FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS Schwa Distribution and acquisition in light of Swiss French data Helene N. Andreassen A dissertation for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor May 2013 Schwa Distribution and acquisition in light of Swiss French data Helene N. Andreassen A dissertation for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor University of Tromsø Department of Language and Linguistics May 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements Someone asked me once how I could spend years of my life studying one single vowel. A few times I have asked myself the same question, but I always end up with the same answer: it is small but oh, so complex and fascinating. Despite its smallness, it grows in complexity and importance the more one digs into the topic. The idea of looking at schwa in children’s speech came to me after a meeting with the Phonology Reading Group at the University of Tromsø. When it was time to write a research proposal, I presented the idea – still quite vague – to my supervisor, Professor Chantal Lyche. Throughout my entire PhD, Chantal has been in Oslo, on the opposite side of Norway, or on one of the world’s other continents, and has made a couple of visits to Tromsø each year. However, I cannot think of a supervisor more present and available to her PhD student. Since the very beginning of this project, Chantal has encouraged me to pursue my ideas, she has guided me to discover relationships in my data, she has pushed me to work hard on the tricky parts, and through her expertise in linguistics and her ability to see the common thread, she has made me write – and finish – a thesis where the different components connect. Chantal, you definitively deserve the caisse de champagne we agreed on. Chantal is also the co-founder of the international project Phonologie du français contemporain (PFC), and I wish to thank this vibrant research network. In particular, I want to thank Jacques Durand for his questions and encouragement. As a member of PFC since 2002, I have come to know a long list of intelligent and kind people from around the world, and each time I have a question related to French, there has always been an expert or two among the PFC members who were ready to help me. The annual meeting in Paris each December is forum for presenting on-going work, and I want to thank the participants for listening and commenting on my talks on schwa in child language – maybe next year, it will be time to give a presentation on another topic. I also want to thank the PFC community for the legendary post-conference moments in La Ville Lumière. The many hours spent in bistros have contributed to strengthening our professional as well as personal relationships. It goes without saying that a very many thanks goes to la bande joyeuse consisting of Sylvain Detey, Laurie Buscail, Julien Eychenne, and last, but not least, Isabelle Racine. Co-authorships, discussions, mutual encouragement and many, many laughs I will treasure forever. This thesis would not have been possible without the thirteen children and their families in Switzerland, and I would like to thank them for allowing me to enter their daily life with my recording equipment. First, to the six families I visited at home weekly, I would like to thank you for your open mind and your interest in the project, and especially for your immense hospitality. Second, I would like to thank the kindergarten teachers Agnès, Lise, Patricia, Sandrine, Sylvette, and Véronique for helping me find participants and for allowing me to do recordings in the kindergarten – I know that my PowerPoint test was a tough competitor to the other activities going on simultaneously. Finally, I must mention the children themselves. I cannot thank them by name, but their enthusiasm, their positive attitude, their willingness to talk a lot, and their smart comments have provided me with interesting data as well as a treasure chest of sound files that have repeatedly cheered me up during the longest hours of thesis-hood. Merci à vous tous! This thesis is the result of a fellowship from the University of Tromsø during the period from 2005 to 2009. There are many there I am grateful to, but I am particularly grateful to Endre Mørck, head of the Department of Language and Linguistics, for his good leadership, his encouragement and support, and his willingness to make it possible for me to continue working on this project between funding. From the administration, I would like to thank Eirik Liland and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Marit Nilsen. I also wish to thank Johanne Raade and Helge Salvesen at the University Library, who have given me the time needed to finish this thesis. Doing research on French while working in Tromsø makes one approach the language with an outside eye. I am very grateful to the CASTL phonologists, Bruce Morén-Duolljá, Curt Rice, Martin Krämer, Ove Lorentz, and Patrik Bye, whose approach to phonology has made me think differently. I would like to thank Curt and Bruce in particular for taking the time to discuss different aspects of my thesis. Additionally, I wish to thank the many fellow PhD students throughout the years, in Tromsø and elsewhere, phonologists like Berit-Anne, Dragana, Islam, Kathrine, Pavel, Peter, Sylvia, and Violeta, other linguists like Björn, Christine, Kaori, Kristine, Madeleine, Monika, Philipp, and Yulia, and the one non-linguist PhD student that I know, Lodve. Other colleagues throughout the years have contributed in various aspects to make me progress in this work. Thanks to Lisbeth Nordøy, Roswitha Skare and Rognald Bergesen for creating an excellent, smoothly-running, ex.fac-team – thanks to Trond Trosterud for teaching me how to use Terminal – thanks to Per Pippin Aspaas and Eirik Reierth for helping me focus (and thereby finish) – and finally, thanks to Mona Markussen for being a great colleague in every possible way. Today, when I am one day from submitting my thesis, I would like to take one step back and think about what I have experienced during these years. First, fieldwork is not only data collection. Discussions with Marilyn May Vihman and Paula Fikkert gave me ideas about how to approach the research topic. Antoine Auchlin and Jean- Philippe Goldman welcomed me at the University of Geneva during the six months of fieldwork. Tearooms in the different Vaudois villages had coffee I could buy while waiting for the car postal to take me to the next recording session. CASTL and the Department of Language and Linguistics funded the transcription work. Omran Allatif, Nathalie Bühler, and Aude Kammerlander transcribed parts of the child language data. Yvan Rose and Greg Hedlund at the Memorial University in St. Johns, Newfoundland, provided me with 24/7 support on the Phon software. Jan Helge Bergheim and Holger Hagan helped me with technical equipment and challenging computer issues. Jan-Are Kolset Johnsen spent hours programming my perception experiment and performing a statistical analysis of the data. Second, writing a thesis is not only generating text. Feedback from Isabelle Racine, Paula Fikkert, Yvan Rose and anonymous reviewers throughout the years made me rethink ideas and make them better. Access to every possible publication via the University Library, and in particular via the help of Bente Storvestre, saved me from interruptions to workflow while writing. An important conversation with Rich F. Riesenfeld in October last year made me realise it was time to finish the thesis. Kevin Gabbard worked intensely over a short period of time proofreading my thesis and improving my English. All remaining errors are mine. Third, living a life is not only writing a thesis. I am lucky to have a family that makes me remember that being glued to a computer is only one part of it. First of all, to my parents, Terje and Liv-Inger, you deserve the biggest takk of them all – even though you may have a hard time following the details when I go on about the quirks in my data, you have always supported me, encouraged me to study what interests me, and helped me with practical matters in stressful times. Second, to Rune, my ever-enthusiastic big brother, you are always there to make me think positive. The fact that you like hanging out with linguists in Paris makes you even cooler. Third, to Jan-Are, your patience over the years is admirable. You have taken care of grocery shopping ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and dinner, kept track of bills, listened to schwa-talk early morning and late night, and encouraged me to achieve my goals. Thank you. I would also like to thank the rest of my joyful family, uncles, aunts, and cousins, for being who they are. Sadly, two members of the family have passed away since I started this project. Bestemor and tante Rigmor, I really wish you were here today. I would also like to thank my second family in Switzerland, which includes the Egger family and the Bersier family. They always make me feel welcome and have helped me in every possible way during my many fieldwork trips. In particular Hilde and Trude, I thank you for your support, kindness, and your lovely sense of humour. Finally, I would like to thank my friends Heidi and Silja, who have never given up on me. I will always remember your heart-warming ability to help me keep my spirits up during the last year of writing. Helene N. Andreassen Tromsø, May 3rd, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of contents Table of contents .......................................................................................................................................... i 1.