Across languages of the world In is known for its variability. Recent literature incorporates sociolinguistic factors, such as bilingualism, in order to explain in variation. The current study investigates to what extent In is a marker of a bilingual's dominant language. Specifically, the effects of several sociolinguistic and phonotactic factors on the production and perception of /r/ are investigated, such as the bilingual speaker's linguistic background, the language spoken as well as syllable position and place of articulation. To this end a reading task is carried out with bilingual speakers from South Tyrol (Italy). The major languages spoken in this region are Tyrolean (German dialect) and Italian. The recorded reading data is subsequently used in a perception experiment to investigate whether South Tyrolean listeners can identify the dominant language of the speaker on the basis of the presence of /r/ and the in variant. Results show that listeners can identify the dominant language of the bilingual speakers on the basis of In. Specifically, the more Italian dominant the sociolinguistic background of the speaker, the more /r/ is produced frontally and the more that speaker is perceived as Italian dominant.
/r/ as language marker in bilingual speech production and perception
Galatà Vincenzo;
2016
Abstract
Across languages of the world In is known for its variability. Recent literature incorporates sociolinguistic factors, such as bilingualism, in order to explain in variation. The current study investigates to what extent In is a marker of a bilingual's dominant language. Specifically, the effects of several sociolinguistic and phonotactic factors on the production and perception of /r/ are investigated, such as the bilingual speaker's linguistic background, the language spoken as well as syllable position and place of articulation. To this end a reading task is carried out with bilingual speakers from South Tyrol (Italy). The major languages spoken in this region are Tyrolean (German dialect) and Italian. The recorded reading data is subsequently used in a perception experiment to investigate whether South Tyrolean listeners can identify the dominant language of the speaker on the basis of the presence of /r/ and the in variant. Results show that listeners can identify the dominant language of the bilingual speakers on the basis of In. Specifically, the more Italian dominant the sociolinguistic background of the speaker, the more /r/ is produced frontally and the more that speaker is perceived as Italian dominant.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.