MN Alexandria, MN Duluth, MN St. Michael, MN Buffalo, MN Hudson, WI Green Bay, WI Green Bay, WI Green Bay, WI Menomonee Falls, WI Fredonia, WI West Bend, WI Eagle, WI Oshkosh, WI Racine, WI New Berlin, WI Janesville, WI

Eicher 7

Name Sara Eric Abbey Ella Giuliana Francis Jessie Grace Emily David Nick Ica Anna Bethie Zak Kayley Ryan Tom Karan Paragraph used to test speakers: *Bolded words were not bolded in paragraph used for testing.

Location Hales Corners, WI Franklin, WI Franklin, WI White Fish Bay, WI Chicago, IL Elgin, IL Lake Zurich, IL Elmhurst, IL Elmhurst, IL Glen Ellyn, IL Gurnee, IL Roscoe, IL Cincinnati, OH Chagrin Falls, OH San Diego, CA San Diego, CA Boston, MA Albany, NY Rochester, NY

My friend Scott dressed up as Hagrid, his favorite character from Harry Potter, for Halloween. We took a lot of pictures that night, and they were all put up on Facebook the next day. Scott untagged himself from almost all of the pictures as he thought he looked dumb. As a joke, I repeatedly uploaded the pictures, so I could retag him in them. He became aggravated after

Eicher 8 awhile and said that I was antagonizing him. After much haggling, I finally decided to leave him alone and took the pictures off of Facebook. Initial Results: Hagrid Grady Kevin Abbey Eric Guiliana Kayley Zak Francis Jessie Grace Emily Olivia Anna David Bethie yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no no untagged yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no no retag yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no no aggravated yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no no antagonizing yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no no haggling yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no no