Do speakers' beliefs about language impact the variants they produce? Investigating style shifting in the Northern Cities Shift

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Participants who view the NCS negatively produce lower /æ/ vowels, indicating a connection to their language attitudes.
The study involved 41 Michiganders and analyzed variations in the pronunciation of two NCS vowels as influenced by attitudes.
Production tasks showed significant vowel changes linked to perceptions of dialect quality, with notable metrics (p = 0.0451 and p = 0.0057).
Findings suggest that preference for Standard American English drives style shifting away from the NCS dialect among speakers.

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Observational analysis reveals language attitudes influence style shifting in the Northern Cities Shift, suggesting sociolinguistic implications.

Kaitlyn Owens (2025) studied this question.

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Observational analysis reveals language attitudes influence style shifting in the Northern Cities Shift, suggesting sociolinguistic implications.