Previous studies have shown that speakers have
difficulty interpreting the sounds of another dialect when
they are heard in isolation or reduced context, and that
this difficulty is greater in areas of dialect contact
where exposure to mergers or near-mergers is experienced
(Labov & Ash, 1997; Labov, Karen, & Miller, 1991).
A cross-dialectal comprehension test was conducted at Ohio
University and three of its branch campuses. Responses
were elicited to seven words digitally excerpted at three
levels of reduced context from a story read by a third-generation
resident of southern Ohio. Results indicated that vowel
changes occurring in southern Ohio were generally interpreted
by the respondents in terms of their own vowel systems,
and that limited exposure to the local dialect by outsiders
led to recognition only of the more salient or stereotyped
sounds. Moreover, students from southern Ohio had difficulty
with the same words that outsiders did, presumably reflecting
semantic confusion caused by their increased exposure to
other dialects. A new boundary for the South Midland dialect
area is proposed on the basis of these findings.