CUASI NOMÁS INGLÉS: PROSODY at the CROSSROADS of SPANISH and ENGLISH in 20TH CENTURY NEW MEXICO Jackelyn Van Buren Doctoral Student, Linguistics
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Linguistics ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 11-15-2017 CUASI NOMÁS INGLÉS: PROSODY AT THE CROSSROADS OF SPANISH AND ENGLISH IN 20TH CENTURY NEW MEXICO Jackelyn Van Buren Doctoral Student, Linguistics Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ling_etds Part of the Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Commons, and the Phonetics and Phonology Commons Recommended Citation Van Buren, Jackelyn. "CUASI NOMÁS INGLÉS: PROSODY AT THE CROSSROADS OF SPANISH AND ENGLISH IN 20TH CENTURY NEW MEXICO." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ling_etds/55 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Linguistics ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Jackelyn Van Buren Candidate Linguistics Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Chris Koops, Chairperson Dr. Naomi Lapidus Shin Dr. Caroline Smith Dr. Damián Vergara Wilson i CUASI NOMÁS INGLÉS: PROSODY AT THE CROSSROADS OF SPANISH AND ENGLISH IN 20TH CENTURY NEW MEXICO by JACKELYN VAN BUREN B.A., Linguistics, University of Utah, 2009 M.A., Linguistics, University of Montana, 2012 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December 2017 ii Acknowledgments A dissertation is not written without the support of a community of peers and loved ones. Now that the journey has come to an end, and I have grown as a human and a scholar and a friend throughout this process (and have gotten married, become an aunt, bought a house, and gone through an existential crisis), I can reflect on the people who have been the foundation for every change I have gone through. The future is unknown, but the past is behind me (or ahead of me, as Laura Hirrel would point out), and I would like to thank each of you for being a part of this mad and exhilarating experience that has been getting a Ph.D. in the time of tumultuous politics and anti-intellectualism. First, to the professors who have made a positive difference in my life. I have been lucky to go to a university with an uplifting community of researchers who emit an energy of passion and attention to their work and their students. Dr. Naomi Shin, you were the first person to introduce me to the world of Spanish Linguistics and to quantitative research. I was in awe attending the first class I ever took of yours; what an amazing and talented teacher! Students who come across you are incredibly lucky because if they are committed, you give them the world in terms of mentorship and opportunity. Many times I pushed myself to be worthy of what you offered. Thank you for all the years you have been my mentor and my friend. I hope our paths cross again. To Dr. Chris Koops: I do not know how to form into words the amount my life has benefited from knowing you and from being your student. I would not have a Ph.D. today if it weren’t for you, and that honor is something I will hold near and dear to my heart for the duration of my life. You are an excellent professor and students at UNM are luckier than they could ever realize to study under you. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the iii discussions I have had with you about language and history. Thank you for being the best dissertation chair anyone could ever hope for. I also hope our paths cross again. I could write a page about each of the following professors who have made a positive impact on my life and my time here at UNM, but I am afraid that the dissertation is becoming impatient, so I will be brief. To Dr. Caroline Smith, thank you for sharing your brilliance with me and with your students. Usage-based phonology remains one of the most intellectually stimulating and exciting classes I have ever taken. Thank you also for being a part of my committee, and for giving me helpful feedback that simultaneously pushed me outside of my comfort zone and made me a better scholar. To Dr. Damián Vergara Wilson, thank you for being such a positive source of mentorship. It is rare to be so simpático and yet so exacting. You make students want to be better scholars, and at the same time encourage their passion and unique voice. I am so grateful I got to know you and that you agreed to be on my committee. Thank you. To Dr. Melissa Axelrod, Dr. Rosa Vallejos-Yopán, Dr. Dawn Nordquist, Dr. Jill Morford, Dr. Barbara Shaffer, Dr. Sherman Wilcox, and Dr. Richard File-Muriel, you are amazing professors and are all faces I look forward to seeing when I come to the department. Thank you for all you do for your students and for the support and encouragement you take the time to give us. It makes a difference. I would also like to thank the UNM-Mellon Foundation for providing me with the financial support to complete my dissertation. I can honestly say I would never have been able to finish on time without it. I would specifically like to thank Dr. Michael Graves and Dr. Adriana Ramirez de Arellano for their guidance and supportive mentorship. iv Adriana, you were the bright spot at the end of every month. Thank you for making me laugh and showing me that smart women could take over the world. In the years it takes to complete a Ph.D., many strong friendships and shared experiences are formed. I could not have done this without the following group of peers who made it bearable (and even enjoyable): Keiko Beers, Josefina Bittar, Pavlina Peskova, Rebeca Martínez Gomez, Ricardo Napoleão de Souza, Sara Siyavoshi, Laura Hirrel, Andres Mauricio Sabogal, Robert Cruz, Benjamin Anible, Chris Peverada, David Paez Acevedo, Debbie Wager, Nathan Bush, Susan Brumbaugh, Julia Remsik, Ryan Smith, Samuel Melada, Len Beké, Carlos Enrique Ibarra, Desirée Ramírez-Urbaneja, and Michael Woods. Thank you all for making the time here better, and for being friends. I hope all our paths cross again. There is one colleague I did not mention above, because she more than any other friend has made the biggest difference in my time here and has always made me feel loved, especially when I needed it most. Thank you to Dr. Aubrey Healey for being the best part (aside from my husband) of my time spent in New Mexico. We created so many unforgettable memories together, including a bachelorette party, four Halloweens, a few New Year celebrations, and plenty of commiseration with laughs and smiles and just a little bit of sweat and tears. Thank you for the amazing friendship you have given me. I know we will meet again many, many times. Finally, to my family. The home we are born into is the first lottery in life, and I am so lucky for the one I was given. My parents are my biggest fans, and have always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I wake up every day feeling grateful for all they have given me, and grateful that I have parents who believe in me, even when my faith in v myself falters. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I promise that when I have a good job I will take care of you and take you guys on cruises. Especially you, mi mamá. Thank you to my sister, Franchesca, for always pushing me to be the best version of myself because you knew I had it in me. Thank you to my brother-in-law Dylan for bringing some humor to the family, and for accepting me as a little sister. Finally, finally, to the best guy I have ever met, to the guy who asked me to marry him and in so doing gave me hope for a beautiful future: Jeff Vanden Heuvel. Thank you for your support and encouragement along the way, and to always believing that I could finish. In many ways, you went through this process with me, and felt the stress when I felt it, even as you made me feel better and cared for me. I love you with all my heart, and I can’t wait for our next journey. Thank you also for the second family you have given me; to Charlene, Chris, Jack, and Sarah, thank you for accepting me into your family and for supporting me along this journey. I am lucky to know you. vi CUASI NOMÁS INGLÉS: PROSODY AT THE CROSSROADS OF SPANISH AND ENGLISH IN 20TH CENTURY NEW MEXICO by JACKELYN VAN BUREN B.A., Linguistics, University of Utah, 2009 M.A., Linguistics, University of Montana, 2012 Ph.D., Linguistics, University of New Mexico 2017 ABSTRACT This dissertation investigates prosodic change in the long-term language contact setting of Traditional New Mexican Spanish (NMS). NMS prosody is perceptually distinct from other contemporary varieties of Spanish (Hills 1906, Bowen 1952, Lipski 2011), yet the features which make it unique have not been acoustically examined. This study hypothesizes that bilingualism with English has affected NMS prosody and analyzes three features which are known to differ between Spanish and English and therefore provide a quantitative point of comparison: pitch peak alignment, pitch variability, and rhythmic timing. These variables have been demonstrated to be susceptible to transfer in contact situations, including Spanish-English settings.