performance/preformance

Prof. Roly Sussex sussex at LINGUA.ARTS.UQ.EDU.AU
Mon Jan 31 02:03:16 UTC 2000


Australian English is non-rhotic, and so has no post-vocalic 'r' (except in one
small rural dialect).

But recently I have heard a number of speakers, mainly under about 35,
pronounce words like "performance" as "pr&formance". This isn't a case of
metathesis, since there is no &r to metathesize. And it's an odd innovation,
since it makes the syllable onset more rather than less complex.

Is this known in American English, and does anyone have an explanation for why
it might arise?

Roly Sussex
The University of Queensland



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