Lorain Puerto Rican Spanish and 'r' in Three Generations

Abstract

has been assumed to result from American English (AE) influence, but the cause has not been directly studied. The analysis of retroflex /r / in Puerto Rican Spanish in Lorain, Ohio--where contact with English is ongoing and variable-- presents counterevidence to the hypothesized AE source of retroflex /r/. In this article, I discuss the frequency patterns of use for ‘r ’ among three generations of Puerto Ricans in Lorain, Ohio. The retroflex ‘r ’ is most common in the third generation, a fact which is consistent with AE influence. However, if AE were the source, we would expect the lowest frequency of the retroflex in the first generation Puerto Ricans, as they are presumed to have the least contact with English. In fact, however, first generation speakers use a retroflex ‘r ’ in their readings in Spanish more frequently than the second generation. The AE influence explanation is, then, problematic, and despite the evidence from the second and third generations, the occurrence of ‘r ’ in the first generation cannot be attributed solely to AE influence. In addition to offering possible explanations of the data, I discuss methodological issues in the operationalization and measurement of 'language contact'.

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