Examining the (mini-) variable swarm in the Spanish of the Southeast
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Rebecca E. Ronquest
Abstract
The present investigation aims to facilitate our understanding of Spanish in the Southeastern United States – a region that despite its rapid growth over the last two decades, has received little attention in the literature. Analyses of four linguistic variables indicated that while second generation heritage speakers produced significantly more English discourse markers than first generation immigrants, realization of phonetic variables was similar across groups. An examination of the overall patterns across the four variables (i.e., “variable swarm”), however, suggests that heritage speakers are beginning to integrate contact-induced characteristics into their speech faster than immigrants do. By examining multiple variables simultaneously, the present study therefore offers important insight into the processes of new dialect formation, convergence, and leveling in an understudied region.
Abstract
The present investigation aims to facilitate our understanding of Spanish in the Southeastern United States – a region that despite its rapid growth over the last two decades, has received little attention in the literature. Analyses of four linguistic variables indicated that while second generation heritage speakers produced significantly more English discourse markers than first generation immigrants, realization of phonetic variables was similar across groups. An examination of the overall patterns across the four variables (i.e., “variable swarm”), however, suggests that heritage speakers are beginning to integrate contact-induced characteristics into their speech faster than immigrants do. By examining multiple variables simultaneously, the present study therefore offers important insight into the processes of new dialect formation, convergence, and leveling in an understudied region.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Language acquisition
- The development of intonation in L2 Spanish 11
- Insights into the cognition of mood selection in L2 learners of Spanish 33
- The licensing of wh-in-situ questions 53
- What derivational suffixes should we teach in Spanish as a Second Language courses? 75
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Part II. Theoretical and descriptive approaches
- The seem-class verb paradigm and restructuring in Romance 97
- The Progressive-to-Imperfective shift 119
- The aspectual structure of the adjective 137
- Mood in future-framed adverbials 161
- Syntactic and prosodic marking of subject focus in American English and Peninsular Spanish 183
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Part III. Language contact and variation
- Demystifying Salvadoran [s θ ] 207
- Afro-Peruvian Spanish declarative intonation 229
- Subject-predicate code-switching 249
- The differing behavior of loanwords in the Spanish of technology and of fashion and beauty 265
- Futurity and probability in Spanish as a heritage language 285
- Examining the (mini-) variable swarm in the Spanish of the Southeast 303
- Casting light on the Spanish creole debate 327
- Index 343
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Language acquisition
- The development of intonation in L2 Spanish 11
- Insights into the cognition of mood selection in L2 learners of Spanish 33
- The licensing of wh-in-situ questions 53
- What derivational suffixes should we teach in Spanish as a Second Language courses? 75
-
Part II. Theoretical and descriptive approaches
- The seem-class verb paradigm and restructuring in Romance 97
- The Progressive-to-Imperfective shift 119
- The aspectual structure of the adjective 137
- Mood in future-framed adverbials 161
- Syntactic and prosodic marking of subject focus in American English and Peninsular Spanish 183
-
Part III. Language contact and variation
- Demystifying Salvadoran [s θ ] 207
- Afro-Peruvian Spanish declarative intonation 229
- Subject-predicate code-switching 249
- The differing behavior of loanwords in the Spanish of technology and of fashion and beauty 265
- Futurity and probability in Spanish as a heritage language 285
- Examining the (mini-) variable swarm in the Spanish of the Southeast 303
- Casting light on the Spanish creole debate 327
- Index 343
