Arkansas 37

Listen to Arkansas 37, a 46-year-old woman from Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 46

YEAR OF BIRTH: 1974

PLACE OF BIRTH: Arkadelphia, Arkansas, but raised in Fayetteville

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Black

OCCUPATION: higher-education administrator

EDUCATION: J.D.

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject lived in Miami, Oklahoma, for several months during her childhood.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Ben Corbett

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 01/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I’d like to tell you a little bit about growing up in northwest Arkansas as a Black, young girl. I tell you, Ben, um, it was different. I don’t think I had another person of color in my classroom until I was in the fourth grade. Um, I distinctly remember individuals asking me about, um, my hair and, um, wanting to touch it because I was different. And I remember, um, my mother had al-always told me, “Don’t, don’t you allow them t — don’t you allow those kids to play in your hair at school.” And, um, you know, even though today I can go to work and see another person of color, I don’t think that much has changed in regards to the diversity. Um, we have, we have definitely made strides in regards to there are more than just me. But, um, I, I definitely believe that we have a ways to go and in increasing diversity, um, in our classrooms, in our workplaces.

Um, I know that in northwest Arkansas as a child, um, it has been different and even still today as an adult. Um, a lot of times I see Confederate flags, and it kinda just gives me, um, if, if, if “heebie-jeebies” is a word, that’s what it’s given me, um, and to feel uncomfortable. But I’d say, even though that northwest Arkansas lacks a lot of diversity that I would like to see, I have felt overall safe, um, in northwest Arkansas, and especially a lot of times being the only person of color in a classroom or working with my, um, working with my teachers or my professors, and, um, I think maybe that, uh, sometimes that I’ve been lucky. Um, but it’s definitely in my charge now to help try to make a positive difference, um, in my life and, and the work that I do and with others that I come in contact with. So, thank you.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Ben Corbett

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

The subject’s tongue position is predominantly in a middle-raised position in the mouth.

[r] consonant lengthens and is nasal (cure, working, deserted, superb, her, hurry, rare, diversity, bird).

FACE words use the monophthong [e] before both voice and unvoiced consonants (daily, ate, today, changed, safe).

PRICE words sometimes use the monophthong [a] (private, fire, times, try, I). However, when a PRICE word is unstressed, it may use a schwa [ə] (I, I’d, my).

TRAP words may either use the monophthong [e] DRESS (and, as animal) or the schwa [ə] (and, have).

Vowel [u] GOOSE often receives added volume in monosyllabic words (duke, huge, tune). The tongue may raise for this vowel as well (school). It can also be immediately preceded by a schwa [ə] COMMA (goose). Occasionally, it is preceded by the monophthong [e] DRESS (do).

GOAT words often use the schwa [ə] COMMA in the initial position of the diphthong (so, no, don’t, go, know).

FLEECE words occasionally use the monophthong [ɪ] KIT (feel). At other times, they may be preceded by a schwa [ə] (increasing, me, see).

KIT words may have the [ɪ] vowel lengthened (kit).

The word “woman” uses the [ʌ] STRUT vowel.

The word “Arkansas” can end either the [ɑ] PALM vowel or the [ɔ] THOUGHT vowel.

[ɪ] KIT begins the word “area” the first time it’s spoken.

Consonant [g] is left off the end of the word “calling.”

COMMENTARY BY: Ben Corbett

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 08/10/2020

The archive provides:

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• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

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