La evolución de Lj latina hacia el fonema /x/ del español actual ha sido descrita con gran detalle en la bibliografía especializada en diacronía. Sin embargo, en ella no se aportan razones fonéticas que permitan entender el porqué de este cambio. Por este motivo, en el presente trabajo se ha acudido a las obras de Lindblom, Ohala o Blevins (entre otros), quienes defienden que el estudio de la variación fonética sincrónica permite una extrapolación a los datos antiguos y, por lo tanto, una aproximación y posible explicación de los procesos históricos. Así pues, con el objetivo de dar cuenta tanto de las razones del cambio como de su difusión, se ha partido del análisis fonético experimental del habla y de los datos obtenidos del estudio dialectal de /l/ y /ʎ/. Los resultados obtenidos permiten comprender cómo pudo producirse la evolución que ha llevado a la aparición del fonema /x/. / There has been plenty of papers which offered a description of the historical change from Lj in Latin to /x/ in current Spanish but most of them lack an explanation of its inner reasons. As a consequence, this investigation follows the theories held by authors like Lindblom, Ohala or Blevins, who suggest that the analysis of sinchronic phonetic variation may explain the nature of diachronic sound change. In order to account for the palatalization of the lateral sound in the last stages of Latin due to the arising of the glide and its evolution to /x/, we used empirical data from experimental phonetics and from dialectal studies. The combination of both makes possible to understand that the palatalization processes are attributable to inherent driving forces of the Spanish phonological system.

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of vowel quality in South African English (SAE) using the following data: firstly, the existing impressionistic literature on SAE and other relevant accents of English, the former of which is subject to a critical review; secondly, acoustic data from a similar range of accents, including new SAE data, collected and instrumentally analyzed specifically for the purposes of this research. These various data are used to position, on both a descriptive and theoretical level, the SAE vowel system. In addition, and in the service of providing a careful reconstruction of the linguistic history of this variety, it offers a three-stage koin´eization model which helps, in many respects, to illuminate the respective roles played by endogenous and exogenous factors in SAE’s development. More generally, the analysis is focussed on rendering explicit the extent to which the synchronic status and diachronic development of SAE more generally, and SAE vowel quality more particularly, provides support for a number of descriptive and theoretical frameworks, including those provided in Labov (1994), Torgersen and Kerswill (2004), Trudgill (2004) and Schneider (2003; 2007). With respect to these frameworks, and based on the results of the analysis, it proposes an extension to Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model, shows Trudgill’s (2004) model of new-dialect formation to be inadequate in accounting for some of the SAE data, provides evidence that SAE is a possibly imminent but ‘conservative’ member of Torgersen and Kerswill’s (2004) SECS-Shift and uses SAE data to question the applicability of the SECS-Shift to FOOT-Fronting. Furthermore, this thesis provides evidence that SAE has undergone an indexicallydriven arrestment of the Diphthong and Southern Shifts and a subsequent and related diffusion of GenSAE values at the expense of BrSAE ones. Similarly, it shows that SAE’s possible participation in the SECS-Shift constitutes an effective chain-shift reversal ‘from above’. It stresses that, in order to understand such phenomena, recourse needs to be made to a theory of indexicality that takes into account the unique sociohistorical development of SAE and its speakers. Lastly, the adoption of the three-stage koin´eization model mentioned above highlights the merits of considering both endogenous and exogenous factors in the historical reconstruction of new-dialect formation and, for research into SAE in particular, strengthens the case for further investigation into the possible effects of 19th-century Afrikaans/Dutch, Yiddish and north-of-English dialects on the formation of modern SAE. / Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of vowel quality in South African English (SAE) using the following data: firstly, the existing impressionistic literature on SAE and other relevant accents of English, the former of which is subject to a critical review; secondly, acoustic data from a similar range of accents, including new SAE data, collected and instrumentally analyzed specifically for the purposes of this research. These various data are used to position, on both a descriptive and theoretical level, the SAE vowel system. In addition, and in the service of providing a careful reconstruction of the linguistic history of this variety, it offers a three-stage koin´eization model which helps, in many respects, to illuminate the respective roles played by endogenous and exogenous factors in SAE’s development. More generally, the analysis is focussed on rendering explicit the extent to which the synchronic status and diachronic development of SAE more generally, and SAE vowel quality more particularly, provides support for a number of descriptive and theoretical frameworks, including those provided in Labov (1994), Torgersen and Kerswill (2004), Trudgill (2004) and Schneider (2003; 2007). With respect to these frameworks, and based on the results of the analysis, it proposes an extension to Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model, shows Trudgill’s (2004) model of new-dialect formation to be inadequate in accounting for some of the SAE data, provides evidence that SAE is a possibly imminent but ‘conservative’ member of Torgersen and Kerswill’s (2004) SECS-Shift and uses SAE data to question the applicability of the SECS-Shift to FOOT-Fronting. Furthermore, this thesis provides evidence that SAE has undergone an indexicallydriven arrestment of the Diphthong and Southern Shifts and a subsequent and related diffusion of GenSAE values at the expense of BrSAE ones. Similarly, it shows that SAE’s possible participation in the SECS-Shift constitutes an effective chain-shift reversal ‘from above’. It stresses that, in order to understand such phenomena, recourse needs to be made to a theory of indexicality that takes into account the unique sociohistorical development of SAE and its speakers. Lastly, the adoption of the three-stage koin´eization model mentioned above highlights the merits of considering both endogenous and exogenous factors in the historical reconstruction of new-dialect formation and, for research into SAE in particular, strengthens the case for further investigation into the possible effects of 19th-century Afrikaans/Dutch, Yiddish and north-of-English dialects on the formation of modern SAE. / Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This thesis analyzes the phonological and morphological nativisation of English loans in the Tonga language. The contact situation between English and Tonga, in Zimbabwe, facilitates transference of lexical items between the two languages. From having been one of the most widely used languages of the world, English has developed into the most influential donor of words to other languages such as Tonga. The infiltration of English words into the Tonga lexical inventory led to the adoption and subsequent nativisation of English words by the native Tonga speakers. The main deposit of English words into Tonga is the direct interaction between English and Tonga speakers. However, it is sometimes via other languages like Shona, Ndebele, Venda and Shangani. In the 21st century, English’s contribution to the vocabulary of Tonga became more widely spread, now covering a large proportion of the Tonga language’s lexical inventory. The fact that English is the medium of instruction, in Zimbabwe, language of technology, education, media, new administration, health, music, new religion and economic transactions means that it is regarded as the high variety language with coercive loaning powers. Words from English are then adopted and nativised in the Tonga language, since Tonga asserts itself an independent language that can handle loans on its own. The main focus of this study therefore, is to try and account for the phonological and morphological behavior and changes that take place in English words that enter into Tonga. Analyzing phonological processes that are employed during nativisation of loan words entails analyzing how Tonga speakers handle aspects of English language such as diphthongs, triphthongs, cluster consonants, CVC syllable structure and sounds in repairing unacceptable sequences in Tonga. The research also accounts for the handling of morphological differences between the two languages. This entails looking at how competence and ordered-rule framework are harmonized by Tonga speakers in repairing conflicting features at morphological level. Since the two languages have different morphological patterns, the research analyzes the repairing strategies to handle singular and plural noun prefixes, tenses and particles, which are morphological components of words. The researcher appreciates that the native Tonga speakers have robust intuitions on the proper way to nativise words. / African Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

<p>While pronunciation has previously been described as a neglected skill in the second language classroom, a growing body of literature has demonstrated that pronunciation training improves students’ productions (Derwing & Munro, 2005). Mispronunciations have been shown to impact comprehensibility, intelligibility, and accentedness (Derwing & Munro, 2009). As pronunciation instruction methods have begun to be the subject of empirical research, Visual Feedback (VF) has begun to emerge as a novel method for teaching pronunciation. This method has been shown to be particularly effective for teaching voice onset time (VOT), a characteristic of voiceless stop consonants (e.g., /p, t, k/). Worth noting, English and Spanish differ concerning VOT, with English employing long VOTs (30-100ms) and Spanish short VOTs (0-30ms) (Lisker & Abramson’s, 1964). Previous research has focused exclusively on employing VF for shortening VOT, although there are some compelling reasons to question whether the size and nature of the effect would be similar for lengthening VOT. The present study examines the potential effectiveness of VF as a means of lengthening the VOT of Spanish learners of English.</p> <p>The participants of the study were twenty-six students from a large Colombian university. The experiment design consisted of a pretest, three VF interventions, a posttest, and a delayed posttest. The tests were composed of two tasks, differing in their complexity: recording words in isolation and words in utterances. Stimuli consisted of English words (n= 4266) with word-initial voiceless stops (/p, t, k/). Stimuli were controlled for stress, following vowel, and word familiarity  and were measured for VOT using Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2022).</p> <p>Results from statistical analysis coupled with a visual inspection of the data indicated that the experimental group performed similarly in the three stages of the study and that the visual feedback paradigm did not result in changes in VOT. However, some degree of variation was found among the participants concerning their average VOTs. While some participants showed an overall increase (i.e., improvement) in English VOTs for the three phonemes /p/, /t/, and /k/ over time, other participants did not. In general, most of the participants produced English-like VOTs in the pretest, constituting a degree of ceiling effects. The rate of exposure to the target language and the saliency of English are factors that could have played a role in the development of the VOT scores of the participants before the study. Therefore, the discussion focuses on both the nature of the individual variability and the theoretical implications of ceiling effects found in the current study versus the lack of ceiling effects in other studies with similar populations.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The present dissertation addresses the gap of how the three contextual variables (power, distance, and imposition) affect the use and perception of pitch range and final pitch contours in Central Peninsular Spanish polar questions. The methodological approach in this dissertation combines a production experiment in the form of a contextualized sentence-reading task (e.g., Brown et al., 2014; Henriksen, 2013) and a perception experiment using a pragmatic judgment task (e.g., Nadeu & Prieto, 2011). Both tasks systematically incorporated a set of situations that included the contextual variables of power, distance, and imposition. Thus, this dissertation provides a systematic analysis of power, distance, and imposition to investigate their influence on the use and perception of pitch range and pitch contours. To analyze pitch in the production experiment, a categorical analysis of final pitch contours (e.g., low-rising contour) and a quantitative analysis of prosodic features (i.e., pitch range and its conversion into semitones) were conducted. For the perception experiment, analyses included the comparison of linear mixed models to examine the perceived degree of politeness.</p><p dir="ltr">The findings presented in this dissertation support the Frequency Code Hypothesis in that they showed the relevance of pitch for signaling and perceiving politeness in requests in Spanish. The results from the production experiment suggested there are no effects of power, distance, and imposition on the selection of final intonational contours. Regarding the analysis of pitch range, the results from the production experiment indicated that the use of greater pitch range was associated with an increase in the social distance between the speakers. In the perception experiment, the results indicated that an increase in pitch range was directly associated with an increase in the perceived degree of politeness. Furthermore, the findings from this dissertation provided evidence for including a systematic analysis of the contextual variables of power, distance, and imposition to conduct analyses within the politeness framework instead of analyzing the formal/informal dimension in isolation The overall results of this dissertation contribute to the understanding of how suprasegmental features are employed in showing and perceivicing politeness.</p>

在語言學文獻上，對於音段在連併音節上的研究已非常眾多且詳細。而目前也有不少學者開始處理音節連併的超音段(聲調)部分，但是大多數研究是從音韻學的觀點。本文試圖從聲學語音學的角度，檢驗連併音節的產生與說話者的速度、說話者對內容熟悉度之間的關係；及分析連併音節的基頻與其音節長度。實驗統計結果證實說話者的速度與內容熟悉度的確與連併音節成正相關。三名以台灣地區的國語為母語的受試者，被要求分別錄製五段短文，各短文裡分別有數十個可能產生雙音節連併的詞組。在連併音節的基頻分析結果顯示，呈現出些微降調及升調兩種調型。我們並且發現，連併前的聲調起始值(onset)為產生連併聲調的最佳基本單位，我們也歸納出兩條規則來加以解釋。另外，在連併音節的長度分析結果顯示，連併音節所需的時間單位比起一般音節更短。綜合以上結果，我們暸解除了可經由規則推論出連併音節的調型之外，在語音的面向上，這些連併聲調皆呈現出較窄的調域、居中的調值和較短時間等的特徵。因此從本研究的結果顯示，我們較傾向支持連併音節是類似於輕重音表現的說法，而不再局限於本身的調值的衍算與否。另外，對於在我們分析過程所發現伴隨著連併音節的鼻音現象，證明了一般認為在快速語流中，共同發音所產生的自然現象，也給予了認為鼻音是另屬一個自主音段的說法更進一步的實證支持。 / Segment deletion or merger in contracted syllables has been well understood in the literature. Several researchers have also been investigating the tones in contracted syllables. However, most of their researches are based on phonology. The present study analyzes the tones in disyllabic contraction by examining its relationship with speech rate and familiarity. It also analyzes the fundamental frequency (F0) and duration of the contracted tones. An experiment was conducted to explore the idea that familiarity with the test materials and the rate of speech correlate positively with the occurrences of tone contraction. Three native speakers of Mandarin Chinese (in Taiwan region) recorded five paragraphs, each of which contains dozens of possible disyllabic contractions. Analysis of F0 reveals that there are basically two types of tonal shapes of contracted syllables—slightly falling and rising; and the onsets of the original syllable tonal units are the most adequate portions of forming a contracted tone. Two governing rules were generalized from various the findings of the experiments. Results of duration indicate less time is taken by a contracted syllable than an uncontracted one. The findings of this study provide support for the view that the contours of the contracted tones are predicted by rules. They also show that much of the variability of F0 contours in contracted syllables exhibits a fixed tonal pattern (narrower pith range, more middle tonal height, and shorter length) and that contracted tones has an accentual character in essence. In addition, the nasality accompanying contracted syllables in this study provides testimony to the natural co-occurrence of nasal and oral features in fast speech and at the same time also give support to the hypothesis that nasality acts on a separate autosegmental tier.

This dissertation explores the potential differences in the acquisition of the sound system of a second language (L2) versus a third language (L3), building on recent research on adult L2 speech learning and testing the hypothesis that new category acquisition is available across the lifespan. On the one hand, recent influential theories of L2 speech learning predict that new sound categories will be difficult to acquire due to complex interactions among the phonetic categories residing in one same perceptual space. On the other, there exists the common assumption that the more sound categories one’s native language contains, the less difficult it will be to acquire new ones in a native-like fashion. My work provides additional evidence to this discussion, while providing speech data from the following five different speaker groups: (1) native speakers of American English; (2) native speakers of Mexican Spanish; (3) native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese; (4) native speakers of English learning Portuguese as their L2, and (5) native speakers of English learning Portuguese as their L3, who speak Spanish as their L2.The dissertation consists of three content chapters. The first of the content chapters describes the vowel systems of Mexican Spanish, American English and Brazilian Portuguese as informed by production data of the three native speaker groups above (1, 2 and 3). The second and third chapters describe and contrast the vowel system(s) of the two learner groups (4 and 5) as informed by their production and perception of Portuguese vowels respectively. The results from the analysis of the data from the various production and perception experiments performed as part of this dissertation provide evidence for (a) phonetic category assimilation and dissimilation processes in post-L1 speech learning and phonetic category interactions in general; (b) the relevance of quality and quantity of input in language learning; (c) the discussion on the relation between perception and production in post-L1 speech learning; and (d) the need for an extension of current models of L2 speech learning and cross-linguistic speech perception in order for these to address post-L2 speech learning processes, among other topics.

This thesis conducted the first acoustic analysis on Lekwungen (aka Songhees, Songish) (Central Salish). It studied the acoustic correlates of stress on vowels and the effects of consonantal coarticulatory effects on vowel quality. The goals of the thesis were to provide useful and usable materials and information to Lekwungen language revitalisation efforts and to provide an acoustic study of Lekwungen vowels to expand knowledge of Salishan languages and linguistics. Duration, mean pitch, and mean amplitude were measured on vowels in various stress environments. Findings showed that there is a three-way contrast between vowels in terms of duration and only a two-way contrast in terms of pitch and amplitude. F1, F2, and F3 were measured at vowel onset (5%), midpoint (50%), and offset (95%), as well as a mean (5%-95%), in CVC sequences for four vowels: /i/, /e/, /a/, and /ə/. Out of five places of articulation of consonants in Lekwungen (alveolar, palatal, labio-velar, uvular, glottal), uvular and glottal had the most persistent effects on F1, F2, and F3 of all vowels. Of the vowels, unstressed /ə/ was the most persistently affected by all consonants. Several effects on perception were also preliminarily documented, but future work is needed to see how persistence in acoustic effects is correlated with perception. This thesis provides information and useful tips to help learners and teachers in writing and perceiving Lekwungen and for learners learning Lekwungen pronunciation, as a part of language revitalisation efforts. It also contributes to the growing body of acoustic phonetic work on Salishan languages, especially on vowels. / Graduate / 0290