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