PATTERNS · Disentangling the social and structural drivers of patterns of vowel covariation across many English dialects

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Цел на проекта

Language variation is a fundamental feature of human speech, yet the intricate ways in which individual speakers use multiple linguistic features remain poorly understood. While research has documented variation in single features, most studies focus on isolated variables or aggregated group patterns within few dialects. The PATTERNS project addresses this gap by investigating how multiple linguistic variables covary within individual speakers across 30 English dialects from North America and the British Isles. This project aims to uncover whether individuals who lead change in one vowel also lead in others, and whether consistent gendered patterns appear across covarying vowels. Using the large-scale SPeech Across Dialects of English meta-corpus and advanced statistical methods, PATTERNS will systematically analyse vowel covariation on an unprecedented scale. This approach also allows testing of competing social, physiological, phonological, and structural explanations for covariation. Over three work packages, PATTERNS will (1) model social vowel variation by gender and age across dialects, (2) quantify vowel covariation within speakers to identify patterns of leadership in sound change, and (3) integrate interdisciplinary perspectives to explain drivers of covariation. By combining cutting-edge sociolinguistic theory with robust quantitative methods and a large, dialect-diverse corpus, PATTERNS will deepen understanding of how speech variables interact within individuals to express social meaning and drive language change. This open science project will enhance replicability and comparability across dialects and languages, addressing a major gap in the field. For me, this Fellowship is a vital step toward becoming an independent, innovative researcher with enhanced computational skills, broader cross-dialectal expertise, and stronger international networks. PATTERNS will not only advance theory but also equip me to lead future sociolinguistic research.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

• UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW · GlasgowКоординаторОбединеното кралство

Връзки

• Виж в CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101264324