On Shear Markets and Sharing Sheep: The Merger of EAR and AIR Diphthongs in New Zealand English.

Holmes, Janet; Bell, Allan

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Peer reviewed

ERIC Number: EJ470877

Record Type: Journal

Publication Date: 1992

Pages: N/A

Abstractor: N/A

ISBN: N/A

ISSN: ISSN-0954-3945

EISSN: N/A

On Shear Markets and Sharing Sheep: The Merger of EAR and AIR Diphthongs in New Zealand English.

Holmes, Janet; Bell, Allan

Language Variation and Change, v4 n3 p251-73 1992

A social dialect survey of a New Zealand community documented a change in progress in the pronunciation of the vowels in words such as "air" and "ear." The data support a tentative interpretation that a shift to the variant with the closer onset for AIR words was initiated by middle-aged Pakeha women. (38 references) (Author/LB)

Descriptors: English, Foreign Countries, Language Usage, Language Variation, Pronunciation, Regional Dialects, Sociolinguistics, Trend Analysis, Vowels

Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles

Education Level: N/A

Audience: N/A

Language: English

Sponsor: N/A

Authoring Institution: N/A

Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A