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Natalie SchiIling-EstesGeorgetown [email protected], April 2004
Blurring ethnolinguistic boundaries:The use of 'others" varieties in the sociolinguistic interview*
1. Robeson County, NC
TENN.E S5Ef.
I~
2. Accommodation as crossing
L: Well, I mean.. I mean, he has found something that he does that I don't believe nobody else doesbetter, and that's the secret to life.Uh huh.I mean, and that's the secret to a successful one.Find something that nobody else do?Nobody else do better.
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3. Putting on 'White' speech
A: And one n- I'll tell you what happened the first night [naIt]. We got here, my-the first night[nalt] we stayed here Frank came over to the room and he said, "Yeah, because we had someguys [gaIz] stayoverhere lastyear, and uh,what were gonnado is, uh, makea. iine[laIn], ',fcongo lin.e [lain] :tromyour room to my [ma:] room, you know, and, uh, we're just gonna partyall night [naIt]." And I looked-I looked him straight in the eye [a:], I said, "Not in my [mal]room, you won't." I said, "Now if you want to make a congo line [Ia:n] that's fine [fa:n], but it'sgonna be out of here by ten o'clock." And after that Frank wouldn't never mess with me no moreafter that. He wouldn't never mess with more no more after that.
*Thanks to the following for their help, support and inspiration: Becky Childs, Christine Mallinson, Jeffrey Reaser,Ryan Rowe, WaIt Wolfram, Diana Marinova, Aliza Sacknovitz, Barbara Soukup, Emma Trentman, and AnnaTrester. This research was partially supported by NSF grant nos. SBR-9616331 and BCS-9910224 and.by the NorthCarolina Language and Life Project at North Carolina State University.
Crossing via voice quality
]im was like that.. Jim hasalways been like that. I think he has real low self-esteem.And sowhenever you have low self-esteemsometime you try to act real arrogant [and stuff you know.
[Yeah.Like you kno--like hekneweverything!You couldn't [tell him nothing!
[Oh,no::!Always hadtheanswerto something,andthat-that kinda stuff get on your nerves afterawhile! Don't-nobody [knows everything!
[And he always.. Always talking about "I ain't never made a C incollege, I ain't never made a C in high school."And he was lying. He was lying, Lou. Every person.. at some point in their life[is gonna make a C.[Makes a C!Cause you ain't perfect at everything.No! And he'd always brag about it!Always bragging.Lo:rd, I hate to hear him brag about, telling how good he was at spa::des. He was good at thi::s.He was just, ahhh! Sometimes I wanted to kill him.Yeah, Ibetcha my GPA was better than his.Pickin' at Juice, you know, [Wiener?
[He used to mess with Juice all the time, yeah.Yeah.Old Wiener called here the other day.Yeah?Yeah, we were over in uh Ryan's room.Yeah. I miss-I miss him too.Yeah.Old Justin.
Performing a variety of ethnic varieties
What-what do you think about the-the way the-the Black people talk, the way the Indianstalk and the way the White people talk around here.(laughs)Is it different?[Most definitely
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And-and they don't never say "children," them "young'uns."Young'uns. (Lou and Felicia laugh)And they be trying to say "young ones,"[Uh huh[but them "young'uns."Uh huh.And if they say-and if they do say "children," they say "them chillins'."
6. Crossing into 'standard' speech
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You think this a good place to live?Well I mean I think it's a good place because you don't get in trouble. I mean, and it's peaceful.But I'm not gonna be here[r] all my life because I am gonna pur[r]sue a career singing? Cause Ican do that?Oh yeah?Yeah.Where-where you want to go?My aunt, she urn, she wor[r]ks in Char[r]lotte. And she stay up there[r], her[r] and my uncle.And there[r]'s a place where[r] she said I could go down in Char[r]lotte. And sing and audition?And I can get into a studio.. and cut a demo.Oh really?So that's what I'ma try to do. You know, but I'ma go to school. I wanna go to school for[0]chemistry.Mmhmm.Well, where do you want to go?Well.. I haven't made-I haven't really made up my mind you know.You thought about RCC?Urn, I'm going-I'm going for[0] chemistry. I'm going to a four[r]-year[r] college. I'm goingfor[r] chemistry, to, to get it. To blow some stuff up.Would you uh, but I mean, would you like to start at a community college first? That's what Ithought I should have done.Well I mean, I think, I mean, I have the ability, and I'm capable of, you know, fulfillingwhatever[r] it is that I want to do. So I think that I can you know go to a four[r]-year[r] collegeand, do just as good as anybody that's-and finish four[0] year[r]s. I mean because I have that-you know, I have that capability.
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Hyper-performance or 'stylization' (Coupland 2001)
So when-so whenever urn, whenever like, you see a boy you like or something? How-how dogirls up here..[Oh Lord.[get the boys that they want.Girls, let me tell you I'ma tell you-I'ma tell you the words is-alright for the day. (Alex laughs)They be like, "Oh my God, he is the bomb. He slamming. He all that he luscious, he righteous, ohgoodness. They usually say everything. I mean, but me you know I'm calm, cool and collectedabout everything you know I go up and speak to 'em and everything.Mmhmm.You know, "Y0, what's up? You got a girl?" They say, "No, I like to get the digits," no problem.I can do that, you know? (laughs). I mean but I mean I am engaged now I can't do that.
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Transcription conventions:Note that brackets indicate overlapping talk or inserted phonetic transcription. Parentheses indicateexplanatory material, hyphens indicate false starts, colons indicate extended vowel length, and a series ofperiods indicates a pause. (Pauses were not timed for the purposes of this study.) Some names appear asinitials followed by a series of dashes. Realizations of pontential r-Iessness and /ay/ monophthongizationare indicated in phonetic transcription.
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