An acoustic study of rhotics in onset clusters in La Rioja
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Christine Weissglass
Abstract
Rhotics in Spanish onset clusters can be realized as taps, trills, or approximants depending on the dialect (Hualde 2005: 182–183). However, assibilated [i.e. fricative] pronunciations have been reported in some areas such as the La Rioja region of Spain (Alonso 1925: 169; Llorente 1965: 296–297; Navarro Tomás 1968: 210). The present study examines acoustic data from four participants from La Rioja in order to corroborate these reports. The effects of (i) place of articulation and (ii) voicing of the preceding consonant as well as (iii) the nuclear vowel on rhotic pronunciation are also examined. Rhotic pronunciation is analyzed in terms of (i) manner, (ii) duration, (iii) voicing, (iv) svarabhakti vowel occurrence and (v) svarabhakti vowel duration. The findings show few instances of assibilation; the majority of rhotics were realized as approximants. The results of this study have theoretical implications for the phonological status of rhotics in Spanish.
Abstract
Rhotics in Spanish onset clusters can be realized as taps, trills, or approximants depending on the dialect (Hualde 2005: 182–183). However, assibilated [i.e. fricative] pronunciations have been reported in some areas such as the La Rioja region of Spain (Alonso 1925: 169; Llorente 1965: 296–297; Navarro Tomás 1968: 210). The present study examines acoustic data from four participants from La Rioja in order to corroborate these reports. The effects of (i) place of articulation and (ii) voicing of the preceding consonant as well as (iii) the nuclear vowel on rhotic pronunciation are also examined. Rhotic pronunciation is analyzed in terms of (i) manner, (ii) duration, (iii) voicing, (iv) svarabhakti vowel occurrence and (v) svarabhakti vowel duration. The findings show few instances of assibilation; the majority of rhotics were realized as approximants. The results of this study have theoretical implications for the phonological status of rhotics in Spanish.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Foreword and acknowledgements ix
- Editor’s introduction xi
- Theory and practice in Romance linguistics today 1
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Part I. Morphophonology
- On the origins of /ɨ/ in Romanian 17
- An acoustic investigation of nasal place neutralization in Spanish 33
- An acoustic study of rhotics in onset clusters in La Rioja 49
- Mid front vowel lowering before rhotics in Ibero-Romance 63
- Plural formation in Galician 79
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Part II. Syntax
- On bare subject relative clauses in Old French 101
- Directed motion in Medieval French 117
- An ergative analysis of French valency alternations 137
- Peninsular Spanish pre-nominal possessives in ellipsis contexts 155
- On the nature of nominal features 177
- On the nature of bare nouns in Afro-Bolivian Spanish 191
- Negative imperatives in Portuguese and other Romance languages 205
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Part III. Semantic interfaces
- Another look at Italian generic sentences 223
- The agreement of collective DPS in Romanian 239
- A multidominance account for conjoined questions in Romanian 257
- The Romanian verbal cluster and the theory of head movement 271
- New challenges in the area of semantic dependencies 287
- Polarity particles in English and Romanian 303
- Index 329
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Foreword and acknowledgements ix
- Editor’s introduction xi
- Theory and practice in Romance linguistics today 1
-
Part I. Morphophonology
- On the origins of /ɨ/ in Romanian 17
- An acoustic investigation of nasal place neutralization in Spanish 33
- An acoustic study of rhotics in onset clusters in La Rioja 49
- Mid front vowel lowering before rhotics in Ibero-Romance 63
- Plural formation in Galician 79
-
Part II. Syntax
- On bare subject relative clauses in Old French 101
- Directed motion in Medieval French 117
- An ergative analysis of French valency alternations 137
- Peninsular Spanish pre-nominal possessives in ellipsis contexts 155
- On the nature of nominal features 177
- On the nature of bare nouns in Afro-Bolivian Spanish 191
- Negative imperatives in Portuguese and other Romance languages 205
-
Part III. Semantic interfaces
- Another look at Italian generic sentences 223
- The agreement of collective DPS in Romanian 239
- A multidominance account for conjoined questions in Romanian 257
- The Romanian verbal cluster and the theory of head movement 271
- New challenges in the area of semantic dependencies 287
- Polarity particles in English and Romanian 303
- Index 329
