Investigating Chain Shifts and Mergers

Matthew J. Gordon

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Linguistic Variation and Morphology Phonetics and Phonology Research Linguistics and language evolution

Abstract

Martinet's functionalist approach to language change provides essential groundwork for mergers and chain shifts, and offers insight into why these two types of sound change are discussed together. This chapter focuses on empirical matters, framing the discussion around the seemingly basic question: How can an ongoing chain shift be identified and studied? While similar methodological questions have been central to the study of merger, surprisingly this issue has not been much discussed in the literature on chain shifts. Discussions revolve around two main criteria of chain shifting. First is the requirement that distinctions between sounds be preserved, and second is the fact that the sound changes involved in the chain be interrelated. Chain shifts and mergers illustrate the advantages as well as the difficulties of studying language change in progress.

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References

2010Principles of Linguistic Change 1982Accents of English 2008Variation and the indexical field 1 1991Principles of Historical Linguistics 2006The Atlas of North American English 2006Factors influencing speech perception in the context of a merger-in-progress 2003Sociolinguistics 1993Linguistic Variation and Change

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