Variation in Rhoticity in Tarifit: evidence from production, perception, and imitation

Abstract The current study examines variation in postvocalic /r/ in Tarifit, an indigenous Amazigh language of northern Morocco. R-elision is the most frequent phonological form (over 80% of productions in our data). Non-rhoticity is socially conditioned by gender: women produce more r-elision than men. No age differences were observed. Thus, production data indicate that derhoticization is a highly advanced sound change in Tarifit. Additionally, speakers are more likely to produce postvocalic /r/ immediately following a talker who has just produced it (even in a different lexical item). Social evaluations of speakers who produce r-ful and r-less forms of words are also investigated; listeners are more likely to rate a speaker as sounding more educated and nicer when they produce r-elision. Results demonstrate that r-elision is socially conditioned in Tarifit and these findings are discussed in terms of their implications for models of sound change in small and endangered speech communities, and theories about the relationship between the production and perception of phonological variation.