He’s like, “My Nan loves that naan bread” quotative be+like and mimetic performance among migrants to St. John’s NL

Jardine, Katelyn (2022) He’s like, “My Nan loves that naan bread” quotative be+like and mimetic performance among migrants to St. John’s NL. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis examines quotative verb use and mimetic performance among migrants to St. Johns, Newfoundland. The first part examines the variation and distribution of quotative verbs among this community, implements variable rule analysis and delves into which grammatical and social constraints condition the choice of quotative verbs by these speakers. The second part investigates the properties of mimetic speech and explores how these individuals create voices using the acoustic properties of vowels. These topics are examined through the lens of social network theory (Milroy 1987) and performance speech. I propose a framework of sociolinguistic comfort that incorporates these concepts to account for the patterns of quotative and mimetic performance. As our world grows ever more global, understanding the ways migrant speakers learn to perform identity, incorporate highly regionalized features, and yet remain connected to their adopted community is essential.

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