Apparent-time evidence of American Raising in western Lower Michigan
The present study examines whether the raising of the diphthongal onset before a voiceless obstruent occurs for both /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ (``Canadian Raising") or just /aɪ/ (``American Raising") in western Lower Michigan. American Raising has been observed in several nearby areas (including eastern Lower Michigan, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and northeast Indiana), and Canadian Raising has been documented in various regions throughout Canada and the US, but the behavior of these diphthongs in western Lower Michigan is still unknown. A sample of 45 monolingual English speakers, stratified by sex, age, and ethnic heritage (Dutch vs. non-Dutch), was recruited from Michigan's Kent County. Each speaker read a 773-word reading passage containing a balanced distribution of the monophthongs and diphthongs of American English. Results were age-graded: older (age 60+) and middle-aged (age 40-59) speakers exhibited Canadian Raising but younger (age 18-39) speakers exhibited American Raising, suggesting the beginning of a change-in-progress.
