Five years ago, a British family returned to Scotland after having lived in California for eight years. The four children of the family all speak General American (GA) as their first dialect. Three of the four children were clearly past the critical age for phonology when the moved back to Scotland. However, they all have acquired certain phonological aspects of Scottish Standard English (ScSE) and RP, as well as maintain many features of GA. In the process of acquiring a second dialect, an intermediate continuum between the first and second dialects develops. This paper will examine the intermediate phonological stages - the interdialect - of these four children. Nine phonological rules which differ between GA, RP and ScSE will illustrate this interdialect. These rules will be grouped into certain categories and will be used to explain the general processes of second dialect acquisition.
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