Assibilation of /-r/ and migration among Mexicans

Abstract

This article examines the assibilation of the vibrant /-r/ in word final position in Mexican Spanish in an urban and a rural community in Moroleón (Guanajuato, Mexico) and Kennett Square (Pennsylvania, United States). The data was collected according to traditional sociolinguistic methodology during 1995 and 1996. The analysis of the data uses linguistic factors combined with socioeconomic factors that include movement seen as social mobility and/or migratory tendencies in the population. Through the intertwining of these factors interesting tendencies can be observed: female preference for the innovative and prestigious variant as a way to acquire power in a society where women do not have a voice to claim or seek social mobility and power; the influence of the linguistic market in the community, and the effects of accommodation. © 2004, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.