Affricate /c/ in an Immigrant Community

Abstract

Drawing on variationist methodology and migration studies, this paper analyzes the speech of a minority group in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The study aims to determine the linguistic and extralinguistic constraints of the realizations of the dependent variable /c/, a voiceless affricate [c] and a voiceless fricative [s], in this population. The variable seems to act as a social marker.