Methodological considerations in the study of sociophonetic variation in an underdocumented minority language: Somali Bantu Kizigua as a case study / Holman Tse

Methodological considerations in the study of sociophonetic variation in an underdocumented minority language: Somali Bantu Kizigua as a case study / Holman Tse,in colloque Variation et variabilité dans les Sciences du langage : analyser,mesurer,contextualiser,organisé par le Comité d'organisation des Journées d'Études Toulousaines (JETOU),en collaboration avec les laboratoires CLESS-ERSS,Octogone,dont le laboratoire Jacques Lordat,et le Centre Pluridisciplinaire de Sémiotique Textuelle,Université Toulouse II-Le Mirail,16-17 mai 2013. *Prix Jétou 2013 pour la meilleure communication orale.This paper presents an example of how research can be done on sociophonetic variation within a community of speakers of an underdocumented minority language. The paper begins with a discussion and critique of the Labovian sociolinguistic interview,which has formed the basis of a large body of work on variation. Current research on Somali Bantu Kizigua,a minority language from East Africa,is discussed. A modified Labovian sociolinguistic interview was implemented for collecting data on the language. Results from  this study reveal evidence of a sound change in which a historically voiceless prenasalized velar stop,*/nk/,becomes a voiceless glottal fricative,/h/,with uvular consonants as intermediate stages. This change appears to confirm speaker's intuitions about age as a major factor in variation within the community. The paper concludes with a discussion of opportunities for increased collaboration between documentary linguists and sociolinguists.

Disciplines : Sociolinguistique, ethnolinguistique,Phonologie. Phonétique
Mots-clés : variation linguistique,langues bantoues,sociophonétique
Type de document : image en mouvement
Type de ressource : lecture
Niveau : master,doctorat,licence
Auteurs ou éditeurs : Université Toulouse II-Le Mirail,Université Toulouse II-Le Mirail SCPAM,Franck DELPECH,Holman TSE