Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School
This study investigates the intonation contours of neutral yes–no interrogatives produced by simultaneous bilingual children in their two native languages. Previous studies have shown prosodic transfer from one language to another, either from the dominant into the non-dominant language or vice vers...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Languages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/2/54 |
| _version_ | 1797297702108659712 |
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| author | Catalina Torres |
| author_facet | Catalina Torres |
| author_sort | Catalina Torres |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the intonation contours of neutral yes–no interrogatives produced by simultaneous bilingual children in their two native languages. Previous studies have shown prosodic transfer from one language to another, either from the dominant into the non-dominant language or vice versa, but little is known about what specifically triggers this behaviour. This study explores how bilingual children make use of phonetic–phonological resources while interacting with peers. Three child speakers of German (ambient language) and Portuguese (heritage language) were recorded as they performed a modified version of a map task. Natural and spontaneous data were collected and the speech was analysed. The results indicate that to some degree, bilingual children produce all intonational contours specific to their language variety. When speaking German, they produced the syntax and contour consistent with the structure of yes–no interrogatives in German. When speaking Portuguese, the children displayed variation in their choice of tune, depending on the variety of Portuguese and the language proficiency of their interlocutor. This behaviour is interpreted as prosodic convergence resulting from the high variability of prosodic structures in the different varieties of Portuguese present in the classroom. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:25:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dca382079b56426b989e9be5c418bf7d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:25:11Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-dca382079b56426b989e9be5c418bf7d2024-02-23T15:24:25ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2024-02-01925410.3390/languages9020054Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion SchoolCatalina Torres0Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, CH-8050 Zurich, SwitzerlandThis study investigates the intonation contours of neutral yes–no interrogatives produced by simultaneous bilingual children in their two native languages. Previous studies have shown prosodic transfer from one language to another, either from the dominant into the non-dominant language or vice versa, but little is known about what specifically triggers this behaviour. This study explores how bilingual children make use of phonetic–phonological resources while interacting with peers. Three child speakers of German (ambient language) and Portuguese (heritage language) were recorded as they performed a modified version of a map task. Natural and spontaneous data were collected and the speech was analysed. The results indicate that to some degree, bilingual children produce all intonational contours specific to their language variety. When speaking German, they produced the syntax and contour consistent with the structure of yes–no interrogatives in German. When speaking Portuguese, the children displayed variation in their choice of tune, depending on the variety of Portuguese and the language proficiency of their interlocutor. This behaviour is interpreted as prosodic convergence resulting from the high variability of prosodic structures in the different varieties of Portuguese present in the classroom.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/2/54intonational phonologytwo-way immersionneutral yes–no question |
| spellingShingle | Catalina Torres Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School Languages intonational phonology two-way immersion neutral yes–no question |
| title | Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School |
| title_full | Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School |
| title_fullStr | Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School |
| title_full_unstemmed | Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School |
| title_short | Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School |
| title_sort | portuguese and german intonation contours in a two way immersion school |
| topic | intonational phonology two-way immersion neutral yes–no question |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/2/54 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT catalinatorres portugueseandgermanintonationcontoursinatwowayimmersionschool |