Placing /aw/ Retraction in the Retreat from the Southern Vowel Shift in Raleigh, North Carolina

Abstract

This study focuses on changes over apparent time in the /aw/ vowel class (e.g., mouth) in Raleigh, a city in North Carolina whose speakers have undergone vocalic changes away from the Southern Vowel Shift in response to extensive in-migration from the northern United States. Although Southerners have conventionally fronted /aw/ nuclei along with other speakers in the Southeastern super-region, some researchers have noted a trend of /aw/ nucleus retraction among younger speakers in urban areas, such as Philadelphia and Kansas City. I examine how the acoustics of /aw/ production have shifted generationally in Raleigh, with a particular focus on nucleus retraction and glide height. The analysis suggests that concurrent phonologically-driven and socially-driven forces may be acting upon this vowel class in the speech of white Raleigh residents.