Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French
In this study, we investigate the multifaceted realizations of the /R/ consonant in Québec French (QF) by combining sociolinguistic and phonological approaches. First, from a sociophonetic point of view, we utilize a mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression model to analyze the impact of variou...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Languages |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/11/338 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850068467346046976 |
|---|---|
| author | Mathilde Hutin Mélanie Lancien |
| author_facet | Mathilde Hutin Mélanie Lancien |
| author_sort | Mathilde Hutin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, we investigate the multifaceted realizations of the /R/ consonant in Québec French (QF) by combining sociolinguistic and phonological approaches. First, from a sociophonetic point of view, we utilize a mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression model to analyze the impact of various variables on the distribution of /R/ variants. Our analysis of location, birth year and gender reveals that each variable and its interactions significantly influence the distribution of /R/ variants. We identify three distinct speaker groups based on their preferences for these variants: those favoring apical variants, those using uvular trills, and those employing neither apical nor uvular trills (mostly using fricatives and their approximantized or vocalized variants). From a phonological point of view, we show that the use of the /R/ variants among the three groups correlates with syllabic position, with weaker variants displayed in so-called “weakening” contexts, such as coda and intervocalic onset. Our results thus show that the apparent diversity of /R/ realizations in QF actually follows a pattern from both a sociolinguistic and a formal phonological point of view. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-34542cd3fa4c460bb6c5ca693d5c01ed |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj-art-34542cd3fa4c460bb6c5ca693d5c01ed2025-08-20T02:48:03ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2024-10-0191133810.3390/languages9110338Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec FrenchMathilde Hutin0Mélanie Lancien1Institute for Language and Communication, Louvain University, F.R.S.-FNRS, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumATILF, UMR 7118, Department of Language Sciences, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Université de Lorraine/CNRS, 54000 Nancy, FranceIn this study, we investigate the multifaceted realizations of the /R/ consonant in Québec French (QF) by combining sociolinguistic and phonological approaches. First, from a sociophonetic point of view, we utilize a mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression model to analyze the impact of various variables on the distribution of /R/ variants. Our analysis of location, birth year and gender reveals that each variable and its interactions significantly influence the distribution of /R/ variants. We identify three distinct speaker groups based on their preferences for these variants: those favoring apical variants, those using uvular trills, and those employing neither apical nor uvular trills (mostly using fricatives and their approximantized or vocalized variants). From a phonological point of view, we show that the use of the /R/ variants among the three groups correlates with syllabic position, with weaker variants displayed in so-called “weakening” contexts, such as coda and intervocalic onset. Our results thus show that the apparent diversity of /R/ realizations in QF actually follows a pattern from both a sociolinguistic and a formal phonological point of view.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/11/338rhoticsQuébec Frenchlanguage change and variationlaboratory phonologysociophoneticsdialectology |
| spellingShingle | Mathilde Hutin Mélanie Lancien Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French Languages rhotics Québec French language change and variation laboratory phonology sociophonetics dialectology |
| title | Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French |
| title_full | Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French |
| title_fullStr | Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French |
| title_short | Phonetic Diversity vs. Sociolinguistic and Phonological Patterning of R in Québec French |
| title_sort | phonetic diversity vs sociolinguistic and phonological patterning of r in quebec french |
| topic | rhotics Québec French language change and variation laboratory phonology sociophonetics dialectology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/11/338 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mathildehutin phoneticdiversityvssociolinguisticandphonologicalpatterningofrinquebecfrench AT melanielancien phoneticdiversityvssociolinguisticandphonologicalpatterningofrinquebecfrench |