Samantha Yee Monday, November 26th English 4110-101 Research Paper Introduction: The purpose of this study was

to analyze if assuming different social roles produces a shift in the pronunciation of vowels by the individual assuming those roles. Specifically, this study utilized the adult cartoon series South Park and focused on the speech process of the character Eric Cartman. Eric is an eight-year-old student in South Park, Colorado. The television series follows the lives of Eric and his three friends Stan, Kyle and Kenny. Eric is the most mischievous child and often assumes controversial leadership roles in an attempt to control his friends and classmates. Eric assumes two different kinds of roles that are analyzed throughout this study. Primarily, Eric assumes a very persuasive, innocent demeanor with his mom, Liane Cartman, where he repeats phrases like: But Mom in a whiny tone or No, thats a bad kitty when his mother, his cat and him are all interacting. Additionally, Cartman assumes aggressive leadership roles when interacting with his peers in an attempt to control his classmates. He often repeats phrases like: Screw you guys, Im going home when he is being dismissive, Screw you, Kyle when he picks on his friend and enemy Kyle Broflovski, and Respect my authority when he attempts to exercise dominance over others in order to influence them. Through this careful study one will be able to see if Cartmans role assumption effects his pronunciation. Methods: There are five common phrases that Cartman utilizes: 1. Screw you guys Im going home 2. But Mom...

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3. Screw you, Kyle 4. No, thats a bad kitty! 5. Respect my authority! These five phrases were tracked throughout 25 episodes of South Park where the shifts in pronunciation were common. In order to properly analyze Cartmans pronunciation these five phrases were dissected phonetically. Screw you guys Im going home Cartmans pronunciation: [sk!u ju g!s "m go"n h!m] The highlighted vowel shifts are shown here: [aI!!] [aI!"] and [o"!!] But Mom Cartmans pronunciation: [bIt m!m] The highlighted vowel shifts are shown here: [#!I] and [a!!] Screw you, Kyle Cartmans pronunciation: [sk!u ju kaIl] The highlighted vowel shifts are shown here: [y!aI] No, thats a bad kitty! Cartmans pronunciation: [n! #!ts ! b!d k!tj] The highlighted vowel shifts are shown here:

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[o"!!] [!!] ["!!] [!!] and[I!!] Respect my authority! Cartmans pronunciation: [!$sp$kt m! !#rt"] The highlighted vowel shifts are shown here: [i!I] [!!I] [j!!]** ["!!] and [i!"] **The [j] sound is considered a vowel here. Data: This table contains the 25 episodes that tokens were taken from and how many times each of the five phrases appears in the episode. Episode Season 1 Episode 1 Season 1 Episode 2 Season 2 Episode 12 Season 3 Episode 2 Season 3 Episode 7 Season 4 Episode 1 Season 5 Episode 4 Season 5 Episode 6 Season 6 Episode 8 Season 7 Episode 3 Season 7 Episode 5 Season 8 Episode 2 Season 9 Episode 4 Screw you guys Im going home 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 0 0 2 1 But mom 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 Screw you, Kyle 0 2 1 2 1 0 1 4 1 2 1 1 0 No, thats a bad kitty 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Respect my authority 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

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Season 9 Episode 12 Season 10 Episode 7 Season 10 Episode 8 Season 11 Episode 1 Season 12 Episode 14 Season 13 Episode 5 Season 13 Episode 10 Season 14 Episode 3 Season 14 Episode 8 Season 15 Episode 4 Season 15 Episode 8 Season 16 Episode 9 Totals

1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 27

0 2 2 0 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 23

1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 29

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9

This table illustrates the frequency at which Eric Cartman produces the vowel shift throughout 25 episodes of South Park. Overall he produces a phrase with a vowel shift 92 times in the 25 episodes during a situation in which he is assuming an authority role or he is innocently interacting within his family. Vowel Shifts 92 Episodes 25 Average Vowel Shift per Episode 3.68 vowel shifts/episode

This chart illuminates the frequency at which Cartman utilizes vowel shifts per episode out of the 25 that were employed for this study. Role Assumption Number of Times the role occurred/92 Tokens Percentages

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Authoritative Role Assumption Facilitating Vowel Shift Innocent Role Assumption Facilitating Vowel Shift

65/92 27/92

70.6% 29.4%

This chart highlights the percentages at which Eric assumes different roles when he makes a vowel shift in his pronunciation. Discussion: Cartmans personality provides two excellent examples of roles that he assumes that cause a shift in his pronunciation and emotional state. As previously stated, the purpose of these observations was to see how different vowel shifts in pronunciation are facilitated in different situations. The data provided illustrates a few interesting points. Cartman has 92 total vowel shift phrases in the 25 episodes viewed for his study. Likewise, he averages at 3.68 vowel shifts per episode viewed. Cartmans primary role as son to Liane illuminates a few ideas. In this study the two phrases used that showed a vowel shift were: But mom and No, thats a bad kitty! Both of these phrases involve Eric playing into his role as an innocent, sweet son. Though the data does not have many examples of the use of this the phrases are important because Eric uses them to manipulate his mother into giving him or doing what he wants her to do. The most common vowel shift in these two phrases is to the [!] sound. As a mid front lax vowel Eric mostly shifts his pronunciation up. This produces a whiny sound. Eric utilized this role assumption 29.4% of the time that he produced a vowel shift. This low percentage illustrates that he does not have to exercise this role often in order to manipulate his mother. As a single mother with one

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son, Liane is quick to give Cartman anything he wants and clearly it requires little persuasion from him when necessary. Conversely, Eric exercised his authoritative vowel shift 70.6% of the time that a shift was present. Cartman often chastises his friends in order to get what he wants. His three phrases used amidst his peers are: Screw you guys, Im going home, Screw you, Kyle, and Respect my authority!. Cartman manipulates his friends, class mates, and peers often in order to situate himself in positions of leadership and control. Eric often uses these phrases to persuade his friends that his idea or concept is superior to theirs. Frequently, Eric will dismiss his peers in order to persuade them to do what he wants. This manipulation is often seen through the vowel shift to the [!] sound. The high frequency of his this role assumption, at 70.6% of the time, shows that Cartman must exercise this role more frequently in order to manipulate his friends. Conclusions: Through the observations and data collected one can see that there may be a pattern between a vowel shift and the varying role assumption of an individual. Eric Cartman utilizes a vowel shift in pronunciation, most often to the [!] sound, in order to manipulate others around him. Eric Cartman is the most mischievous character in the adult cartoon series and it is easy to see how he controls those around him through his speech patterns. The production of the [!] sound can be characterized as whiny or persuasive. When assuming his role as son or leader Cartman frequently utilizes the vowel shift to control the situation. This behavior might illustrate a relationship between the power struggle that Cartman has internally and his vowel shift. Upon further observation I wonder if there is a deeper relationship between an individuals #$$")"

persuasion or need to control and their speech patterns. Cartman is clearly a manipulative individual, therefore; I am curious about a more neutral individual and their speech patterns during persuasion.

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