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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!astrovax!sjuvax!tmoody
From: tmoody@sjuvax.UUCP (T. Moody)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: (Ve:) vDisland R
Message-ID: <2652@sjuvax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 15-Dec-85 09:36:18 EST
Article-I.D.: sjuvax.2652
Posted: Sun Dec 15 09:36:18 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Dec-85 02:42:21 EST
References: <4@vaxine.UUCP> <50@uvacs.UUCP>
Reply-To: tmoody@sjuvax.UUCP (T. Moody)
Organization: St. Joseph's University, Phila. PA.
Lines: 25
Summary: 

In article <50@uvacs.UUCP> mac@uvacs.UUCP writes:
>I believe that this sound is the "Cranston R".  I've been told that the
>folks from Cranston have gotten it included in the International Phonetic
>Alphabet.
>
>Might this have anything to do with the French-Canadian community in
>Cranston?  Perhaps something happened to the velar R?  How about a bidental
>fricative?

[]
I would say that the vDisland 'R' is particularly prevalent in Cranston,
where I grew up.  Even other vDislanders make fun of the "Kveeyanston
accent," which also sports a very sharp 'a', sound, as also in
"deeyance."

But there isn't much of a French-Canadian community there; that community
is distributed mostly through the northern part of the state, especially
Woonsocket.  In Cranston, the dominant ethnic groups are Italian, Swedish,
and Jewish, with a fairly recent influx of Portuguese.


Todd Moody                 |  {allegra|astrovax|bpa|burdvax}!sjuvax!tmoody
Philosophy Department      |
St. Joseph's U.            |         "I couldn't fail to
Philadelphia, PA   19131   |          disagree with you less."