This paper examines the behaviour of four linguistic features among one black and one white group of Bermudian men over the age of fifty. Phonetic analysis of these features is used as a window onto parodic linguistic practice observed in the white group. In combination with contextual analysis, and in light of social conditions in Bermuda, phonetic findings suggest that this linguistic practice is not only a performance of ‘Bermudian-ness’ but also a performance of race, and closely linked to the complex identity politics of Bermudian society.
The features in question – MOUTH, GOAT, word-initial (th-) and (ə) in the definite article – are among the most heavily stereotyped sounds of black Bermudian English (BerE). This is reflected by their occurrence in the local ‘stock’ catchphrase ‘goin’ dahn de road’ – a type of third-order index (Silverstein 2003) used for the purposes of linguistic display (performances of this type are discussed by Bell 2011, Coupland 1985, Johnstone 2006, Labov 1972, Schilling 1998). ‘Dahn de road’ often features in the overt and highly stylised linguistic performances of white men which occurred during the course of sociolinguistic interviews conducted in 2016.
Phonetic analysis of these performances shows that white speakers are using black variants of MOUTH, GOAT, word-initial (th-) and (ə) in their performances which are absent – and significantly different – from their own, ‘everyday’ repertoire. Qualitative analysis of the content and themes of the performances support the hypothesis that they perform stereotypes which reflect and reproduce the racial hierarchies of contemporary Bermuda.
References
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Coupland, Nikolas. 1985. ‘“Hark, hark the lark:” Social motivations for phonological style shifting.’ Language and Communication 5:153-172.
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Labov, William. 1972. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press.
Schilling, Natalie. 1998. ‘Investigating “Self-Conscious” Speech: The Performance Register in Ocracoke English. Language in Society 27:53-83.
Silverstein, Michael. 2003. Indexical order and the dialectics of sociolinguistic life.’ Language & Communication 23:193-229.
