Keywords

consonantal features, Utah English consonantal variation, glottal stop oral release, [t]-epenthesis in Utah English

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the frequency of consonantal variables characteristic of Utah English, and to shed light on several linguistic features yet to be analyzed in depth in this region. Because of its unique settlement history and predominantly Mormon population today, Utah is an outlier linguistically and culturally compared to other Western states. But research on Utah English has been focused primarily on vowel mergers (for example Di Paolo & Faber 1990; Baker & Bowie 2010), leaving variation in consonants relatively understudied.

The consonantal feature of contemporary Utah English that is probably most salient, both to the academic community and to Utahans generally, is the oral release of glottal stops in words like mountain and kitten (Eddington & Savage 2012). However, what has not been extensively studied by sociolinguists include [t]- epenthesis in words like fal(t)se and Wil(t)son and the realization of -ing as [ɪŋk] or [ɪŋɡ]. Neither of these features are unique to Utah, but to our knowledge an analysis of their frequency in the Beehive State is lacking.

Original Publication Citation

Joseph A. Stanley & Kyle Vanderniet. “Consonantal variation in Utah English: What el[t]se is happening[k]?” The 4th Annual Linguistics Conference at UGA (LSUGA4). Athens, GA. October 6–8, 2017.