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SUMMARY:Linguistics Lounge: "Adjectival intensification in Michigan English"
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20251121T140000
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LOCATION;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Campus Campus Essen : R12 R03 A81
CONTACT:  Lea Bauernfeind ()
DESCRIPTION:  Lea Bauernfeind ()
Linguistics Lounge: "Adjectival intensification in Michigan English"
Suzanne Evans Wagner
Adjectival intensifiers are a subtype of modifiers that 'boost' the meaning of the adjectives they modify, e.g. really happy, very worried, so big. Although intensifiers have been widely examined by sociolinguists, most studies of US English intensification have been restricted to Western regions.
I'll report on some collaborative work with Annan Kirk that shines a light on the Midwest, specifically Michigan. We've looked at the distribution of very, really, so, pretty and a rising competitor, super, in self-recorded audio diaries. When compared with the US West and nearby Ontario, Canada,
adjectival intensifiers in Michigan appear to be distributed
more like those in Canada. This suggests a potential 'cascade model' effect from Toronto. I'll also report briefly on some other recent and ongoing
studies that are coming out of the MI Diaries project, including studies of creaky voice, /t/ realization, filled pauses, and suffixal -in'/-ing.
Friday, 21. November 2025
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