Sonority and syllable structure in Chicano English
- 1 March 1996
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Language Variation and Change
- Vol. 8 (1) , 63-89
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954394500001071
Abstract
Three analyses of /-t,d/ deletion are undertaken to investigate whether convergence with the matrix regional dialect has taken place in Los Angeles Chicano English. Two superficial analyses mistakenly find convergence. A third emic multivariate analysis finds no phonological convergence. It is argued that sonority of adjacent consonants accounts for most of the variation. In order to give an account of the degree and direction of the /-t,d/ deletion processses in Chicano English, Clement's (1988) model of nonaffixal syllabification, which is also based on sonority, is extended to this affix-affecting delection process.Keywords
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