A usage-based account of /r/-liaison in Standard British English

The paper looks at the phenomenon of /r/-liaison in Standard British English and aims to assess the degree to which usage-based predictors, such as word frequency or collocability, contribute to its patterning and distribution. The sample consisting of 22 speakers is coded for the occurrence of [ɹ] and Ø in the potential /r/-liaison sites and the influence of the various phonetic, grammatical, and usage-based factors is tested and evaluated by means of a mixed-effects variable rule analysis. The present account tries to explain how the diachrony and synchrony of language use have given rise to linking and intrusive /r/ in British English. It is shown that a large part of the patterning of both /r/-liaison types can be explained through the influence of usage-based and cognitive determinants. The findings of the study lend support to functional (cognitive) models of language and speech production, and demonstrate that /r/-liaison cannot be adequately explained in purely abstract (generative) phonological terms.