New speakers and language change in Diné Bizaad (Navajo)

Abstract

Aims and objectives: This paper analyzes the extent to which new speakers are participating in an ongoing phonological change in Diné Bizaad (Navajo). The implications of these patterns are discussed as they relate to theories of new speakers and language change. Methodology design: I apply a variationist methodology to analyze the pronunciation of lateral affricates from speakers representing different generations and language learning contexts. I focus on comparing new speakers, who report acquiring the language primarily through school or in a language program, with their age-equivalent peers. Data and analysis: The data come from interviews recorded with 51 bilingual Diné Bizaad-English participants, ages 18–75. This includes four new speakers. The analysis focuses on variation in the lateral affricates in connected speech samples and an oral translation task. Findings/conclusion: Results reveal that new speakers diverge from other younger participants in their lack of participation in an ongoing change in the affricates. Instead, new speakers more closely resemble middle-aged and older speakers. Originality: This study applies the new speaker framework to an Indigenous North American language, an under-represented sociolinguistic context within the literature. These findings provide a counterexample to the more frequent finding of new speakers linguistically diverging from older, traditional speakers. Significance/implications: These results are interpreted as arising due to literacy practices, language usage networks, and community values. The orthographic representation of the affricates is thought to inhibit sound change. At the same time, due to their more formal language learning background, new speakers have developed a self-monitored speech style oriented toward the prestigious, older speakers. A lack of peer group language usage is thought to prevent the development of linguistically or ideologically distinct new speaker varieties. The confluence of these factors means that instead of constituting agents of language change, new speakers are more similar to older participants.