User:Djsi2135/Pin-pen merger

The pin–pen merger is a conditional merger of /ɪ/ and /ɛ/ before the nasal consonants [m], [n], and [ŋ]. The merged vowel is usually closer to [ɪ] than to [ɛ]. Examples of homophones resulting from the merger include pin–pen, kin–ken and him–hem. The merger is widespread in Southern American English and is also found in many speakers in the Midland region immediately north of the South and in areas settled by migrants from Oklahoma and Texas who settled in the Western United States during the Dust Bowl. It is also a characteristic of African-American Vernacular English.

The pin–pen merger is one of the most widely recognized features of Southern speech. A study of the written responses of American Civil War veterans from Tennessee, together with data from the Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States and the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle South Atlantic States, shows that the prevalence of the merger was very low up to 1860 but then rose steeply to 90% in the mid-20th century. There is now very little variation throughout the South in general except that Savannah, Austin, Miami, and New Orleans are excluded from the merger. The area of consistent merger includes southern Virginia and most of the South Midland and extends westward to include much of Texas. The northern limit of the merged area shows a number of irregular curves. Central and southern Indiana is dominated by the merger, but there is very little evidence of it in Ohio, and northern Kentucky shows a solid area of distinction around Louisville.

Outside the South, most speakers of North American English maintain a clear distinction in perception and production. However, in the West, there is sporadic representation of merged speakers in Washington, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. However, the most striking concentration of merged speakers in the west is around Bakersfield, California, a pattern that may reflect the trajectory of migrant workers from the Ozarks westward.

The raising of /ɛ/ to /ɪ/ was formerly widespread in Irish English and was not limited to positions before nasals. Apparently, it came to be restricted to those positions in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. The pin–pen merger is now commonly found only in Southern and South-West Irish English.

A complete merger of /ɪ/ and /ɛ/, not restricted to positions before nasals, is found in many speakers of Newfoundland English. The pronunciation in words like bit and bet is [ɪ], but before /r/, in words like beer and bear, it is [ɛ]. The merger is common in Irish-settled parts of Newfoundland and is thought to be a relic of the former Irish pronunciation.

History and origin

The pin-pen merger can be traced back to seventeenth century English speech patterns, as well as those found in rural Southern Irish speakers. These Southern Irish speakers settled in various United States cities through immigration in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Interestingly, the pin-pen is no longer widespread in Irish speech - it is now considered sharply recessive, while previously it was likely widespread throughout Ireland. This frequency of the pin-pen merger and it's links to Southern Irish and seventeenth century English when found in the Southern United States also helps explains is widespread nature in African American Vernacular English (especially the Southern variety).

Considered a neutralization

People are constantly migrating from place to place over time education and media typically results in American standard that is largely dialectal of regional traits. Everyone except for the Pin pen merger which is considered a neutralization. A neutralization is the reduction of an opposition to one of its two terms, technically one speaks here of the realization of an opposition in a position of neutralization. As opposition that is neutralized in a certain context is realized as one of its tow to terms. Despite the prominence of the pin pen merger linguists thinks its a fact of dialect geography, its status as a neutralizations have not become part of the language lore.

Pin pen merger in Pop culture and music

Theres plenty of examples of figures in pop culture that use the pin-pen merger. Specifically pop culture figures of southern dialect. This can include the likes of Charlie Daniels of the Charlie Daniels band. You can hear the merger in lots of Daniels' music including the famous, "Devil went down to Georgia." In the song Daniels' sings "Johnny said, Devil just come on back if you ever want to try agin." Specifically where he says "agin" is an example of the pin-pen merger. Another lyric in the song " I'm the best thats ever bin." this is another example of the pin pen merger. Although the majority of the pin pen merger is found in the southern dialect, it can also be found in other parts of the country, Kanye West is a rapper from Chicago and he has used the pin-pen merger in some of his music. Specifically the song "Gold digger" where Kanye raps, "Okay, get your kids, but then they got their frinds, I pulled up in a binz, they all got up en, we all went to den." in this one lyric theres 4 examples of the merger. "Frinds" Meaning friends, "Binz" meaning the car Mercedes Benz, "en" meaning in the car, and "din" meaning dinner.