Volume 6, Issue 2

This study aims to describe and analyze prosodic differences in prominence realization in both spontaneous and read speech produced by Swedish second language speakers (L2 speakers) in comparison with native speakers (L1 speakers) of Spanish. A further aim of the study is to provide concrete descriptions of the differences between L2 and L1 prominence realization that may serve as tools for language teachers. Phonetic, phonological and to some extent pragmatic aspects will be considered. Results show that the F0 (fundamental frequency) rises in prominent words are steeper and faster in native speech than in L2 speech. Results also show that stressed vowels have longer duration in prominent words in L2 than in L1 Spanish. The number of boundary rises used by both groups differed significantly according to task and group. Pragmatic aspects, such as the use of different intersubjectivity seeking strategies, might explain differences found exclusively in the spontaneous task.

The current study examines Mestizo adolescent and post-adolescent speakers’ overt language attitudes towards their language varieties and bilingual/trilingual codeswitching. Results show that contrary to previous studies where code-switching has typically been negatively perceived even by the speakers themselves, codeswitching has thrived in Belize, particularly among post-adolescent speakers, because they are positively predisposed to code-switching and associate it with their multilingual identity. In contrast, the use of monolingual varieties of Spanish is marked and pejoratively perceived, especially among high school speakers. Interview data revealed that an incipient trend among younger high school speakers is to employ more Belizean Kriol and less Northern Belizean Spanish and codeswitching. This is a trend which merits further investigation as it may be pointing to the genesis of a strong pan-Afro-Belizean linguistic identity among younger Belizeans which cuts across ethnic lines, and which consequently holds implications for issues of language dominance, language shift, and language policy and planning in Belize.

A key phonological divergence between the varieties of Spanish in Latin America and Spain (labeled here as Western Spanish) and the Judeo-Spanish varieties spoken in the Ottoman Empire and Eastern Mediterranean is the preservation in the latter dialects of the Old Spanish palatals [ʃ], [ʒ], and [dʒ]. In Western Spanish, these palatals evolved into the velar [x]. Increased dialectal contact between these two communities, globalization, immigration, and socioeconomic incentives have resulted in the replacement of [ʃ], [ʒ], and [dʒ] with [x] among the Judeo-Spanish community in Istanbul. I demonstrate that accommodation to [x] can be best described as lexical borrowing, as it only occurs in those palatals that have a [x] equivalent in Western Spanish and in some lexical items more than others. I also analyze the language attitudes and modern sources of dialectal contact that motivate the accommodation to Western Spanish forms in the Judeo-Spanish community in Istanbul.

Second person singular address forms in Castilian Spanish are shown to contribute meaning to an utterance via conventional and conversational implicature. The V form conventionally implicates distance regardless of context. The motivation behind the expression of distance is inferred based on context; it is conversationally implicated. Motivations for distance marking include respect and anger (among others). The T form relies on its opposition with V, in combination with context, to conversationally implicate content such as intimacy or disrespect (among others). Conclusions are based on interview and survey data from 92 native speakers in Madrid and Manzanares, Spain.

Phraseology is often examined within the context of colloquial language. Given the figurative nature of both of these areas, it is easy to view all phraseology as colloquial. But not all idioms or proverbs can be used in informal contexts. Some are only appropriate for neutral or even formal settings. In this article, the author proposes a series of criteria for identifying colloquial phraseological units (PUs) in Spanish and distinguishing them from standard units. She focuses on idioms, routine formulae and proverbs, given that colloquial collocations have been defined in a previous work (Travalia 2008). Different guidelines for determining register are proposed for each group of PUs, based on their defining characteristics. The author analyzes examples of each class of PUs, using the suggested criteria, in order to test their validity.

The present paper deals with the occurrence of different verb forms in European Portuguese purpose clauses. A quantitative analysis is conducted in order to detect general tendencies in the use of the infinitive, the inflected infinitive and the subjunctive mood in this grammatical context. From a Cognitive Grammar perspective of linguistic analysis, it is argued that the occurrence of different verb forms can be explained by the concept of dominion. An additional analysis of the subjunctive mood and infinitival verb forms in other grammatical contexts suggests that the notion of dominion can offer a general explanation for the meaning of the subjunctive mood.