ABSTRACT
After an introduction on the connections between sociophonetics and language documentation, this chapter presents a case study on variation in the vowel system of Shoshoni. It begins by assuming the Langacker (1970) and Campbell & Langacker (1978) vowel inventory for Proto-Uto-Aztecan *i, *ɨ, *u, *o, and *a, including the vowel shift(s) they posited for the Takic and Southern Uto-Aztecan branches. It then presents acoustic evidence from Shoshoni speakers: four legacy speakers born between 1906 and 1912 and four current speakers, representing a range of dialects. F1/F2 midpoint measurements were extracted from over 800 vowels using Praat. The results show that the modern Shoshoni vowel system and shift is remarkably similar to those reconstructed for the Takic and Southern Uto-Aztecan branches. Labov’s (1994) principles of vowel shifts accounts for the majority of the changes in these Uto-Aztecan vowel systems and provides a framework for the processes. The framework and the sociophonetic evidence from modern Shoshoni add support to Langacker and Campbell’s analyses of the Proto-Uto-Aztecan vowel system.
