[V̰] is the new [ʔ]: A real-time diachronic study of lenition in Wisconsin English

Abstract

This paper investigates glottalization rates of word-final /t/ in Wisconsin English over time, based on both historical (1950s) and newly collected (2018) recordings of Wisconsin speakers. Real-time diachronic data show that glottalization rates have been subject to rapid change since the 1950s, doubling by 2018. There is no consistent correlation between glottalization rates and speech style, with great interspeaker variability in how glottalization interacts with formality. A fine-grained acoustic analysis of realizations of word-final /t/ reveals a lenition hierarchy where /t/ is subject to increasing lenition over time and ultimately phonetically reduced to zero. This paper identifies a [ʔ] > [V̰] > ∅ lenition hierarchy, where laryngealization of the preceding vowel or nasal and deletion gradually gain ground over time, starting in the leading environment.

Proceedings of the Linguistics Conference at UGA 2024

Published November 24, 2025