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Field Work in Utah English
English Language Society Meeting
February 8, 2007
What do these signs have in common?
Utahisms!
Why is it important to do field work in a language like Utah English?
1. dialect prejudice
2. dialect change
3. dialect acquisition
4. social factors that influence dialect
5. speech pathology
6. computer language processing
7. 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 . . .1. interviews2. phone calls3. covert observations4. public forums5. 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
1. In what building does a farmer keep his animals?
2. Name the days of the week3. What is the term for a sweetened carbonated
beverage?4. If you had to say there’s a difference, what’s
the difference between a bag and a sack?5. 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?
1. Achievement of a random sample 2. Recording of the speakers3. Confusion over some of the questions4. Worry about keeping anonymity 5. Worry about saying the wrong thing6. Anger of some of the groups (non-LDS
participants)7. Belief that they did not have a Utah “accent”8. Suspicions about our work/danger to us
Some more fun things we encountered
1. Overexcitement about helping us out
2. People’s feelings about Utah English
3. Coaching by husbands/wives
NWAV and LSA 2005