Recently, more researchers have become interested in pursuing the processes of language variation and change over time. Whereas a majority of such longitudinal studies adopt a “trend” format of investigation (i.e.,... [ view full abstract ]
Recently, more researchers have become interested in pursuing the processes of language variation and change over time. Whereas a majority of such longitudinal studies adopt a “trend” format of investigation (i.e., a replication of earlier work by examining a new population comparable to that of the initial work), there have been made vigorous attempts to observe linguistic behaviors of the same individuals as they age (i.e., a “panel” format). The central concern shared by those studies is the validity of the apparent-time construct, which is built upon the stability of one’s vernacular throughout an adult lifetime as a basic premise (Labov, 1972).
A review of past literature (Sankoff, 2005, 2013) indicates that the lifetime stability of one’s vernacular is generally secured with respect to “changes from below” (the level of speech community members’ consciousness) (Labov, 1966). The maintenance of one’s vernacular, however, needs to be viewed more cautiously when it applies to the variables that are categorized as “changes from above.” Whereas only a very limited number of panel studies in real time are available concerning “change from above” variables, a review of the literature reveals rather complicated (at times, even conflicting) pictures of how individuals’ vernaculars behave over time.
This paper will contribute to better understanding what happens to one’s vernacular over post-adolescent years by examining an obvious case of a “change from above.” The variable under investigation is the standardization of prosody (lexical accents), which has long been neglected in research on language variation and change. I analyze the maintenance of lexical accents observed in longitudinal data from 32 speakers of Sapporo Japanese (Hokkaido) that were collected at intervals of a quarter century. Then the results will be compared with those of the three large-scale longitudinal studies of Tsuruoka Japanese (Yamagata) conducted by NINJAL (1953, 1974, 1994).
The results will demonstrate that the maintenance of lexical accents (i.e., no lifespan change) is constrained by: 1) the development stages of language change, which considerably differ between the two communities, and 2) the speech community members’ ideologies about the “standard” variety and their related identities as a dialect speaker.
