UNDERSTANDING THE TONADA CORDOBESA FROM AN ACOUSTIC, PERCEPTUAL AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE by María Laura Lenardón B.A., TESOL, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, 2000 M.A., Spanish Translation, Kent State University, 2003 M.A., Hispanic Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh, 2009 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2017 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by María Laura Lenardón It was defended on April 21, 2017 and approved by Dr. Shelome Gooden, Associate Professor of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Susana de los Heros, Professor of Hispanic Studies, University of Rhode Island Dr. Matthew Kanwit, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Scott F. Kiesling, Professor of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh ii Copyright © by María Laura Lenardón 2017 iii UNDERSTANDING THE TONADA CORDOBESA FROM AN ACOUSTIC, PERCEPTUAL AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE María Laura Lenardón, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2017 The goal of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of a non-standard form of pretonic vowel lengthening or the tonada cordobesa, in Cordobese Spanish, an understudied dialect in Argentina. This phenomenon is analyzed in two different but complementary studies and perspectives, each of which contributes to a better understanding of the sociolinguistic factors that constrain its variation, as well as the social meanings of this feature in Argentina. Study 1 investigates whether position in the intonational phrase (IP), vowel concordance, and social class and gender condition pretonic vowel lengthening from informal conversations with native speakers (n=20). The results reveal that both linguistic and social factors affect the pretonic to tonic vowel duration ratio. That is, prenuclear position, vowel concordance, and lower social class favor a higher ratio, the nonstandard form. Study 2 examines language attitudes, ideologies, and perceptions towards the tonada cordobesa using an online adaptation of a matched-guise test and a questionnaire on ideologies about Spanish in Argentina. The results show that judges (n=263) most accurately recognize the Cordobese speakers, followed by the Buenos Aires (BA) speakers. This points to the saliency of the tonada. In addition, the matched-guise uncovers some stigmatization of Cordobese Spanish as these guises received lower ratings on status and even on solidarity than those from Buenos Aires as found in de los Heros (1999). An analysis of manifestations of popular culture shows that the tonada is also used to portray local pride, or what Woolard (2008, 2009) calls authenticity. Furthermore, some judges hold contradictory ideologies with regards to the iv standard language in Argentina and BA Spanish was not always positively valued, as shown in other research (Llull & Pinardi, 2014; Rodríguez Louro, 2013). This provides insight in how BA Spanish and Cordobese Spanish are valued in Argentina. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE….. ............................................................................................................................. xiii 1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 2.0 CÓRDOBA, THE TONADA CORDOBESA AND ITS SOCIOLINGUISTIC HISTORY .......................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 THE CITY OF CÓRDOBA ............................................................................................... 6 2.2 THE CORDOBESE DIALECT ...................................................................................... 10 2.3 THE TONADA AND ITS ORIGINS ............................................................................... 14 2.4 GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF THE TONADA ......................................... 18 2.5 THE TONADA IN CORDOBESE HUMOR .................................................................. 21 3.0 THE TONADA CORDOBESA: AN ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS .................................... 24 3.1 VOWEL DURATION IN CORDOBESE SPANISH .................................................... 24 3.2 VOWEL LENGTHENING IN CORDOBESE SPANISH: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................................................................ 29 3.3 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 34 3.3.1 The Variable ........................................................................................................... 34 3.3.2 Linguistic and Social Factors ................................................................................ 35 3.3.3 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 39 3.3.4 Participants ............................................................................................................. 40 3.3.5 Materials and Procedures ...................................................................................... 41 vi 3.3.6 The Analyses ........................................................................................................... 43 3.4 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 47 3.4.1 Vowel Lengths in Cordobese Spanish .................................................................. 50 3.4.2 Statistical Model ..................................................................................................... 51 3.5 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................... 57 3.6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 60 4.0 THE PERCEPTUAL PHASE ........................................................................................ 62 4.1 LANGUAGE ATTITUDES AND IDEOLOGIES ......................................................... 64 4.1.1 Language Attitudes and Ideologies in the Spanish-speaking World ................. 67 4.2 DIALECT IDENTIFICATION ....................................................................................... 75 4.3 ATTITUDES AND IDEOLOGIES IN THE SOUTHERN CONE: ARGENTINA AND URUGUAY ............................................................................................................ 77 4.4 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 81 4.4.1 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 81 4.4.2 The Instrument ....................................................................................................... 83 4.4.3 Context of the Study ............................................................................................... 88 4.4.4 The Speakers and the Guises ................................................................................ 90 4.4.5 Participants ............................................................................................................. 93 4.4.6 Procedure ................................................................................................................ 95 4.5 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 95 4.5.1 Dialect Identification .............................................................................................. 95 4.5.2 Dialect Stereotypes ............................................................................................... 100 4.5.2.1 Speakers’ Characterizations ...................................................................................... 100 4.5.2.2 Professions Associated with Speakers and Guises .................................................... 106 4.5.2.3 Language Ideologies .................................................................................................... 114 4.6 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 119 vii 4.7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 126 5.0 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 128 5.1 SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 128 5.2 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .................. 132 5.3 CONTRIBUTIONS ........................................................................................................ 133 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 135 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 137 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................ 140 APPENDIX D ...........................................................................................................................