Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 09:44:10 -0500
From: Ellen Johnson ellenj[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]HYDE.PARK.UGA.EDU
Subject: consonantal /r/
Back in June, Bill Kretzschmar and I gave a paper at the Assoc. for
Literary and Ling. Computing using an analysis of postvocalic /r/ from
the LAMSAS records as a demonstration. We distinguished /r/s in 2 ways:
retroflex vs.
non-retroflex (non- being those places, e.g. Deep South "lacking"
postvocalic /r/) and vocalic vs. consonantal. The latter distinguishes
between the "hooked-schwa" and the true consonant. Consonantal /r/ is
found along the Eastern Seaboard in 2 areas in Pennsylvania. Our
computer analysis validated the description of distribution in PEAS. The
two areas have very different /r/s, however. The PA German-influenced
area of SE PA is a "weak velar fricative", while the "apical" /r/ under
discussion here is found in an area centered around Pittsburgh and
extending to the west out of the LAMSAS region.
Ellen Johnson
ellenj[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]atlas.uga.edu