Medium-shifting and intraspeaker variation in conversational interviews
Language Variation and Change
; 34(3):305-329, 2022.
Article
in English
| ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2252384
ABSTRACT
We investigate the impact of medium of communication (in-person versus video) on intraspeaker variation in conversation—a process we refer to as medium-shifting. To quantify the effects of medium-shifting and understand its possible motivations, we analyze three variables that show intraspeaker effects of "clear” or "careful” speech articulation rate, density-controlled vowel space area, and (ING). The data come from matched in-person and video-mediated interviews with thirty-three repeat guests from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, recorded before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mixed-effects regression models show that compared to in-person interviews, video-mediated interviews involve a significantly lower articulation rate and larger vowel space, but no significant difference in (ING). The results suggest that speakers may engage in medium-shifting in order to enhance their intelligibility over video, for example, through more precise articulatory movements and greater contrast between phonemic vowel categories. The null effect of medium on (ING) further suggests that medium-shifting is a motivator of intraspeaker differences even within a single contextual style. An emergent extralinguistic factor affecting speaking behavior and choices, medium-shifting should be carefully considered especially when designing variationist research involving mixed media interviews.
Linguistics, intraspeaker variation, medium-shifting, sociophonetics, speech rate, vowel space area, (ING), COVID-19 pandemic, Interviews, Software, Internet, Video teleconferencing, Celebrities, Conversation, Intelligibility, Verbal communication, COVID-19, Articulation, Video recordings, Sociolinguistics, Phonemics, Effects, Phonetics, Vowels, Pandemics, Medical research, Variables, Data collection, Research design, Speech, Disease transmission, Colbert; Stephen
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
ProQuest Central
Language:
English
Journal:
Language Variation and Change
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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