'Capturing a Sound Change': A Real Time Study Over 15 Years of the NEAR/SQUARE Diphthong Merger in New Zealand English

Abstract

Since 1983, the Canterbury NEAR/SQUARE study has tracked the on-going merger of NEAR and SQUARE in New Zealand English. This paper reports on four repetitions of the study. The results indicate that the two diphthongs are falling together on a close realization which is labelled as NEAR. Factors affecting the process of the merger, such as sex and social class of the speakers, and degree of stress on the test words are discussed, as are the difficulties of carrying out a long-term study of a sound change in progress.