The Sociolinguistics of Singing

This study looks at issues of dialect and style that arise in classical
choral singing in Trinidad. It poses the question of what accent
is preferred, and then goes on to look closely at perceived and
real difficulties secondary school choral singers face in producing
the target accents. It considers these findings in light of larger
discussions of norm-setting and language attitudes in post-colonial
contexts, and afterwards with reference to debates about language
style, particularly in performance.
The data reveal a preference for Standard British English
pronunciations, while the use of features associated with mesolectal
varieties of Trinidadian English/Creole is highly stigmatized. There
is further evidence for endonormativity in the Trinidadian language
context, the data indicative of two varieties in Trinidad: a Creole
and a local variety of Standard English. The data also reveal several
features that are part of neither the British nor the Trinidadian
English phonemic inventories, but that are nonetheless identified as
necessary for choral singing. These features were labeled classical
choral singing style.