The name of the conference is: ‘R-atics

" ‘R-atics gathers an international network of researchers working on different issues concerning /r/ sounds.

"It is an international mid-size specific conference that enhances mutual cooperation in a friendly environment on phonetic, phonological, sociolinguistic and diachronic aspects of rhotics."

"Rhotic," as we Rice alums & fans should all know (but probably don't, as I hadn't before 30 minutes ago), is the adjective relating to, having, or being an accent or dialect in English in which an /r/ sound is retained before consonants (as in pronouncing 'hard' and 'cart') and at the end of a word (as in pronouncing 'car' and 'far'). (Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhotic)

Jordan MacKenzie Wrote:Arguably one of the greatest divisions in English is between rhotic and non-rhotic accents, which is to say our speech and accents are immediately distinguishable based on the pronunciation, or lack thereof, of /r/-like sounds.

Atlas Obscura did well by its name with this article, published earlier this month, which gives an interesting overview (and history) of this R-centric linguistic area and conference ... as well as details on "the ‘Crispy R’ and why R is the weirdest letter." ... https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wh...a-crispy-r .

‘R-atics has been previously held in Lausanne (Switzerland), Paris (France), Nijmegen (The Netherlands), Bruxelles (Belgium), Bozen (Italy), Grenoble (France) and Leeuwarden (Netherlands).

Why not @Rice -- and in the R Room -- in the (near) future?

. . .

FTR: Rice's Linguistics Dept. website: https://ga.rice.edu/programs-study/depar...nguistics/

Website for the ‘R-atics7 conference (in Lausanne): https://wp.unil.ch/r-atics7/

(I haven't seen any info on ‘R-atics8.)

Unless one of the lecturers without a posted CV has a special interest in phonetics or phonology, the only current relevant faculty is Nancy Nidzielski. She's listed on the site as department chair right now (good for decision making; bad for availability), but her own CV says she hasn't been the chair since 2014. Robert Englebretson's CV says he is still the chair since taking over for Michel Achard in 2017. I'd bet the CVs are not up to date more and that Niedzielski is the chair again.

Given that Nidzielski is the closest interest, it bears stating that she's never worked on rhoticism that I can see. She has, though, published on vowels in Houston English, and that's hardly a half step away from a discussion of rhotics. Michel Achard might have some adjacent interest in second language acquisition.

For what it's worth, this conference seems to have been chiefly in Europe in the past. The Rice Dept. of Linguistics is something of a minority in American linguistics for pushing research more towards a functionalist framework than a Chomskyan generative one. My understanding is that functionalism is the more popular theory in Europe, so that could be a point towards Rice being the first American host of this conference.

(11-17-2023 09:20 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  . . . it bears stating that she's never worked on rhoticism that I can see.

I wonder (wondah?) what the electronic sub-speciality of this field is called.

Shared with a linguist at Rice…

https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/suzanne-kemmer

(11-17-2023 09:20 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  Unless one of the lecturers without a posted CV has a special interest in phonetics or phonology, the only current relevant faculty is Nancy Nidzielski. She's listed on the site as department chair right now (good for decision making; bad for availability), but her own CV says she hasn't been the chair since 2014. Robert Englebretson's CV says he is still the chair since taking over for Michel Achard in 2017. I'd bet the CVs are not up to date more and that Niedzielski is the chair again.

Given that Nidzielski is the closest interest, it bears stating that she's never worked on rhoticism that I can see. She has, though, published on vowels in Houston English, and that's hardly a half step away from a discussion of rhotics. Michel Achard might have some adjacent interest in second language acquisition.

For what it's worth, this conference seems to have been chiefly in Europe in the past. The Rice Dept. of Linguistics is something of a minority in American linguistics for pushing research more towards a functionalist framework than a Chomskyan generative one. My understanding is that functionalism is the more popular theory in Europe, so that could be a point towards Rice being the first American host of this conference.

Too bad Barbara Walters isn’t alive anymore. She could have been the perfect moderator.

(11-18-2023 07:16 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Too bad Barbara Walters isn’t alive anymore. She could have been the perfect moderator.

I know some spanish speakers who would love to trill their 'R's

So what is it when people add r's that aren't there? As in 'Worsh' (wash).

You know, you could seriously make some fun TikTok's with this... and of course at the end, relate it all to our brand/logo.

The 'ugly' Bostonian man ... Hey buddy... go wash youa cah... clearly not an 'R' man..

...you made me do it...

(11-17-2023 09:23 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(11-17-2023 09:20 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  . . . it bears stating that she's never worked on rhoticism that I can see.

I wonder (wondah?) what the electronic sub-speciality of this field is called.

You say œ rhotic,
I say ɘ rhotic…