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An Acoustic Analysis of Brazilian Portuguese Nasal Vowels by Native Speakers and Second Language Learners Ann Aly Bailey

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An Acoustic Analysis of Brazilian Portuguese Nasal Vowels by Native Speakers and Second Language Learners Ann Aly Bailey Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 How Nosy Are You?: An Acoustic Analysis of Brazilian Portuguese Nasal Vowels by Native Speakers and Second Language Learners Ann Aly Bailey Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES HOW NOSY ARE YOU? AN ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE NASAL VOWELS BY NATIVE SPEAKERS AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS By ANN ALY BAILEY A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2012 Ann Bailey defended this thesis on June 11, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Carolina González Professor Directing Thesis Michael Leeser Committee Member Gretchen Sunderman Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my major professor, Dr. Carolina González for being an incredible mentor to me over the past three years that I have worked with her. Dr. González is always very supportive, encouraging, and patient with her students and this has helped me achieve more than I would have thought possible of myself during my time as a graduate student. Dr. Michael Leeser has also been a wonderful advisor, professor, and source of statistical expertise throughout my two years in the Spanish department. These two professors have played such a big role in my academic and professional development both in their classes, with my thesis, and as I move on to study my PhD in Hispanic Linguistics. I would also like to express how grateful I am for my other professors I have had as a graduate student at Florida State: Drs. Reglero, Sunderman, and Sharpe. I have learned invaluable things in their classes, both relating to linguistics, language, and the Hispanic and Lusophone culture. Their knowledge and enthusiasm for the field makes them role models for us as students in the department. This project would not have been possible without the help of several universities and students who took the time to help me. My fellow students Tina Weissglass, Patricia Atchley, and Jamile Forcelini helped me through statistics, abstract writing, and translations that I could not have done myself. The universities in Passo Fundo, Itajubá, and Manaus, Brazil were generous in the help they provided me when I collected data, and I could not be more grateful. Although I rarely left the department, I also received an incredible amount of support and encouragement from my family, particularly my husband Ryan and sister Debra, which is what propels me through the difficult points of graduate school. I truly could not have accomplished this project or my graduate studies without the help of those mentioned as well as many others. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………..………viii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 16 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 24 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS ...................................................................................................... 46 APPENDICES LANGUAGE HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................................. 55 INFORMED CONSENT FORM .................................................................................................. 57 TASKS .......................................................................................................................................... 59 HUMAN SUBJECTS APPROVAL LETTERS ........................................................................... 61 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 64 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ........................................................................................................ 68 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Occurences of nasalization based on phonological context from Abaurre and Pagotto (1996). ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Table 2: Vowel quality by phonological context, adapted from Fails (2011: 459). ..................... 12 Table 3: Participant demographics................................................................................................ 18 Table 4: Spanish tokens ................................................................................................................ 19 Table 5: Portuguese tokens ........................................................................................................... 20 Table 6: Mean F1 frequencies of Portuguese vowels, all participants ......................................... 24 Table 7: Mean frequencies for F1 of Portuguese oral vowels by gender ..................................... 25 Table 8: Mean F1 frequencies of Portuguese nasal vowels by gender ......................................... 26 Table 9: Mean frequencies for F1 of Portuguese oral vowels by L1 ............................................ 27 Table 10: Mean frequencies for F1 of Portuguese nasal vowels by L1 ........................................ 27 Table 11: First formant frequency for Portuguese nasal and Spanish nasalized vowels, L1 Spanish participants ...................................................................................................................... 28 Table 12: Mean F1 frequencies for Portuguese and Spanish oral vowels, L1 Spanish participants ....................................................................................................................................................... 28 Table 13: Mean frequencies for second formant (F2) of Portuguese vowels, all participants ..... 29 Table 14: Mean F2 frequencies for Portuguese oral vowels, by L1 ............................................. 29 Table 15: Mean F2 frequencies for Portuguese nasal vowels, by L1 ........................................... 30 Table 16: Mean frequencies for F2 of Portuguese oral vowels by gender ................................... 30 Table 17: Mean frequencies for F2 of Portuguese nasal vowels by gender ................................. 31 Table 18: Mean F2 frequencies for Portuguese nasal vowels and Spanish nasalized vowels, L1 Spanish participants ...................................................................................................................... 31 Table 19: Mean F2 frequencies for Portuguese and Spanish oral vowels, L1 Spanish participants ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 Table 20: Mean duration (ms) for Portuguese vowels, all participants ........................................ 36 Table 21: Mean duration for Portuguese vowels, L1 Portuguese participants ............................. 36 Table 22: Mean duration for Portuguese vowels, L1 Spanish participants .................................. 37 Table 23: Mean durations (ms) of Portuguese oral and nasal /a/ by gender ................................. 38 Table 24: Mean durations (ms) of Portuguese oral and nasal /e/ by gender ................................. 38 Table 25: Mean durations (ms) of Portuguese oral and nasal /i/ by gender ................................. 39 Table 26: Mean durations (ms) of Portuguese oral and nasal /o/ by gender ................................. 39 Table 27: Mean durations (ms) of Portuguese oral and nasal /u/ by gender ................................. 40 Table 28: Mean durations (ms) for nasal murmurs of Portuguese nasal vowels by L1 ................ 41 v Table 29: Mean durations (ms) for nasal murmurs of Portuguese nasal vowels, L1 Portuguese by gender ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Table 30: Mean durations (ms) for nasal murmurs of Portuguese nasal vowels, L1 Spanish by gender ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Table 31: Duration (ms) of Portuguese nasal and Spanish nasalized vowels, L1 Spanish participants .................................................................................................................................... 42 Table 32: Duration (ms) of Portuguese and Spanish oral vowels, L1 Spanish participants ......... 42 Table 33: Mean values for first two anti-resonances of Portuguese
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