Reference

Jochim, M., Kleber, F., Klingler, N., Pucher, M., Schmid, S., Zihlmann, U. (2018). Measuring the Role of Hypoarticulation in a Sound Change in Progress in Southern German. In 14. Tagung Phonetik Und Phonologie Im Deutschsprachigen Raum (P&P).

BibTeX

@inproceedings{jochimMeasuringRoleHypoarticulation2018,
  title = {Measuring the {{Role}} of {{Hypoarticulation}} in a {{Sound Change}} in {{Progress}} in {{Southern German}}.},
  booktitle = {14. {{Tagung Phonetik}} Und {{Phonologie}} Im Deutschsprachigen {{Raum}} ({{P}}\&{{P}})},
  author = {Jochim, Markus and Kleber, Felicitas and Klingler, Nicola and Pucher, Michael and Schmid, Stephan and Zihlmann, Urban},
  year = {2018},
  address = {Wien},
  abstract = {We  present  results  from  perception  experiments  designed  to  investigate  the  role  of  speech-rate- induced hypoarticulation in diachronic sound change. Hypoarticulation has been identified as one poten- tial source for such change [1, 2]. However, this account is challenged by the fact that listeners generally compensate for the effects of fast speech: In minimal pairs differing in vowel length (e. g. German Stadt , `city', vs. Staat , `state'), they tend to classify identical word tokens as containing long vowels when they occur in a fast carrier phrase (i. e. shorter duration) and vice versa [3]. The aim of the present experiments is to test whether compensation is diminished in listeners partaking in a sound change in progress. The experiments are part of a larger-scale study on the evolution of quantity contrasts in consonants and vowels in Southern German (including Austrian and Swiss) varieties.  Standard German features a phonemic vowel length (cf.  example above) and a consonantal fortis-lenis contrast (e. g. Hagen , a given  name,  vs. Haken ,  `hook'),  both  of  which  are  cued  by  duration  (the  latter  in  particular  in  the absence of aspiration [4, 5, 6]).  The two contrasts can be freely combined in standard German vowel- consonant sequences.  Central Bavarian (CB) varieties spoken in the south of Germany and in Austria differ  from  standard  German  in  that  combinations  of  long+fortis  and  short+lenis  are  phonotactically illegal [7].  Previous studies [8, 9], however, have presented evidence for a sound change in progress by which these combinations emerge in CB, too. Our experiments test whether listeners of CB compensate less for speech rate than listeners from other German varieties (e.g.  German Standard German, Swiss German) in which no such changes are expected.   We are obtaining forced-choice judgments to continua spanning resynthesized versions of minimal pair words (e.g. bitter-Bieter , baden-baten ) embedded in fast and slower carrier phrases spoken in the respective variety.   The only cue to differentiate the words within any of these continua is the duration of the vowel or consonant, respectively. We will test a total of 136 listeners from three countries. So far, we have tested a small number of listeners of German (N=7) and Austrian (N=5) CB varieties. Commensurate with Fig.  1, German CB listeners classify stimuli in fast carrier phrases more often as long vowels than in slower carrier phrases, indicating that they compensate for speech rate. Austrian CB listeners, on the other hand, show no such difference, implying that compensation is diminished in this group. These preliminary results suggest that the expected sound change is more active in Austria, where the standard is influenced by CB. The complete set of results will be discussed in light of usage-based theories [10] by which dialect leveling is the result of increased experience with the standard language.},
  annotation = {Abstract only}
}