Investigating the Nature of the Left Periphery in Peninsular Spanish wh-Question Intonation

Raymond

Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory

et al. 2021

Variability abounds in speech. According to usage-based accounts, lexical representations reflect phonetic variants of words resulting from contextual conditioning. Because faster speech contexts promote durational shortening of words and segments, words that occur more often in fast speech may be more reduced than words commonly used in slow speech, independent of the target’s contextual speech rate. To test this, linear mixed-effects models including a word form’s ratio of conditioning by fast speech contexts (FRCRATE) are used to predict the duration of Spanish /s/ and words containing /s/ in a corpus of spoken Spanish. Results show that words’ cumulative exposure to relatively fast speech affects phonetic realizations independent of factors operative in the production contexts. Thus, word and segment rates reflect cumulative (lexicalized) effects of words’ experience in fast speech contexts. The results suggest that lexically specific cumulative measures should be incorporated into models of linguistic variation and change.

Lexically specific accumulation in memory of word and segment speech rates

Raymond

Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory

et al. 2021

Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics

Madrileños on theejque: Perceptions of Velarized /s/

Wright

2021

This paper explores the identities that Madrileños ascribe to speakers using velarized coda /s/. The language attitudes of 59 participants from Madrid were assessed by means of a matched guise survey in which they heard native Madrileños using either sibilant coda /s/ or velarized coda /s/. Results show that while Madrileños do perceive the velarized variant as a marker of a Madrid origin, this effect is mainly observed for female voices. In addition, speakers that used velarized /s/ were associated with more negative qualities and viewed as less desirable as friends and storytellers, although for certain traits, the strength of this effect depended on the gender of the listener. Furthermore, velarized /s/ is associated with low-prestige occupations while more prestigious professions are assigned to guises with sibilant /s/. The results presented in this paper suggest that, although the characteristic ejque is associated with Madrid, the velarized variant is in fact quite stigmatized in the Spanish capital.

Biblioteca Di Studi Slavistici

Интонация русского частного вопроса / The Intonation of Russian Wh-questions

Duryagin

2024

In studies of Russian prosody, wh-questions have traditionally received less attention compared to polar questions and declaratives. However, the range of pragmatic meanings that native speakers of Russian convey in this phrase type is remarkably broad; previous research reports intonational means of marking reproach, interest, scolding, bewilderment, annoyance, and excitement. This monograph explores how pragmatics and information structure are conveyed in Russian wh-questions through intonation. Based on experimental and corpus data, the study offers a phonological analysis of the observed tunes, identifies patterns of prosodic variability, and proposes an explanatory model for this variation.