Tracking change in social meaning The indexicality of "damped" /i/ in rural Sweden

: Jenny Nilsson, Therese Leinonen, Lena Wenner

: Juan-Andrés Villena-Ponsoda, Francisco Díaz Montesinos, Antonio-Manuel Ávila-Muñoz, Matilde Vida-Castro

: International Conference on Language Variation in Europe

Publisher: JOHN BENJAMINS B V PUBL, PO BOX 36224 ,, 1020 AMSTERDAM ME, NETHERLANDS

: 2019

: Studies in Language Variation

: Language Variation - European Perspectives VII

: LANGUAGE VARIATION - EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES VII

: STUD LANG VAR

: 22

: 145

: 157

: 13

: 978-90-272-0417-2

: 978-90-272-6207-3

: 1872-9592

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.22.09nil

In this study, we focus on the different connotations of [i] (a variant of the phoneme /i/) in Sweden in order to discuss the possible processes behind the changes in social meaning for a linguistic form.(1) We investigate two rural areas (Skarharrm and Edsbyn), where the feature has been part of the traditional dialect, indexing place. In order to investigate how the social meaning of this variant has changed over time we have approached the phenomenon from different angles. Apart from investigating the change in use between the mid-20th century and present time, we have analysed informants' production, attitudes and specifically perception of [i] today. In Skarhamn [i] still indexes place. In Edsbyn, the social meaning of this variant is more complex.