{"id":{"repo_id":"unt","oai_identifier":"info:ark/67531/metadc4523"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/unt/info:ark/67531/metadc4523","repository":{"repo_id":"unt","name":"University of North Texas","base_url":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Mary/merry and horse/hoarse: Mergers in Southern American English","abstract":"Phonetic mergers in American English have been studied throughout the last half century. Previous research has contributed social and phonetic explanations to the understanding of front and back vowel mergers before /l/, front vowel mergers before nasals and phonetically unconditioned back vowel mergers. Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States (LAGS) and the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States (LAMSAS), this thesis examines the spread of the front vowel mergers in Mary and merry and the back vowel mergers in horse and hoarse. The two complementary sources of data allow for a social and phonetic approach to the examination of the merger.","abstract_html":"Phonetic mergers in American English have been studied throughout the last half century. Previous research has contributed social and phonetic explanations to the understanding of front and back vowel mergers before /l/, front vowel mergers before nasals and phonetically unconditioned back vowel mergers. Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States (LAGS) and the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States (LAMSAS), this thesis examines the spread of the front vowel mergers in Mary and merry and the back vowel mergers in horse and hoarse. The two complementary sources of data allow for a social and phonetic approach to the examination of the merger.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ehrhardt, Brooke"],"institution":"University of North Texas","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cukor-Avila, Patricia","Ross, John Robert, 1938-","Bailey, Guy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-05","date_published":"2004-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:35:09Z","subjects":["English language -- Southern States -- Phonetics.","English language -- Southern States -- Vowels.","horse/hoarse","vowel merger","Southern American English","LAGS","Mary/merry"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["Public","Copyright","Ehrhardt, Brooke","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oclc: 55658378","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4523/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc4523"],"render_values":[{"text":"oclc: 55658378","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4523/","href":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4523/","code":true},{"text":"ark: ark:/67531/metadc4523","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc4523","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cukor-Avila, Patricia","Ross, John Robert, 1938-","Bailey, Guy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ehrhardt, Brooke"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2004-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of North Texas"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis or Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["English language -- Southern States -- Phonetics.","English language -- Southern States -- Vowels.","horse/hoarse","vowel merger","Southern American English","LAGS","Mary/merry"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Public","Copyright","Ehrhardt, Brooke","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. 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The two complementary sources of data allow for a social and phonetic approach to the examination of the merger."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["Text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mary/merry and horse/hoarse: Mergers in Southern American English"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cukor-Avila, Patricia","Ross, John Robert, 1938-","Bailey, Guy"],"dc:creator":["Ehrhardt, Brooke"],"dc:date":["2004-05"],"dc:description":["Phonetic mergers in American English have been studied throughout the last half century. Previous research has contributed social and phonetic explanations to the understanding of front and back vowel mergers before /l/, front vowel mergers before nasals and phonetically unconditioned back vowel mergers. Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States (LAGS) and the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States (LAMSAS), this thesis examines the spread of the front vowel mergers in Mary and merry and the back vowel mergers in horse and hoarse. The two complementary sources of data allow for a social and phonetic approach to the examination of the merger."],"dc:format":["Text"],"dc:identifier":["oclc: 55658378","doi: 10.12794/metadc4523","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4523/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc4523"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["University of North Texas"],"dc:rights":["Public","Copyright","Ehrhardt, Brooke","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."],"dc:subject":["English language -- Southern States -- Phonetics.","English language -- Southern States -- Vowels.","horse/hoarse","vowel merger","Southern American English","LAGS","Mary/merry"],"dc:title":["Mary/merry and horse/hoarse: Mergers in Southern American English"],"dc:type":["Thesis or Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:35:09Z"}