Which Language R You Speaking? /r/ as a Language Marker in Tyrolean and Italian Bilinguals. (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kaland, Constantijn; Galatà, Vincenzo; Spreafico, Lorenzo; Vietti, Alessandro
• Is Part Of: Language and speech. Volume 62:Number 1(2019:Mar.)
• Page Start: 137
• Page End: 163
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: Phonetics -- speech production -- speech perception -- articulation -- bilingualism; Language and languages -- Periodicals; Speech -- Periodicals; Language disorders -- Periodicals; Speech disorders -- Periodicals; 401.9
• DOI: 10.1177/0023830917746551
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0023-8309

Abstract

Across languages of the world the /r/ sound is known for its variability. This variability has been investigated using articulatory models as well as in sociolinguistic studies. The current study investigates to what extent /r/ is a marker of a bilingual's dominant language. To this end, a reading task was carried out by bilingual speakers from South Tyrol, who produce /r/ differently according to whether they dominantly speak Tyrolean or Italian. The recorded reading data were subsequently used in a perception experiment to investigate whether South Tyrolean bilingual listeners are able to identify the dominant language of the speaker. Results indicate that listeners use /r/ as a cue to determine the dominant language of the speaker whilst relying on articulatory distinctions between the variants. It is furthermore shown that /r/ correlates with three interdependent variables: the sociolinguistic background of the speakers, their speech production, and how their speech is perceived.