Change in the Vowel System of Munich: An Exploratory Case Study

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

German, English

Mentor Information

Kathryn Remlinger

Department

English

Location

Henry Hall Atrium 76

Start Date

11-4-2012 9:00 AM

Keywords

Social Science

Abstract

Although regional dialect use is increasing throughout Bavaria, the Bavarian capital city of Munich is experiencing the opposite phenomenon. Munich youth have begun abandoning Bavarian dialects in favor of Standard German (Hochdeutsch). This exploratory case study investigates apparent-time vowel change in the Munich variety of German as a result of this phenomenon. One 60 year-old and four 17-25 year-old Munich natives participated in recorded German-language interviews modeled after those from William Labov's 1966 NYC study. The sixteen monophthongs of German as spoken in conversational and wordlist speech styles are examined. The data reveal backing of the front closed and mid vowels (/i:/, /j/, /e:/, /[:/, and /[/) in both conversational and wordlist styles. Future studies may determine whether these patterns are more widely spread and may focus on these vowels to gain a clearer sense of ongoing change in the Munich dialect.

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Apr 11th, 9:00 AM

Change in the Vowel System of Munich: An Exploratory Case Study

Henry Hall Atrium 76

Although regional dialect use is increasing throughout Bavaria, the Bavarian capital city of Munich is experiencing the opposite phenomenon. Munich youth have begun abandoning Bavarian dialects in favor of Standard German (Hochdeutsch). This exploratory case study investigates apparent-time vowel change in the Munich variety of German as a result of this phenomenon. One 60 year-old and four 17-25 year-old Munich natives participated in recorded German-language interviews modeled after those from William Labov's 1966 NYC study. The sixteen monophthongs of German as spoken in conversational and wordlist speech styles are examined. The data reveal backing of the front closed and mid vowels (/i:/, /j/, /e:/, /[:/, and /[/) in both conversational and wordlist styles. Future studies may determine whether these patterns are more widely spread and may focus on these vowels to gain a clearer sense of ongoing change in the Munich dialect.