Imitation, Awareness, and Folk Linguistic Artifacts.

Abstract

Imitations are sophisticated performances displaying regular patterns. The\nstudy of imitation allows linguiSts to understand speakers' perceptions of\nsociolinguistic variation. In this dissertation, I analyze imitations of non-native\naccents in order to answer two questions: what can imitation reveal about\nperception, and how are folk linguistic artifacts (Preston 1996) involved in\nimitation? These questions are approached from the framework offolk linguistic\nawareness (Preston 1996). By redefining the concept of salience according to the\nmodes of folk linguistic awareness, I am able to more precisely consider how\nimitation reflects salience. I address both of these questions by eliciting imitations\nfrom speakers in which folk artifacts are present.\nFor my investigation, twenty speakers read a short passage in English. Ten\nwere non-native speakers of American English (NNAE) and ten were native\nspeakers of American English (AE). The AE speakers were recorded reading the\npassage in their regular voice and with two types of imitated accents: free imitations,\nwhich were spontaneously produced, and modeled imitations, which were produced\ndirectly after hearing the NNAE speakers. Free imitations revealed folk linguistic\nartifacts, while modeled imitations were more reflective of the immediate target.\nParticipants listened to the authentic and imitated accents and were asked to\ndetermine the accent and authenticity of each speaker.\nI found that there was not a significant difference in the pitch and vowels\nbetween free and modeled AE imitations, which indicated that these aspects of\nimitations are largely based on folk linguistic artifacts. Listeners were able to\ndetermine which voices were authentic and which were imitated. Listeners were\nalso able to identify the speakers' accents, perhaps aided by the folk artifact status of\nthese particular accents. Listeners were better at identifying the accents of free\nimitations than modeled imitations, which suggested that listeners prefer imitations\nthat are solely based on folk artifacts.\nOverall, I found that imitation is a valuable tool for the analysis of speech\nperception. The modes of folk linguistic awareness are useful in interpreting\nimitations and understanding salience. This research shows that folk linguistic\nartifacts are the foundation of imitations and an important tool in perceptual\ncategorization.

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