ABSTRACT
The Puerto Rican Spanish (PRS) trill is often produced with up to 12 possible realizations. Since this variation is attested on the island as well as in the diaspora, we analyze whether we find similar variation among the Puerto Rican community in Western Massachusetts. We study which phonetic realizations are the most common and which factors might predict their use, paying special attention to the backed /r/ ([x], [χ]). The goal is to contribute to the general research of language use in language-contact situations, analyzing the transmission of the trill realization among first- and second-generation PRS speakers.
