Figure 11.2 Approximate geographic area where words with an /i/ or /e/ before /n/ are
realized as homonyms
The monophthongization of /ai/ to /a/ is the first stage in the Southern
Shift, a series of changes in the vowel system. The shift from /ai/ to /a/ has
been called the most distinctive feature of the Southern U.S. English
(Baranowski 2007: 149). The distribution of this shift away from the older
form /a/ to /ai/ shows distinct patterns. In Charleston, for example,
Baranowski found that the wealthiest are more likely to use the newer
variant /ai/, while the lower economic classes are more persistent in the
use of the more traditional /a/ before obstruents and in a word final
position (ibid.: 154).
The individual’s understanding of boundaries is something of great
interest to geographers, who have studied what has been called the maps in
the mind. Ayers’ body of work confirms that non-Southerners do have a