A Rapid and Anonymous Study of /r/ Vocalization in an /r/ Pronouncing City

Abstract

This article is based on a rapid and anonymous study of /r/ vocalization in Philadelphia conducted in 2003 and 2004. Results suggest an interaction between an internal factor of sound change-dissimilation-and an external factor of sound change-African American ethnicity. These results were unexpected, since previous studies have indicated that internal and external factors do not interact. We also examined variation across the external factors of gender, age, year of interview, social status, and location within Philadelphia. Research has shown that /r/ vocalization occurs in any word position except before a vowel (Hempl 1896). It is not a typical feature of Standard American English, though it has been known historically to occur in large cities, especially New York and Boston. While Philadelphia has been recorded as an /r/ pronouncing city (Kurath & McDavid 1961), there is still evidence of some /r/ vocalization in Philadelphia, particularly among Italians (Labov 2001). Similarly, Myhill (1988) found that in Philadelphia, just as throughout the United States, African Americans demonstrate higher rates of /r/ vocalization. Researchers have long considered African American Vernacular English as a dialect distinctive from white Standard American English. Studies have been conducted on its grammar, lexicon, pronunciation, and geographical and linguistic origins (see Rickford & Rickford 2000 for an in-depth study). Such studies have also considered changes in AA VE over time. The factors which drive language change are classified in two categories. Internal factors are strictly linguistic factors, such as phonetic or syntactic context, and external factors are nonlinguistic features of the speaker, such as ethnicity, area of origin, or social status. Researchers have found evidence that internal and external factors do not usually interact in processes of language change (Martinet 1955 and Kurytowicz 1964 as cited in Labov 2001). In our study, however, data indicate that these two factors may in fact interact. We found an interaction between an internal factor, dissimilation,

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