Local and Supralocal Norms in the Process of Linguistic (Re)accommodation in Return Migration

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of returning to Alagoas on the preservation or abandonment of São Paulo dialectal variants by Alagoans who previously lived in the state of São Paulo. To this end, it investigates correlations between social factors and three dialect–distinguishing variables: (i) medial coda /R/ (‘po[ɻ,ɾ,h]ta’); (ii) medial coda /S/ (‘pa[s,ʃ]ta’); and (iii) /t, d/ before [i] (‘[dʒ,d]ia’), based on recordings of 32 Alagoan speakers. The analysis, grounded in the theoretical and methodological framework of Variationist Sociolinguistics (Labov, 1978 [1972]) and in literature on dialect contact (Trudgill, 1986; Chambers, 1992) and norms (Milroy, 2002), shows that São Paulo variants persist after return migration to Alagoas and display distinct dynamics in terms of social recognition, frequency of use, and normative values. Style was the only variable correlated with all three sociolinguistic variables: the reading context disfavors the São Paulo variant of (R) and favors the São Paulo variants of (S) and (TD). These findings suggest that return migrants orient themselves toward supralocal norms in more monitored speech styles – a reflection of their multidialectal experience – unlike non–migrants, who tend to orient toward local norms.