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Absolute Interrogative Intonation Patterns in Buenos Aires Spanish

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Absolute Interrogative Intonation Patterns in Buenos Aires Spanish Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Su Ar Lee, B.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Fernando Martinez-Gil, Co-Adviser Dr. Mary E. Beckman, Co-Adviser Dr. Terrell A. Morgan Copyright by Su Ar Lee 2010 Abstract In Spanish, each uttered phrase, depending on its use, has one of a variety of intonation patterns. For example, a phrase such as María viene mañana ‘Mary is coming tomorrow’ can be used as a declarative or as an absolute interrogative (a yes/no question) depending on the intonation pattern that a speaker produces. Patterns of usage also depend on dialect. For example, the intonation of absolute interrogatives typically is characterized as having a contour with a final rise and this may be the most common ending for absolute interrogatives in most dialects. This is true of descriptions of Peninsular (European) Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Chilean Spanish, and many other dialects. However, in some dialects, such as Venezuelan Spanish, absolute interrogatives have a contour with a final fall (a pattern that is more generally associated with declarative utterances and pronominal interrogative utterances). Most noteworthy, in Buenos Aires Spanish, both interrogative patterns are observed. This dissertation examines intonation patterns in the Spanish dialect spoken in Buenos Aires, Argentina, focusing on the two patterns associated with absolute interrogatives. It addresses two sets of questions. First, if a final fall contour is used for both interrogatives and declaratives, what other factors differentiate these utterances? The present study also explores other markers of the functional contrast between Spanish interrogatives and declaratives. The ii results of a comparative analysis of the first pitch accent and boundary tones of declarative syntax absolute interrogatives, interrogative syntax absolute interrogatives, pronominal interrogatives, and declaratives showed that the melodic curve of an interrogative phrase is distinct from that of a declarative from the beginning of the utterance. The high peak of the first pitch accent in an interrogative is significantly higher than in the corresponding declarative utterance, especially when the final contour is falling. Furthermore, the absolute interrogatives with final fall generally showed a trend for each accent peak to be “upstepped” relative to the preceding peak, while the declaratives always showed downstep across the utterance. Additionally, the global tonal ranges were also different between absolute interrogatives and declaratives: the absolute interrogatives contour with a final fall had a more expanded tonal range than the contour of declaratives. Second, if both contours of absolute interrogatives are used by speakers in a neutral context, do speakers of this dialect use the different final contours to express pragmatic differences, such as the difference between neutral and “presumptive” absolute interrogatives (i.e., questions in which there is a bias toward ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer)? A comparative analysis showed that the difference between these two types of absolute interrogatives does not involve the final contour. Rather, the presumptive absolute interrogatives are realized with an expanded global pitch range. iii The present study expands knowledge of dialectal differences in Spanish intonation by examining the intonation patterns of interrogative utterances in Buenos Aires Spanish. It also expands the understanding of how different aspects of intonational form – global pitch range and upstep versus downstep trends as well as final contour shape – are related to syntactic and pragmatic differences in interrogative utterances. iv Dedication Dedicated to my parents, my loving husband Yong Jae, and my children Daniel and Grace v Acknowledgements So many people have encouraged me and provided me with generous help and inspiration over the past many years. First of all, I wish to thank my advisers, Fernando Martínez-Gil and Mary Beckman. I am deeply thankful for their support, encouragement, and enthusiasm which made this research possible. I thank Professor Martínez-Gil for his tireless patience, encouragement in all these years. I am extremely grateful to Professor Beckman in the Department of Linguistics at The Ohio State University, for her invaluable insight on the subject matter and her time in the midst of her busy schedule. I thank her for taking my draft to the other side of the world while away at conferences and reading it. I thank them also for their patience in correcting both my stylistic and scientific errors. I am also thankful to Professor Terrell Morgan, for his support and patience throughout the years. I thank all of them for stimulating discussion and for providing intellectual support and constructive comments on my dissertation. I am grateful to various other faculty members at The Ohio State University who also have played an important role in my professional development. They are Professors Dieter Wanner, Wayne J. Redenbarger, Javier Guitierrez-Rexach, Scott Schwenter, Keith Johnson, Donna R. Long, Jan Marcian, and most recently John Grinstead. I also wish to thank my old friends: Timothy L. Face, Manuel Díaz, Christine Cloud, Tara Fast, Chad Howe, Amanda Boomershine, and Joshua P. Rodriguez. I thank you for your wonderful vi friendship throughout my years in Columbus. Especially to Timothy Face for your friendship, support, and help with my research. Thank you Judy Manley for all the help you provided me, especially when I was away from Columbus and Melinda Robinson for you were always there to lend a helping hand every time I returned to Columbus. I thank all my former colleagues at Washington State University, for their friendship, support and encouragement. I especially thank Dr. Eloy González, and Dr. Ana María Vivaldi. I thank all my colleagues at University of Florida for their support. Especial thanks to Dr. David A. Pharies for his support and encouragement. I am also extremely grateful to the speakers who participated in the study for their time. I thank Professor Paul Boersma for providing use of Praat: an instrument which made my research possible. Most of all, I am forever grateful to my family. To my husband, Yong Jae, for all of the love and support he has given me. Without him, I never would have had the strength to complete it. To my parents, whose love, encouragement, and support are always present in my life. I thank them for taking care of my little Grace while I was writing my dissertation. I thank my son Daniel for understanding a working mom with extra work at home writing her dissertation. vii Vita April, 1967 ........................................Born in Seoul, Korea 1992 ...................................................B.A. Spanish Language and Literature, Seoul National University 1998....................................................M.A. Spanish Linguistics, The Ohio State University 1996 – 2000........................................Graduate Teaching Assistant, Hispanic Linguistics Program, The Ohio State University 1999 – 2000........................................Research Associate, Hispanic Linguistics Program, The Ohio State University 1999 – 2000........................................Research Associate, Foreign Language Center, The Ohio State University 2002 – 2006........................................Instructor and Lower level Spanish Coordinator, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Washington State University 2006 – 2007........................................Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Florida 2007- 2008 ........................................Visiting Lecturer, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Florida 2008- present ..................................... Lecturer, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Florida Fields of Study Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese Concentration: Spanish Linguistics viii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication ........................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgments............................................................................................................. vi Vita ..................................................................................................................................viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research questions and design of the study ......................................................1 1.2 Autosegmental-Metrical Theory of intonational phonology (AM) ..................9 1.2.1 The nature of the theory .....................................................................9 1.2.2 Phonological units in Spanish intonation ......................................... 13 1.2.3
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