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Losing voice

Is final /z/ devoicing a feature of Maori English

Bibliographic Data

ID2268766
AuthorsJ Holmes (0000-0002-1791-033X, Victoria University of Wellington, corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume15
Issue2
Pages193-205
Publication date1996-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Englishes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0883-2919 • E-ISSN: 1467-971X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-971x.1996.tb00105.x
OpenAlexW1963776807
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited13

This paper examines the distribution of word-final /z/ in New Zealand English. This feature has attracted little attention in previous research, but it appears to be a feature which distinguishes between the English of Pakeha and Maori New Zealanders. The research reported in this paper describes the distribution of word-final /z/ in a sample of 6,057 tokens produced by 97 New Zealanders from the Wellington Corpus of Spoken New Zealand English. The contributors contrast primarily on the dimensions of ethnicity, gender, and age, and the samples include both interview and conversational styles. The analysis identifies three main variants of word-final /z/, a voiced variant, a partially devoiced variant and a totally devoiced or voiceless variant. The sociolinguistic distribution of the voiceless variant indicates that it is used significantly more often by Maori than by Pakeha, suggesting it may be a feature of 'Maori English.' The results also suggest that young Pakeha women may play an interesting role in relation to language change in New Zealand English. Tentative explanations are proposed for the patterns identified

Australian English · Contrast (vision · Distribution (mathematics · Ethnic group · Feature (linguistics · Linguistics · Relation (database · Sociology · Variation (astronomy · Varieties of English · Word (group theory · Anthropology · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Artificial Intelligence

  • New Zealand English

    Open Access•Elizabeth Gordon, Lyle Campbell et al.•New Zealand English•2004

  • Disentangling the effects of long-term language contact and individual bilingualism

    Open Access•Robert Mayr, Jonathan Morris et al.•International Journal of…•2017

  • General extenders in New Zealand Englishes

    Open Access•Alexander Onysko, Marta Degani•World Englishes•2025

  • Obstruent voicing and devoicing in the English of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong

    Open Access•Long Peng, Jean Ann•World Englishes•2004

  • The importance of interaction effects

    Robert Sigley•Language Variation and Change•2003

  • A sociophonetic account of gradient /z/ devoicing among Chicanx high schoolers

    Open Access•Nicole Holliday, Nicole R Holliday et al.•Language Variation and Change•2022

  • Native English speakers learning German as a second language

    Open Access•Bruce L Smith, Earl Peterson et al.•Journal of Phonetics•2012

  • Variation in Chicano English

    Robert Bayley, Cory Holland•American Speech•2014

  • Differences in Final /z/ Realization in Southwest and Northern Virginia

    Rachel Hargrave, Amy Southall et al.•American Speech•2022

  • Production and perception of voicing and devoicing in similar German and English word pairs by native speakers of German

    Open Access•Bruce L Smith, Rachel Hayes‐harb et al.•Journal of Phonetics•2009

  • Quoting ethnicity

    Open Access•Alexandra D''Arcy, Alex D’arcy et al.•Journal of Sociolinguistics•2010

  • Maori and Pakeha English

    Open Access•J Holmes•Language in Society•1997

  • Televised political discourse in New Zealand

    Open Access•Stefanie Stadler•World Englishes•2013

  • A taste of Kiwi

    Donn Bayard•Australian Journal of Linguistics•1991

  • Linguistic change in intonation

    Open Access•David Britain•Language Variation and Change•1992

  • The devoicing of voiced fricatives

    Open Access•Mark Haggard•Journal of Phonetics•1978

  • Control of the voicing distinction for intervocalic stops and fricatives

    Open Access•Gary Weismer•Journal of Phonetics•1980

  • Patterns of voicing-conditioned vowel duration in French and English

    Open Access•Christiane Laeufer•Journal of Phonetics•1992

  • The perceptual basis of consonant cluster reduction and final devoicing

    Open Access•Frank Parker•Journal of Phonetics•1980

  • A functional-perceptual account of final devoicing

    Open Access•Frank Parker•Journal of Phonetics•1981

  • Vowel length and 'voicing' in a following consonant

    Open Access•Thomas Walsh, Frank Parker•Journal of Phonetics•1981

  • Sounds pretty ethnic, eh

    Open Access•Miriam Meyerhoff•Language in Society•1994

  • Maori and Pakeha English

    Open Access•J Holmes•Language in Society•1997

  • Language style as audience design

    Open Access•Allan Bell•Language in Society•1984

Unique citing works13
Citations per year0,45
Citation span1997 - 2025 (29)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 13
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