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In:Constructions in Contact 3: Constructional schemas and patterns in language contact
Edited by Hans C. Boas and Steffen Höder
[Constructional Approaches to Language 40] 2025
► pp. 247–290

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Construction Grammar and phonology?

Diphthongization of /eː/ and /oː/ in New Braunfels German

 | The University of Texas at Austin
Published online: 13 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.40.07war
Abstract
This paper provides a constructionist account of the diphthongization of long vowels /eː/ and /oː/ in Texas German (TxG), a set of New World varieties spoken in Texas. Earlier studies on TxG, e.g. Eikel (1966) and Gilbert (1972), generally report long vowels in words such as geht ‘goes’ or Kohl ‘cabbage.’ Today, the presence of a significant amount of diphthongization from /eː/ and /oː/ to [eɪ] and [oʊ] in data collected by the Texas German Dialect Project (TGDP) shows that diphthongization must be acknowledged as a variable phonological feature of present-day TxG. Statistical analysis reveals that age, but not gender, correlates with this phenomenon. The phenomenon marks an example of pro-diasystematic change, i.e. a mechanism that turns language-specific constructions into diaconstructions (Diasystematic Construction Grammar; Höder, 2012; 2014; 2018; 2019). Language attrition and language death appear as the driving forces.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Diasystematic Construction Grammar
  • 3.Diphthongization in Texas German
    • 3.1Previous accounts
    • 3.2Data and methodology
      • 3.2.1The Texas German Dialect Project
      • 3.2.2Data
      • 3.2.3Methodology
    • 3.3Findings
      • 3.3.1TGDP Resampling of Gilbert’s translation task
      • 3.3.2Diphthongization: A closer look
      • 3.3.3TGDP open-ended interviews
      • 3.3.4Statistical analysis
        • Age & gender
        • Speaker variation
      • 3.3.5Summary
  • 4.Towards a constructional analysis of diphthongization in Texas German
    • 4.1Phonology, cognitive linguistics, and CxG
    • 4.2Sounds are context and community-specific
    • 4.3Diphthongization in TxG: Pro-diasystematic change
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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