"We act like girls and we don't act like men": The use of the male-associated variable (ay0) in South Philadelphia

Sociolinguistics is best known for its pioneering use of the present to explain the past: that is, the use of synchronic age distributions to infer linguistic change in progress and to apply the findings to our understanding of historical change. However, in recent years some sociolinguists have turned to real time studies, in part to confirm that our interpretions of synchronic evidence in apparent time are correct. In this paper, I present findings from a real time study of language change in the adolescent portion of the lifespan. Section 2 outlines the hypothesis that speakers’ sociolinguistic systems stabilize before adulthood. Section 3 reports on the raising and backing of the nucleus of /ay/ before voiceless consonants in Philadelphia. Raising and backing in this environment is notated throughout as (ay0), following Labov (2001). In section 4, I discuss the finding that in a South Philadelphia high school, Irish girls appear to be leading in the backing of (ay0). Since (ay0) is associated with male leaders, I explore the relationship between maleness, toughness and local identity in this peer group, and suggest how the girls’ use of (ay0) may change as they enter adulthood.