The L2 Acquisition of Buenos Aires Spanish Intonation During a Study Abroad Semester A ...

287 Pages·2014·5.16 MB·English

by  Philip Thornberry

The L2 Acquisition of Buenos Aires Spanish Intonation
During a Study Abroad Semester

A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
BY

Philip A. Thornberry

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Dr. Timothy L. Face

May 2014
© Philip A. Thornberry 2014
Acknowledgements

This dissertation could not have been completed without the love and support of
many family members, friends, and colleagues. My wife Chantal, most of all, deserves
recognition for always supporting me in my academic endeavors. She has been a faithful
companion who has patiently indulged late dinners and even later hours as I worked on
this dissertation. My young son Declan has been a tremendous source of inspiration, and
without a doubt is the greatest (and most challenging) teacher that I have ever had. I
would also like to thank my parents for raising me in an environment that fostered
academic exploration and discovery. Likewise, my friends and colleagues, both past and
present, in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese Studies at the University of
Minnesota deserve recognition for their friendly banter and perpetual encouragement.
Naturally, this dissertation benefits tremendously from the insight and guidance
provided by a world-class group of academics. I must thank my advisor Tim Face for
introducing me to intonational phonology in his graduate courses. He also deserves
special praise for all the hard work he put into helping me analyze pitch contours and for
diligently reading my dissertation drafts. Carol Klee has left an indelible mark on my
professional career, as her stimulating classes have taught me the importance of the social
dimensions of language. Francisco Ocampo has graciously offered me thought-provoking
native speaker intuitions that have added much to this dissertation. I also thank Elaine
Tarone, whose SLA class inspired me to undertake this dissertation topic. She has also
provided considerable guidance and support along the way.
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Lastly, I must acknowledge the hard work and time that many in Minneapolis and
Buenos Aires selflessly gave to me as I collected my dissertation data. Assistance from
the University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center, and from Holly Zimmerman-
LeVoir in particular, helped get this project off the ground. Bea Comte and Carola Bracco
at the Fundación Ortega y Gasset Argentina kept the project running smoothly by
patiently helping with logistics and participant recruitment. I am eternally grateful to the
Egas family for opening up their home to me while I was in Buenos Aires. Their
hospitality and friendship only strengthened my love for the city and its people. Of
course, I must also thank the eleven participants who were especially giving of their time
and energy to participate in this study, which literally could not have been completed
without their help. They were all tremendously friendly, enthusiastic, and fearless, and
their discovery of a new city and culture was very inspiring.
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Dedication

For Chantal and Declan
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Abstract
The present longitudinal study describes and categorizes the primary changes in L2
Spanish intonation over time by 11 learners studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina
for one academic semester. Via the autosegmental metrical model of analysis, this
dissertation classifies intonational contours for absolute interrogatives and declarative
statements at the beginning and end of the semester in a variety of speech styles. It also
isolates extralinguistic factors, such as attitudes and degree of social interaction, that
promote or hinder acquisition of Spanish intonational norms.
Results show that learner absolute interrogative intonation is considerably different
from that of their native Buenos Aires Spanish-speaking peers. At the beginning of the
semester, the learner contour is classified as L*+H L* H%, which is marked by a final
rising F0 movement. This contrasts with the native Buenos Aires Spanish preference
L+H* L+¡H* L%, which is most notable for a final falling F0 contour. By the end of the
semester, 9 of the 11 learners continue to produce the non-native-like rising intonation in
all speech contexts. However, two learners—Eve and Samantha—begin to approximate
native norms by producing an interrogative contour characterized here as L*+H L*+H
L% in all speech contexts.
The learner declarative contour changes very little over time, regardless of speech
context. It is analyzed as L*+H L* L%. All 11 learners produce this contour at the
beginning and end of the semester. However, Eve and Samantha periodically demonstrate
a handful of native-like declarative intonational characteristics when speaking in the
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informal speech contexts, such as the long fall melody (Kaisse, 2001), early prenuclear
peak alignment, and low phrase tones.
The analysis of extralinguistic factors reveals that the learners developed generally
favorable attitudes towards porteños, which might promote acquisition of native
intonational norms. However, learner exposure to the target language was limited by
sporadic and superficial interaction with native speakers. Eve and Samantha, the learners
who evidenced the most change in intonation over time, stood out from the rest of the
learners by developing more robust, supportive relationships with native Spanish-
speaking contacts.

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Table of Contents
List of Tables.................................................................................................................xii

List of Figures.................................................................................................................xv

Chapter 1 Introduction .....................................................................................................1

1.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................1

1.2 Why intonation?....................................................................................................2

1.3 Why Buenos Aires Spanish?.................................................................................4

1.4 Why study abroad?...............................................................................................7

1.5 Why social networks, social engagement, and attitude?.......................................8

1.6 Research goals....................................................................................................11

Chapter 2 Intonational Phonology..................................................................................12

2.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................12

2.2 Intonation—preliminary remarks........................................................................13

2.3 The autosegmental metrical model.....................................................................14

2.3.1 Tones in the AM model.............................................................................14

2.3.2 Transcription of intonation........................................................................15

2.3.3 The hierarchical nature of the contour.......................................................19

2.3.4 The advantages of AM theory....................................................................20

2.4 Spanish intonation...............................................................................................22

2.4.1 Spanish declarative intonation...................................................................23

2.4.2 Spanish interrogative intonation................................................................28

2.5 L2 Intonation.......................................................................................................31

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2.6 L1 American English intonation.........................................................................37

2.7 A brief note on L2 phonological gains in the study abroad context...................42

2.8 Summary.............................................................................................................43

Chapter 3 Methodology..................................................................................................44

3.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................44

3.2 Production study.................................................................................................44

3.2.1 Data elicitation tasks..................................................................................44

3.2.1.1 Sociolinguistic interview..................................................................45

3.2.1.2 Information gap task.........................................................................47

3.2.1.3 Contextualized reading task..............................................................48

3.2.1.4 Language background questionnaire................................................52

3.2.2 Participants.................................................................................................53

3.2.2.1 Experimental group...........................................................................53

3.2.2.2 Control group....................................................................................56

3.2.3 Recording procedure..................................................................................57

3.2.4 Acoustic analysis.......................................................................................58

3.3 Social network analysis and attitude/motivation component..............................61

3.3.1 Social networks..........................................................................................62

3.3.2 Attitude/Adjustment towards Buenos Aires Spanish and Buenos
Aires/Argentine culture.......................................................................................62

Chapter 4 An Analysis of Developing Learner Absolute Interrogatives........................64

4.1 Introducction.......................................................................................................64

4.2 Learner absolute interrogative intonation in read speech—beginning of the
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semester.....................................................................................................................65

4.2.1 Introduction................................................................................................65

4.2.1.1 Standard Buenos Aires Spanish absolute interrogatives...................65

4.2.2 Learner prenuclear pitch accents (time 1)..................................................69

4.2.3 Learner nuclear pitch accents (time 1).......................................................76

4.2.4 Summary of learner absolute interrogative intonation in read speech
(time 1)................................................................................................................82

4.3 Learner absolute interrogative intonation in read speech—end of the
semester.....................................................................................................................83

4.3.1 Introduction................................................................................................83

4.3.2 Learner prenuclear pitch accents (time 2)..................................................84

4.3.3 Learner nuclear pitch accents (time 2).......................................................89

4.3.3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................89

4.3.3.2 Rising interrogative intonation (time 2)............................................91

4.3.3.3 Falling interrogative intonation (time 2)...........................................93

4.3.4 Summary of learner absolute interrogative intonation in read speech
(time 2)................................................................................................................98

4.4 Learner interrogative intonation in spontaneous and semi-spontaneous
speech......................................................................................................................100

4.4.1 Introduction..............................................................................................100

4.4.2 Native BAS interrogative F0 contours in spontaneous and
semi-spontaneous speech..................................................................................101

4.4.3 interrogative intonation in spontaneous and semi-spontaneous speech—
beginning of the semester ................................................................................105

4.4.4 Learner interrogative intonation in spontaneous and semi-spontaneous
speech—end of the semester ............................................................................109
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