Repository logo
 

Each p[ɚ]son does it th[ɛː] way: Rhoticity variation and the community grammar

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

No Thumbnail Available

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Beeching, Kate 
Coates, Richard 
Murphy, James 
Robinson, Emily 

Abstract

This paper examines individual differences in constraints on linguistic variation in light of Labov’s (2007) proposal that adult change (diffusion) disrupts systems of constraints and Tamminga, MacKenzie, and Embick’s (2016) typology of constraints. It is shown that, in pooling data from multiple speakers, some of the complexity in structured community variation may be overlooked. Data on rhoticity from speakers of Bristol English are compared to 34 previous studies of rhoticity in varieties of English around the world. Constraints found to be consistent across varieties are also found to be consistent across speakers of Bristol English, whereas those that differ between varieties also differ between individuals, implying that only those which differ are truly part of the grammar, and that these are indeed disrupted by diffusion.

Description

Keywords

47 Language, Communication and Culture, 4703 Language Studies, 4704 Linguistics

Journal Title

Language Variation and Change

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0954-3945
1469-8021

Volume Title

31

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Bristol Centre for Linguistics