Laura Colantoni

Convergence and intonation: historical evidence from Buenos Aires Spanish

In this paper we present experimental evidence showing that Buenos Aires Spanish differs from other Spanish varieties in the realization of pre-nuclear pitch accents and in the final fall in broad focus declarative utterances. Whereas other Spanish varieties have been described consistently as showing late peak alignments, Buenos Aires Spanish displays early peak alignments. The alignment pattern found in Buenos Aires broad focus declarative utterances is not totally foreign to Spanish: it is attested in a quite different function, i.e. to signal contrastive focus. In addition, Buenos Aires Spanish also seems to differ from other Spanish varieties in the realization of the intonation contour in utterance-final intonational phrases, where a pronounced tendency for down-stepped peaks is observed. We argue that these patterns, which emerged at the turn of the twentieth century, and coincided with the peak of Italian immigration, are due to a combination of direct and indirect transfer from Italian. As a result, two intonational systems that were typologically similar before contact took place (Hualde, 2002) became more similar after contact, in what can be interpreted as a case of convergence.

Integrating Articulatory Constraints into Models of Second Language Phonological Acquisition.

Models such as Eckmans markedness differential hypothesis, Fleges speech learning model, and Browns feature-based theory of perception seek to explain and predict the relative difficulty second language (L2) learners face when acquiring new or similar sounds. In this paper, we test their predictive adequacy as concerns native English speakers’ mastery of French /ʁ/ and Spanish /ɾ/. Based on an acoustic analysis of the learner data, we demonstrate that these three models do not account for the full range of variability nor for the developmental sequences attested, because they do not consider the degree of difficulty involved in the simultaneous mastery of multiple phonetic parameters across prosodic positions. Consequently, models of L2 phonological acquisition must not only integrate findings from markedness theory and speech perception but also incorporate phonetic constraints on production.

Coronal place contrasts in Argentine and Cuban Spanish: An electropalatographic study

Theoretical and descriptive work on Spanish phonetics and phonology has been largely based on Peninsular varieties. This study uses electropalatography (EPG) to investigate articulatory characteristics of coronal consonant contrasts in Argentine and Cuban Spanish. Simultaneous EPG and acoustic data were collected from five speakers from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and three speakers from Havana (Cuba) reading sentences with various syllable-initial coronal consonants corresponding to the orthographic 〈t, ch, n, n, s, z, ll, y, l, r〉. As a control, the same data were collected from a single speaker of Peninsular Spanish from Madrid. As expected, the main distinction in both varieties was made between anterior and posterior coronal consonants ((denti-)alveolars vs. (alveolo-)palatals) and reflected the historical merger of the sounds represented by 〈s–z〉 and 〈ll–y〉. At the same time, the results revealed some consistent differences between the two varieties in the location of the constriction and the amount of linguopalatal contact for most coronal consonants. First, the coronal consonants produced by the Argentine speakers were overall considerably more fronted and more constricted than the corresponding consonants produced by the Cuban speakers. Second, 〈ll, y〉 were produced as a fronted alveolo-palatal fricative by the Argentine speakers, and as an approximant by the Cuban speakers. Inter-speaker variation was observed within the varieties in the articulation of some consonants, namely in the Argentine alveolo-palatal fricative and nasal (〈ll, y〉 and 〈n〉), and the Cuban alveolo-palatal affricate 〈ch〉.

L2 ENGLISH INTONATION: Relations between Form-Meaning Associations, Access to Meaning, and L1 Transfer

Although there is consistent evidence that higher levels of processing, such as learning the form-meaning associations specifi c to the sec-ond language (L2), are a source of diffi culty in acquiring L2 speech, no study has addressed how these levels interact in shaping L2 per-ception and production of intonation. We examine the hypothesis of whether access to contextual meaning increases the chances of fi rst language (L1) infl uence on L2 intonation. To test this hypothesis, we compared the perception and production of sentential English focus by 27 advanced English language learners (

Second Language Speech: Theory and Practice

Part I. Questions and Frameworks for the Study of Second Language Speech: 1. An introduction to second language speech research 2. Theoretical concepts and frameworks Part II. Research Methodology: 3. Research methodology Part III. Case Studies and Analysis of L2 Speech Perception and Production: 4. Vowels 5. Obstruents 6. Sonorants 7. Sequences 8. Prosody 9. Conclusion.

Articulatory characteristics of coronal consonants in Argentine Spanish: An electropalatographic study.

Previous articulatory investigations of Spanish have been largely limited to its Peninsular varieties. This study uses electropalatography (EPG) to investigate articulatory characteristics of coronal consonant contrasts in Argentine Spanish as part of a larger project examining phonetic variation across Spanish dialects. Simultaneous EPG and acoustic data were collected from four female speakers of Buenos Aires Spanish reading sentences with various intervocalic coronal consonants. Results revealed consistent differences in terms of anterior/posterior tongue placement and the amount of linguopalatal contact with the primary distinction between (denti‐)alveolar and post‐alveolar articulations within the classes of stops/affricates, fricatives, nasals, and laterals/rhotics. Inter‐speaker variation was observed, however, in the articulation of some consonants, namely, in the apical or laminal realization of the post‐alveolar fricative and in the palatal or palatalized alveolar realization of the post‐alveolar nasal. These findings diverge from those reported for Peninsular Spanish [A. M. Fernandez Planas, Estudios de fonetica experimental, 16, 11–80 (2007)], revealing some dialectal differences in the degree of fronting of denti‐alveolars. Additionally, results suggest a sound change in progress in Argentine Spanish, such as the depalatalization of the palatal nasal. [Work supported by Connaught, University of Toronto.]

Synchronic evidence of a diachronic change: Voicing and duration in French and Spanish stop-liquid clusters

This article investigates the role that the phonetic parameters of duration and voicing play in shaping asymmetric patterns of Romance stop-liquid cluster realization. Based on acoustic analysis of experimental data from Quebec French and Argentine Spanish, we demonstrate the existence of an asymmetry in the proportional duration of the stop and a following epenthetic vowel or lateral: sonorants are shorter after voiceless stops in stop–liquid clusters. Rhotics do not participate in this process. The Spanish tap does not vary significantly in length, and the French dorsal fricative is longer in voiceless clusters. We propose that compensatory adjustments of the following sonorant are the result of the interaction of coarticulatory constraints, both universal (shorter sonorants after voiceless stops or fricatives) and language-specific (voicing in dorsal fricatives in French). Parallels are drawn between the synchronic variation attested and well-known patterns of diachronic change in Romance. Le présent article examine le rôle que jouent deux paramètres phonétiques, soit la durée et le voisement, dans la réalisation asymétrique des groupes consonantiques occlusive-liquide dans les langues romanes. À partir d’une analyse acoustique de données expérimentales du français québécois et de l’espagnol argentin, nous démontrons qu’il existe une asymétrie dans la durée proportionnelle des occlusives et de certains segments qui les suivent (voyelles latérales ou épenthétiques) : les sonantes sont plus courtes après les occlusives sourdes. Les rhotiques ne participent pas à ce processus. La durée de la vibrante battue de l’espagnol ne varie pas de façon significative, et la fricative dorsale du français est plus longue lorsqu’elle fait partie d’un groupe consonantique sourd. Nous proposons que l’ajustement compensatoire des sonantes résulte de l’interaction entre des contraintes coarticulatoires tant universelle (sonantes plus courtes après occlusives ou fricatives sourdes) que propre à une seule langue (voisement des fricatives dorsales en français). Enfin, nous dégageons des parallèles entre la variation synchronique observée et certains changements diachroniques bien connus.

L1 Influence and Task effects in the realization of sentence types by Inuktitut-English sequential bilinguals

This paper explores the role of cross-linguistic influence and task type in the realization of pitch accents and nuclear contours across English sentence types (statements, absolute questions and declarative questions) by sequential InuktitutEnglish bilinguals. In Inuktitut, intonation is mainly a cue for phrasing; i.e., boundary tones are mapped to finality vs. continuity in turn-taking [1,2]. Questions are morphologically marked [3], and while a rising intonation may also be used, it is not always present. In contrast, English absolute questions are syntactically marked, whereas the difference between statements and declarative questions is purely prosodic. Participants performed two tasks: a delayed imitation task, and a contextualized production task. Results revealed that bilinguals differed from controls in the type and phonetic realization of the first pitch accent (but not the nuclear contour), displaying a reduced use of pitch. In the semispontaneous task, bilinguals differed from controls in the number of non-target-like realizations, particularly in contexts that prompted declarative questions. We argue that these findings demonstrate clear patterns of prosodic and morphosyntactic cross-linguistic influence, as well as the importance of incorporating contextual information as a variable [4].

An electropalatography (EPG) study of nasal-trill/lateral sequences in Spanish

Trills and laterals require relatively precise articulatory and aerodynamic settings that are at least partly incompatible with setting necessary to produce nasal stops. Historically, this incompatibility has often been resolved through assimilation, deletion, or epenthesis in within-word [n+r] and [n+l] clusters (e.g., Romance [nr] > [rr] or [ndr]). It is expected that similar, yet gradient effects would be observed in across-word or hetero-morphemic sequences of nasals and liquids. This study examines the production of Spanish nasal-liquid sequences using electropalatography (EPG). Linguopalatal contact data were collected from nine native speakers of Spanish (representing three dialects) producing various utterances with nasals before /r/ and /l/ (as well as before /n/). The analysis of C1 and C2 using standard EPG indices of constriction location and degree showed that nasals had a more retracted and partly deocclusivized constriction before /r/, and a lowered tongue dorsum before both /r/ and /l/. These differences, clearly reflecting anticipatory coarticulatory effects, were similar across speakers and the three dialects, which differ in the default realization of the final nasal (alveolar or velar). The findings provide evidence for articulatory incompatibility as a source of historical development of combinations of nasals and liquids.

Variación fonética y el efecto de la audiencia: el debilitamiento de /s/ en dos géneros musicales

RESUMEN%฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀PR฀PER฀฀฀ante vocal o pausa, mientras que en otras variedades, como el madrileno, mexicano o ฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀PR฀(฀฀฀los hablantes de espanol rioplatense pueden controlar la tasa de aspiracion para acercarse a la variedad local o a la norma pan-hispanica. Para evaluar esta hipotesis, utilizamos un corpus de 17 canciones (701 observaciones en total) agrupadas en dos generos (tango y R฀Y฀฀฀G£NER฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀PR฀฀฀interpretaciones de un cantante (Andres Calamaro) con las mismas canciones cantadas por diversos interpretes. Un analisis de regresion estadistica revela que las variables genero e interprete predicen significativamente las diferencias en las tasas de aspiracion, e indica que el mismo cantante se acerca a los valores del espanol rioplatense en el genero mas local (tango), pero converge hacia una norma general en el genero mas internacional (rock). Palabras clave ฀฀฀฀฀฀REGR฀฀฀tango, rock. RLA . Revista de Linguistica Teorica y AplicadaConcepcion (Chile), 50 (2), II Sem. 2012, pp. 121-143.CL ISSN 0033 - 698X