Sociolinguistic aspects of approximants

Nance, Claire and Lennon, Robert (2026) Sociolinguistic aspects of approximants. In: The Phonetics and Phonology of Approximants :. Studies in Phonetics and Phonology . University of Toronto Press, Toronto, pp. 82-100. ISBN 9781487528867

Abstract

In this chapter, we consider the sociolinguistic aspects of the production and perception of approximants. Our aim is to review and discuss factors such as dialectal variation, social class, gender, ethnicity, multilingualism, and language contact. Specifically, we focus on laterals and rhotics as the locus of most sociolinguistic variation in approximants. We consider many kinds of rhotics (including some non-approximant rhotics) to provide a holistic account of variation in these sound classes. Rhotics and laterals are articulatorily complex, requiring multiple lingual, and sometimes labial, gestures for production. For this reason, there are many axes along which approximant production, and therefore also perception, can vary. We first consider two ways in which approximants can vary, stemming from articulatory variation. We consider variation according to syllable position, which has been adapted and amplified by different sociolinguistic groups to become part of the structure of different varieties (§5.2). Then, we consider how articulatory change in laterals and rhotics, through loss of lateralization or rhoticity, is realized differently by different social groups (§5.3). In §5.4 we explore how the variation stemming from articulation differences is used stylistically in the construction of different identities (“third-wave” approaches to variation). Finally, we examine the impact of individual bilingualism and society-wide language contact on the production and perception of laterals and rhotics (§5.5).