Social Dynamics of Catalan-Spanish Contact in the Evolution of Catalonian Spanish

SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CATALAN-SPANISH CONTACT IN THE EVOLUTION OF CATALONIAN SPANISH BY JUSTIN DAVIDSON DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish with a concentration in Romance Linguistics and a concentration in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Anna María Escobar, Chair Professor José Ignacio Hualde Associate Professor Zsuzsanna Fagyal Associate Professor Erik Willis, Indiana University Assistant Professor Joseph Roy Abstract The research objectives of this dissertation are: (1) to empirically investigate the origin behind two (contact) features of Catalonian Spanish, [ɫ] and [z], inquiring the role of specific linguistic and social factors as relevant in the process of linguistic influence from Catalan, and (2) to empirically uncover the sociolinguistic profile of each of [ɫ] and [z] in the respective social and linguistic ecologies of the Barcelonan bilingual community. Grounded in a speaker-based theory of language change (cf. Weinreich, Labov, & Herzog 1968) and a comparative sociolinguistics study of language contact (cf. Poplack & Levey 2010), this thesis treats linguistic variation as ‘structured’ heterogeneity (cf. Labov 1982). Qualitative and quantitative measures are used to analyze the variable use of the variants within and across different groups of bilingual speakers, consequently providing insight into the spread and development of these variants within the community. Accordingly, by exploring questions related to the development of language influence in a contact situation, a detailed study of the relevant linguistic and social factors serves to explain the origin and diffusion of contact features, therein speaking to their actuation and propagation (cf. Weinreich et al. 1968). Speech data were elicited from 4 experimental studies designed following phonetics and second language research frameworks, and informed by quantitative and variationist approaches to sociolinguistics: (1) careful pronunciation word-list reading, (2) casual speech informal interview, (3) matched guise [covert attitudes], and (4) debriefing interview [overt attitudes]. Tasks were administered to a group of Barcelonan Catalan-Spanish bilinguals, stratified by age, gender, and language dominance, in addition to a group of Catalan- dominant speakers (stratified by gender and age) from surrounding smaller Catalan-prevalent villages, and lastly a control group of monolingual Spanish speakers from Madrid. Token-by- ii token detailed phonetic analyses of lateral velarization and intervocalic fricative voicing were performed using a combination of manual and automated methods in Praat, along a gradient, non-discrete continuum. Inferential statistics, including chi-square and mixed-effect GLM techniques were performed using R. Results from these statistical analyses provide empirical evidence that [ɫ] and [z] production in Barcelonan Spanish is directly influenced by contact with Catalan. This influence is shown to be manifested both linguistically, in the form of sensitivities to linguistic constraints from Catalan, as well as socially, in the form of more frequent usage with increased exposure to and usage of Catalan (i.e., Catalan-dominant speakers). Additionally, statistical analyses reveal differences between social values and overt awareness regarding [ɫ] and [z], in that the former variant is overtly recognized as a negative stereotype of Catalanized Spanish, particularly by Spanish-dominant bilinguals and monolinguals from Madrid. In contrast, the latter variant lacks overt negative social commentary, being instead covertly and positively associated with closeness to the Catalan speaker (i.e., solidarity) by Catalan-Spanish bilinguals. These divergent social values are argued to account for the more advanced propagation of [z] than [ɫ] amongst bilingual speakers, as characterized by the dissimilar usages of each variant beyond the speech of the most Catalan-dominant bilinguals (and in particular, youth female Spanish-dominant bilinguals). Accordingly, the findings help to emphasize social values linked to particular linguistic features as a driving force in their propagation, and accordingly, in language change. Moreover, they highlight how the path of diffusion of contact features is necessarily mediated by language dominance in the bilingual community. iii Acknowledgments This dissertation and indeed my academic career as a graduate student at UIUC could not have turned out as they did without the support of dear friends, colleagues, and family. I am eager to take this opportunity to give personal thanks to many of the individuals that have helped me achieve my professional and personal goals during these past 11(!!) years at UIUC. Suppose I’ll begin with my doctoral committee. Profesora Escobar - Honestly, it’s hard to know where even to begin. It’s because of your constant mentorship and support that I found my calling in sociolinguistics, language contact, and language variation and change. I don’t think there’s ever been a time when I asked for help and you’ve not been able to guide me. Much of the time you’ve gone well out of your way to work with me and help me develop as a linguist. You generously offered to personally guide me in three (or likely more, it’s hard to remember now, ¿sabes?) independent studies, pushed me to begin attending and presenting at conferences as an M.A. student, helped me navigate departmental politics (in which admittedly I do seem to get involved all too often), coached me on how to handle life alongside grad school, and yet somehow also managed to give me space to grow on my own precisely when I needed it, without me ever needing to ask. I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again - I truly couldn’t have asked for a better advisor. I can’t express how thrilled I was to have the opportunity to contribute to your Festschrift (Kim Potowski - should you ever read this, know that I’m forever indebted to you!), not to simply publish in your honor, but rather quite specifically so that I could leave a permanent record of just how much you’ve influenced me and of my appreciation of my time with you. During these last two years in particular, you’ve treated me more like a colleague than a student, inviting me to join you in research endeavors that have taken me (and will likely take me once more very soon!) across the globe, allowing (y hasta encouraging) me to offer workshops to faculty and iv colleagues in the building, connecting me with researchers at other institutions... en serio, my successes these past years are all grounded in the support I’ve received from you as my advisor. Mil y más gracias for having offered me all the support I could ask for y más aún. Professor Hualde - Doncs a part de tota l’ajuda i les consultes al teu despatx pel que fa a preguntes lingüístiques (sobre gairebé qualsevol tema, que ja és impressionant, de veritat...), penso donar-te les gràcies perquè va ser per tu que vaig poder ensenyar català durant tot un any a UIUC. I couldn’t have ever imagined that I’d come around full circle from taking 401 as an undergraduate sophomore to completely taking over the program as a graduate student. So much has come from my ability to pursue Catalan studies and teaching, which you have facilitated time and time again throughout my years at UIUC: I was able to travel to Japan to present on historical Catalan linguistics, become an exam coordinator/administrator for L’Institut Ramon Llull at UIUC, engage in a dissertation topic I was passionate and able to become increasingly more knowledgeable about... You even helped Daniel and me point out and get credit for a plainly overlooked shortcoming in Pompeu Fabra’s standardization of Catalan orthography, si te’n recordes. (There’s no way to spell [gúʃ] in Catalan - only [gíʃ] as in Manu Guix). Moreover, your insistence on my justification for sociolinguistic methodologies and statistics directly led me to take a more vested interest in the directions in which the field is headed. For all these things and more, t’agraeixo. I hope to be able to offer my future students the breath of knowledge that you consistently offered me during my classes with you these past years. Professor Fagyal - Despite our contact being typically restricted to reading group meetings and the occasional independent study here and there, you have always treated me like one of your advisees. I am so grateful to have been able to learn from you in our LVC meetings - it’s because of you that I’ve become so comfortable with NWAV (and the NWAV community) and sociophonetics with a Labovian twist. I will truly miss being able to learn v from you during our LVC chats, and I thank you for having always put aside time to guide me when I felt lost in Labovian theory. Professor Willis - Despite being a state away throughout my career at UIUC, you’ve always gone out of your way to offer me advice and set me up with opportunities to grow as a scholar. Your interest in my work since Indiana’s HLS really lit the fire under me and gave me the confidence I needed to feel like my work had merit. That alone has helped me tremendously, en serio... I can’t thank you enough for treating me like I had the knowledge of a full professor throughout my grad school experience. I’m excited to continue discussing sociophonetics with you and to keep bouncing ideas off one another as I finally step up to the professorial role. Had I not been so rooted at UIUC, I’d have enjoyed working with you at IU without question. Thank you for treating me like one of your own. Professor Roy - (No disrespect in the slightest, but I can’t help myself to not call you Joe, even here! I nearly did with Erik a paragraph ago, but I feel like we’ve gotten so collegial now that it feels so odd to call you anything else! Thank you, in fact, for treating me like a colleague.

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