The Mormon drawl: Religious ethnicity and phonological variation in southern Alberta.

Abstract

This thesis investigates the effect of ethnicity on phonological variation with a comparison of the speech of Mormons and non-Mormons in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. On non-linguistic grounds, Mormons are shown to be an ethnic group in southern Alberta. Using variationist methodology, the social and linguistic conditioning of' five variables; front lax vowel lowering, (aw) fronting and the height alternation in the low diphthongs (i.e. Canadian raising), is compared. In particular, possible effects of Mormon ethnicity are explored. The results show that Mormon religious affiliation is a primary factor in height variation of the low diphthongs and only indirectly involved with other variables. The conclusion is that the use of low variants of the low diphthongs before voiceless consonants is a marker of Mormon ethnicity in this community although it is mediated by contact between groups. All other variation shows no direct evidence of ethnic significance and any differences can be attributed to the social isolation of the Mormons rather than their ethnic identity. Ethnicity is shown to be a factor in the potential for change across the community as a result or "linguistic pursuit" in the maintenance of the ethnic boundary between Mormons and non-Mormons in southern Alberta.