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Stereotypes, variation and change: Understanding the change of coronal sonorants in a rural variety of Modern Greek

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2008

Panayiotis A. Pappas
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University

Abstract

The results of a study of the variation between the palatal and alveolar pronunciation of the coronal sonorants /l/ and /n/ in a rural Greek community are presented. The study integrates the methodologies of both large surveys and ethnographic studies and shows that there is change in progress as younger speakers adopt the alveolar pronunciation through contact with urban varieties. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that the variation is determined by factors such as gender, education, attitude toward the local community, and awareness of the variation. The responses given in the interviews reveal that the palatal pronunciation is stigmatized as vlachika, a term that connotes rural rather than urban, uneducated rather than educated, and naive rather than sophisticated attributes. This information coupled with a closer look at the behavior of particular individuals helps elucidate aspects of the pattern of variation that at first appear to be counterintuitive.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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