POST-VOCALIC /R/ IN SINGAPORE ENGLISH

Abstract

This Academic Exercise adopts Labovian sociolinguistic methodology to examine the use of post-vocalic /r/ in Singapore English. 21 informants were obtained using Milroy's concept of the researcher as a friend of a friend' and tape-recorded interviews were conducted with them to gather information about their social backgrounds and to elicit their speech in the interview. Reading Passage and Word List Styles. Percentage scores of /r/-usage were calculated and correlated with social factors, contextual style and phonetic environment. /r/-usage was generally found to correlate with stylistic variation. This indicates that, for some of the informants, /r/-usage is seen as a social marker in Singapore English; it is perceived by these informants as a prestige feature. The overall stratification pattern of the informants showed that younger and female informants displayed higher use of post-vocalic /r/. As the older pattern of Singapore English was generally /r/-less, the distribution pattern suggests that present /r/- usage is a phenomenon of linguistic change in progress. It is an innovation led by the young, especially young females, probably in imitation of American English. The findings imply the possibility of a new norm being introduced into spoken Singapore English and the linguistic instability of (r) ; these constitute possible areas where future sociolinguistic research may reveal interesting results.