Beschreibung:
<jats:p>This article investigates the Southern Vowel Shift—a
possibly interrelated series of rotations in vowel space
currently affecting the dialects of southern speakers—in
terms of examining its classification as a chain-shift
process and, more generally, providing a descriptive account
of the phonetic character of the changes in each individual
vowel class. Based on the work of Labov (1991, 1994) and
Feagin (1986), it has been suggested that the Southern
Shift involves changes in both the front vowels and the
back vowels, with the tense and lax front vowel nuclei
essentially switching places and the back vowels moving
forward. The relationship of these changes in the front
vowels and those in the back vowels has not been firmly
established, but they appear to be driven by different
social and linguistic forces. What is happening to the
low front, the mid, and the low back vowel classes in the
Southern Shift has only been superficially explored. A
detailed instrumental analysis of the vowel systems of
25 native Memphians of selected ages, socioeconomic classes,
and genders is presented, revealing the movement of vowel
classes which seem to be playing an important role in the
instigation or perpetuation of the Southern Shift. This
analysis points out discrepancies about how previously
cited vocalic changes are embedded in mid-southern speech
and provides a picture of how these changes are affecting
other changes in the system. The results suggest that,
while many of the changes cited in the literature are indeed
present in the sample, the interrelatedness of these changes
and their prognosis to move to completion are not so clear.</jats:p>