A dialect survey of Carbonear, Newfoundland

• Main Author: Paddock, Harold J.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1966
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/6998/; https://research.library.mun.ca/6998/5/Paddock_HaroldJ.pdf

Since no mystically unified dialect was expected, twenty-four primary informants were chosen so as to represent the maximum linguistic variety. Thus, I attempted to secure equal numbers in (a) two generations--one older, one middle-aged--(b) the two sexes, (c) two ethnic and religious divisions--roughly, Roman Catholics of Irish ancestry versus Protestants of mostly English ancestry--and (d) three Groups based on social amd economic status and education. Correlations were sought between one or more of these four non-linguistic factors and the linguistic variations discovered. -- Though I deliberately avoid comparing the English of Carbonear with that of other dialects of English, such comparison is implied by some of the choices of emphasis which I have made. This is especially true in Chapter 1, which deals with some selected features of the grammar. -- For example, in much folk and common speech especially among the "English", even the inanimate nouns have a well-defined but covert system of three grammatical genders. In much folk speech lexical verbs employ the same form for both the simple past and the past participle, and the -s inflection is used with all subjects in the simple non-past. -- Chapters 2 and 3 are an attempt at a systematic description of the speech sounds. The common vocoids are roughly [I V ɚ ɛ ə æ ʌ ǫ] and [h]. The first three, [I V ɚ], occur both as syllabics (full vowels) and nonsyllabics (vowel glides). Only front vowels are consistently unrounded; rounded and generally lowered manifestations of all other vowels occur. Phonemic lengthening of vowels is considered to be an allophone of /h/, for it is in complementation with initial [h]. -- Wide variations are found in the distribution of vowels before the vocalic consonants /w y h r/. -- Besides the four consonants which are phonetically vocoids, /w y h r/, cultured speech contains twenty consonants which are phonetically contoids. However, many other speakers use /d/ and /t/ rather than /[special character omitted]/ and /θ/ in words ...