A closer look at the "father"/"bother"
merger
For this variable, southern NH stands out as clearly different from all
surrounding regions: VT, MA and even northern NH. These two graphs (NH
/ MA) were
used to investigate the possibility that the striking difference in responses to
the question, "Do 'father' and 'bother' rhyme?" between southern NH
and the Boston area of MA is due to a change in progress in NH.
A clear pattern of young and/or female speakers reporting a merger would
indicate that change away from the Boston pattern is in progress. Such a trend
is observed, but the distinction is not particularly strong.
As the first graph below shows, there is a suggestion of a change in progress
among the women: Nashua and Manchester, 2 of the 4 regions in southern NH, show
a decrease in percentage of reported mergers that is inversely proportional to
age. In contrast, the Seacoast area, surprisingly, shows NO reported mergers
among the youngest people. In the north, fewer speakers report a merger, and
there is no clear pattern of age-grading.