Gradient merging of vowels in Barcelona Catalan under the influence of Spanish
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Susana Cortés
Abstract
The present article examines the influence of Spanish phonology on the production of Catalan vowel contrasts. Vowels produced by Catalan bilinguals in three different districts in Barcelona are both auditorily and acoustically analyzed in order to find out whether differences in exposure to Catalan and Spanish could trigger differences in vowel pronunciation. Differences in production are found between the groups of children in the different districts. In particular, the case of the Catalan vowel contrast /e/ vs. /e/ seems to be at an advanced stage of merging. The children in the highly Spanish-influenced district hardly produce this vowel contrast in comparison with children in districts where Catalan is more present in the environment.
Abstract
The present article examines the influence of Spanish phonology on the production of Catalan vowel contrasts. Vowels produced by Catalan bilinguals in three different districts in Barcelona are both auditorily and acoustically analyzed in order to find out whether differences in exposure to Catalan and Spanish could trigger differences in vowel pronunciation. Differences in production are found between the groups of children in the different districts. In particular, the case of the Catalan vowel contrast /e/ vs. /e/ seems to be at an advanced stage of merging. The children in the highly Spanish-influenced district hardly produce this vowel contrast in comparison with children in districts where Catalan is more present in the environment.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Challenges to accepted views of convergence and divergence in language contact situations
- Divergence, convergence, contact 13
- Increases in complexity as a result of language contact 41
- Converging genetically related languages 53
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Part II. Convergence and divergence in different varieties in oral and written discourse
- Converging languages, diverging varieties 73
- Converging verbal phrases in related languages 101
- Convergence and divergence of communicative norms through language contact in translation 125
- On the importance of spontaneous speech innovations in language contact situations 153
-
Part III. Phonological processes of variation and change in bilingual individuals
- Gradient merging of vowels in Barcelona Catalan under the influence of Spanish 185
- Comparing the representation of iambs by monolingual German, monolingual Spanish and bilingual German-Spanish children 205
- Author index 235
- Subject index 239
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Challenges to accepted views of convergence and divergence in language contact situations
- Divergence, convergence, contact 13
- Increases in complexity as a result of language contact 41
- Converging genetically related languages 53
-
Part II. Convergence and divergence in different varieties in oral and written discourse
- Converging languages, diverging varieties 73
- Converging verbal phrases in related languages 101
- Convergence and divergence of communicative norms through language contact in translation 125
- On the importance of spontaneous speech innovations in language contact situations 153
-
Part III. Phonological processes of variation and change in bilingual individuals
- Gradient merging of vowels in Barcelona Catalan under the influence of Spanish 185
- Comparing the representation of iambs by monolingual German, monolingual Spanish and bilingual German-Spanish children 205
- Author index 235
- Subject index 239
