Time-resolved anisotropy measurements (TRAMS), using synchrotron excitation of fluorescence, have been used to study the conformational behavior of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) in dilute (10(-3) wt % in polymer) aqueous solution. Copolymerized acenaphthylene (ACE) and 1-vinylnaphthalene (1-VN) were used as fluorescent labels (0.5 mol %). In basic media, segmental relaxation of the polysalt is adequately described by a single exponential model of the fluorescence anisotropy, r(t). However, the dynamics of the acidic form of PMAA are more complex. A minimum of two exponential terms is required for adequate description of r(t). Furthermore, below pH = 4, the relaxation data for PMAA/ACE and PMAA/1-VN become nonequivalent. The rotational correlation time associated with the slower motional process [evident upon dual exponential modeling of r(t)] of the label becomes pH independent for PMAA/ACE. In contrast, that for PMAA/1-VN maximizes at ca. pH = 4. These differences might have origins in a hindrance upon backbone motion of the PMAA exerted locally by the ACE label at the site of chemical attachment to the chain. Alternatively, the 1-VN label might enjoy greater mobility at lower pH values as a result of "decoupling" of its motion independent of the chain, from that of the macromolecular segments. This might result from a reduction in carboxylate-carboxylic acid interactions at pH values less than that corresponding to the ’half-neutralization’ point.