User:Rollidan/Utah English

Utah English
Region	Utah
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Anglo-Frisian Anglic English American English Utah English
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
State where Utah English is spoken

Utah English refers to the dialect of American English spoken in Utah primarily by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its use probably also extends into some of southern Idaho, northern Arizona, and New Mexico, because many areas in those states were originally settled by Utahns. Because previously planned studies of dialects in the American West were not completed due to lack of funding during World War II, studies are inconclusive as to whether Utah English qualifies as its own dialect or is part of the Western American English dialect with a few minor differences. More recent studies suggest that Utah English has enough phonological and lexical differences to be considered as a separate dialect, although it shares many characteristics with Western American English, Southern American English, and Northern American English. Within Utah English, there may be three regional subdialects, in North, Central, and Southern Utah.

Settlers arriving in the Salt Lake Valley

Influences

The specific characteristics of Utah English were heavily influenced by the history of the settlement of Utah. In 1847, the first group of Mormon pioneers arrived, with many more following soon after and spreading throughout all of Utah. Many of these settlers came from New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, where the church had been based previously. As the people from these states mixed, their dialects began to combine to form something new.

Utah also saw immigration from various countries in Europe, as well as Latin America and the Pacific Islands, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints went on missions to those countries and encouraged them to move back to Utah. One notable group of immigrants was the influx of foreign-born native English speakers from England, Scotland, Wales, and Canada. In the 1850 census, it was found that 15.4 percent of the total population in Utah consisted of these foreign-born English speakers. Immigrants from the United Kingdom continued to be the largest group in Utah through the mid-20th century. The social network that existed among the members of the church, as well as the emphasis they placed on community and interaction caused more rapid integration culturally and linguistically of these English-speaking immigrants than in the case of other immigrants across the country. As they mixed together, the English-speaking immigrants were able to continue to use some of the characteristics of their dialect, unlike the immigrants who learned English in Utah. Some of these characteristics were then gradually incorporated into the general dialect that became Utah English.

The religious makeup of the state of Utah influenced the development of Utah English. The state was mostly made up of settlers who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who were driven out of their previous homes in Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and New York. Because of the stigma attached to the members of the church, they remained geographically and socially isolated from other settlers who traveled through Utah or settled nearby. The distinct mix of dialects of members of the church were able to mix together and eventually become a dialect distinct from that of Western American English without the outside influence of other settlers. Members also sought to separate themselves from others linguistically, with Brigham Young's failed Deseret alphabet. Instead, they may have unconsciously adopted the features of foreign-born English speakers to create soft linguistic boundaries that eventually turned into a specific dialect. Also, members of the church may have contributed to the commonly-held assumption and stereotype of Utah English that it uses more euphemisms instead of expletives since members of the church generally do not use expletives.

More recently, more people from California are moving to Utah and contributing to the ongoing changes and development of Utah English, particularly in Salt Lake and along the Wasatch Front. There are also more people moving to Southern Utah which could change some of the features in Utah English as they currently exist. More people are also moving to urban areas, which can reduce the dialectal differences as people with Utah English interact more with those who don't use Utah English; rural areas are more likely to produce the stereotypical phonological and lexical markers of Utah English.

Lexicon

High concentration of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in and around Utah

Utah English includes several phrases, words, and uses of words that differ from that of other dialects. One common example is the use of euphemisms instead of expletives. Some examples of these include "oh my heck," "frick," "good gosh," and "fetch." Some hypothesize that this is an effect of the high proportion of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints living in Utah.

Another feature that seems to have been influenced by members of the church, and may exist primarily among members of the church, is the use of the propredicate "do" or "done", as in the sentence "I would have done." This feature is shared with some British English dialects and was likely introduced by the influx of English immigrants beginning in 1850 and continued because of the strong English heritage in Utah. Another interesting construction is that Utahns use “you guys” more often than “you” as a non gender-specific second person plural pronoun.

Other terms that are common in Utah English include “pop” and “coke” for kinds of soft drinks, with “soda” used as a significant variant. “Canning” is the most common word referencing long-term food preservation. The road running alongside what is called a “freeway” is called a “frontage road.” When not on a “freeway,” a Utahn might stop at a “stop light” before turning in to a “gas station” to refill their gas tank.

Phonology

The most significant phonetic variations in Utah English from Western American English include the laxing of tense back vowels before /r/, which results in pronouncing "tour" as /tor/, and of tense front vowels before /l/, which results in pronouncing "sale" as /sԐl/ or "milk" as /mԐlk/. In specific words, "creek" is often pronounced as /krɪk/ and "crayon" is often pronounced as /kræn/. Some other notable, but not significant characteristics include the pin-pen merger, the central offglide in "pit" and "pet," and the /or/ to /ar/ transition in "war."

One of the more generally known aspects of Utah English is the use of a glottal stop /Ɂ/ in place of a "t" , and usually followed by an "-en", used in words like "kitten" or "mountain." Though the glottal stop is not actually used more often in Utah than other parts of the US, Utah English is much more likely to add an oral release, instead of a nasal release of the glottal stop. Besides outright changes like a glottal stop, the main differences between Utah English and other American dialects centers on differing vowel placement and vowel space area during articulation.

Western American English shows phonological behaviors similar to Utah English, but the behaviors tend to be more exaggerated in Utah English. For example, in the cord-card merger, speakers of Utah English, particularly along the Wasatch Front, merge the /ɑɹ/ and /ɔɹ/ sounds to a greater extent than speakers of Western American English, who also sometimes exhibit this feature.  The Utah English dialect also magnifies the unique quality of the articulation of /ʊ/, which occurs closer to the front of the mouth in Western American English over other dialects, but is more pronounced in Utah English.

One characteristic Utah English shares with Southern English is the monophthongization of the /ay/- sound. This may have been influenced by the Utah settlers from the South and the younger settlers who would have spent time in Missouri during their linguistically formative years and would have picked up this feature.

Social Factors

Some social factors influencing the utilization of Utah English include age, gender, and time spent within the state of Utah.  The trends for utilization of Utah English culminate in young females who have lived most of their lives in Utah. Among these three factors, age is the most influential. Population areas also are a significant factor, with small population areas being more likely to produce the stereotypical phonetic and lexical differences from Western American English.

Population density

Another social factor influencing the continuation of Utah English over the years has been a relative maintenance of the original population, with many of the current residents descended from the early settlers.  This maintenance of population has helped to form tight-knit communities that are more resistant to dialect trends that sweep the nation, preserving the dialect from change. The early Utah community consisted heavily of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of whom a sixth were immigrants.  Of this group, 53 percent were from England, with more from other parts of the UK and British America. This led to certain factors of Utah English, like the use of “do” as a pro predicate, a practice only popular in Utah and England.

Another factor in the use of Utah English is the perception of it in the general American public. Generally, Utah is stigmatized as being rural and backward, and that stigmatization of the culture carries over to the dialect, even though many characteristics of Utah English are also present in other American dialects, albeit to a smaller extent. The phonological and lexical features of Utah English are also more prevalent among rural areas of the state, so that contributes to the stereotype. Even though many of these individual features are found in other places, the combination and amount of them in Utah also contribute to the stigmatization of Utah English.

Distribution

Utah English potential dialectal subdivisions

The State of Utah can be split into three dialect regions, North, Central, and South. The North and South are two strong dialect areas, and the central region of Utah is more transitional. The Northern region is most similar to the Midland and Western American English dialects . People in the Central region are the most likely to be heard using the phonological features of Utah English, though only slightly more so, on average, than people in the Southern region. The use of typical Utah English lexicon in the Central region occurs at about two-thirds the rate of that in Southern Utah. The Southern region utilizes the Utah dialect quite often, but differs significantly from northern Utah both phonetically and lexically, using words like "bottle" for preservative measures instead of "can" or "coke" for any soda. These three regions are based off of general trends, and are not definite boundaries, as various isoglosses overlap throughout the state.

Research

Map of general North American English dialect regions

The Linguistic Society of America and the Present Day English section of the Modern Language Association proposed a project in 1928 to do geography dialect research in the United States; the only work that could be completed before funding was lost during World War II was done in New England. Hans Kurath, the project director, decided that the continent-wide survey was unfeasible to complete, and proposed that everything west of the Appalachians be completed by autonomous studies.

Since then, comprehensive research has been done in several states and regions, but there has been no comprehensive study done in Utah or the greater American West. There have been many smaller studies in Utah, focused on specific factors or features of Utah English, and the Utah Dialect Project was begun in the early 2000's with the purpose of providing "the first overview of spoken Utah English." As a result, knowledge of the extent of Utah English and of whether or not it qualifies as a dialect is still unsure.

References

Category:American English