There's no place like home: Ideology of place in the adoption of a sound change
The sociolinguistic meaning of place plays a major role in variation and change (Johnstone 2004; Labov 1963; Reed 2014; Carmichael 2017). The effect of local orientation – while in principle similar across different places – relies on the specific ideology connected to place, and how well a speaker aligns with that ideology.
Here, I examine the role of local orientation for a group of 59 Philadelphia English speakers using both quantitative and qualitative analyses. I begin with a historical and synchronic account of the ideology of “Philadelphia”, demonstrating a long history of it being characterized as rude, underdog, and opposition to authority. Participants’ orientation to Philadelphia is rated along these ideological lines.
I find that while speakers’ productions may be influenced by the networks they participate in, speakers’ orientation toward the ideology of Philadelphia also plays an important role in their use of Philadelphia-specific phonology.
