&quot;Country is Cool Again&quot;: An Analysis of the Language of Young Contemporary Country Artists

Not only does there seem to be a growing audience for country music, but there is also a growing attraction towards to genre for artists. Due to this renewed attraction to the genre, it would be interesting to consider in how far young country artists adhere to country’s linguistic norms and how their language use has developed from older country artists. More specifically, this thesis considers the following questions: 1. do young contemporary country artists use language to index their songs as country? 2. Is the artists' language use in their songs different from that in their speech 3. Do young contemporary country artists differ from older country artists in the way they use language to index their songs as country? This thesis will first detail some key terminology in relation to country music. Chapter two provides a linguistic background to country music by discussing linguistic features considered in previous studies on country music. Chapter three will discuss three...Show moreNot only does there seem to be a growing audience for country music, but there is also a growing attraction towards to genre for artists. Due to this renewed attraction to the genre, it would be interesting to consider in how far young country artists adhere to country’s linguistic norms and how their language use has developed from older country artists. More specifically, this thesis considers the following questions: 1. do young contemporary country artists use language to index their songs as country? 2. Is the artists' language use in their songs different from that in their speech 3. Do young contemporary country artists differ from older country artists in the way they use language to index their songs as country? This thesis will first detail some key terminology in relation to country music. Chapter two provides a linguistic background to country music by discussing linguistic features considered in previous studies on country music. Chapter three will discuss three sociolinguistic studies on country music as a basis for this thesis’ own research in chapter four. In this research, the phonological variables of ᴘʀɪᴄᴇ monophthongization and (ING) fronting will be considered as well as morphosyntactic features associated with both Southern American English and a more general vernacular. The production of these features will be analyzed and compared in three young country artists: Bryce Leatherwood, Bailey Zimmerman, and Tucker Wetmore. Chapter five will provide a critical discussion of the results while chapter six will conclude this thesis and answer the hypothesis: young contemporary country artists use language to index their songs as country and their language use in song is different from their language use in speech. Moreover, this thesis hypothesizes that young contemporary country artists are starting to shift from older country artists in the way they use language to index their songs as country.Show less

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"Country is Cool Again" An Analysis of the Language of Young Contemporary Country Artists