Asia-Pacific Language Variation - Volume 7, Issue 1, 2021

The present study reports on verb-final variable realisation of the alveolar nasal /n/ in the Papuan language Idi. Elision of /n/ is correlated with both linguistic and social factors: present tense, a following consonant, and speakers over 60 show significantly greater rates of /n/ elision. Data from a 1988 grammar sketch indicate that for the present tense, variable realisation of verb-final /n/ is a case of stable, and perhaps age-graded, variation. Conversely, spread of n-less-ness into the other tenses may be a case of a change-in-progress, but at present this cannot clearly be confirmed. The older generation (speakers over 60) consistently show the highest rates of /n/ elision in all tenses. Elderly people are seen as the most proficient Idi speakers, and their position in society perhaps allows them to be more variable in their language use.

This paper presents a sociophonetic analysis of word-final /n/-elision in Ende (Pahoturi River; Papuan). An analysis of 73 speakers reveals that tense, phonological context, and most significantly, whether or not the speaker is a kawa practitioner, a prestigious type of public oration, are significantly correlated with /n/-retention. A closer look at just five kawa practitioners reveals that age and genre may also play a role. The present study matches Schokkin’s analysis of /n/-elision in Idi (this issue). Indeed, the findings support her conclusions that this pattern is one of /n/-elision (not /n/-addition) and show similarities in conditioning factors. Analysing sociolinguistic variation in this region presents a unique set of benefits and challenges. This paper discusses how emically-derived categories relating to age, clan, and orator status may deviate from characterisations of prestige in Westernised and urbanised societies but better fit southern New Guinea’s social context.

This study acoustically analyses the vowel space of adult New Zealand English speakers from a predominantly Pasifika suburb in Auckland (Papatoetoe). These speakers (n = 13) are compared to two equivalent groups from non-Pasifika Auckland suburbs, Mount Roskill (n = 14) and Titirangi (n = 6). All participants are New Zealand English speakers aged 16–25. There were equal numbers of male and female participants. For the acoustic analysis vowels with sentence stress were identified and extracted and formant values were calculated at the vowel target. This study looks at over 8000 monophthongs and 4000 diphthongs. The study found minimal differences between speakers from different suburbs, but all groups had notable differences from the traditional New Zealand English (NZE) vowel space. These differences align with previous comments regarding the vowels of Pasifika New Zealand English. The paper concludes by contemplating what these results say about Pasifika New Zealand English and New Zealand English in Auckland.