Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-06T02:34:51.047Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A REGIONAL PHONOLOGICAL FEATURE DURING A SEMESTER ABROAD IN ARGENTINA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Rebecca Pozzi Open the ORCID record for Rebecca Pozzi [Opens in a new window]  and
Robert Bayley Open the ORCID record for Robert Bayley [Opens in a new window]
Rebecca Pozzi*
Affiliation:
California State University, Monterey Bay
Robert Bayley
Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rebecca Pozzi, School of World Languages and Cultures, California State University, Monterey Bay, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA 93955. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although recent research suggests that gains are made in the acquisition of dialectal features during study abroad, the few studies that have been conducted on this topic in Spanish-speaking contexts have focused primarily on features characteristic of Spain. This article examines the L2 acquisition of phonological features characteristic of Buenos Aires Spanish, [ʃ] and [ʒ], known as sheísmo/zheísmo, for example the pronunciation of llave [ʝaβe] “key” as [ʃaβe] or [ʒaβe]. Participants include 23 learners of Spanish studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina. More than 4,800 tokens were gathered before, during, and at the end of the semester using sociolinguistic interviews, a reading passage, and a word list. These data were analyzed for the influence of linguistic and social factors using mixed-effects logistic regression (Rbrul; Johnson, 2009). Results suggest that participants approximate nativelike norms of use of these features and that time in country is a statistically significant predictor of patterns of phonological variation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 109 - 132
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their close reading and invaluable suggestions regarding this article.

References

REFERENCES

Adamson, H. D., & Regan, V. (1991). The acquisition of community speech norms by Asian immigrants learning English as a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 13, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aronson, H. I. (1973). The role of attitudes about languages in the learning of foreign languages. Modern Language Journal, 57, 323–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayley, R. (1996). Competing constraints on variation in the speech of adult Chinese learners of English. In Bayley, R. & Preston, D. R. (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 97–120). John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayley, R. (2013). The quantitative paradigm. In Chambers, J. K. & Schilling, N. (Eds.), The handbook of language variation and change. 2nd ed. (pp. 85–107). Wiley Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayley, R., & Langman, J. (2004). Variation in the group and the individual: Evidence from second language acquisition. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 42, 303–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2016). Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (Version 6.0.28) [Computer program]. http://www.praat.org/Google Scholar
Bybee, J. (2013). Usage-based theory and exemplar representations of constructions. In Hoffmann, T. & Trousdale, G. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of construction grammar (pp. 49–69). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Chang, C. (2008). Variation in palatal production in Buenos Aires Spanish. In Westmoreland, M. & Thomas, J. A. (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 4th workshop on Spanish sociolinguistics (pp. 54–63). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
Colantoni, L. (2008). Variación micro y macro fonética en español. Estudios de fonética experimental, 17, 65–104.Google Scholar
Collentine, J. G., & Freed, B. (2004). Learning context and its effects on second language acquisition: Introduction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 153–172.Google Scholar
Davies, M. (2006). A frequency dictionary of Spanish: Core vocabulary for learners. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fontanella de Weinberg, M. B. (1978). Un cambio lingüístico en marcha: Las palatales en el español bonaerense. Orbis, 27, 215–247.Google Scholar
Geeslin, K. L. (2011). The acquisition of variation in second language Spanish: How to identify and catch a moving target. In Diaz-Campos, M. (Ed.), The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics (pp. 303–319). Wiley Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geeslin, K. L., Fafulas, S., & Kanwit, M. (2013). Acquiring geographical norms of use: The case of the present perfect in Mexico and Spain. In Howe, C., Lubbers, M., & Blackwell, S. (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 15th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 205–220). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
Geeslin, K. L., García-Amaya, L. J., Hasler-Barker, M., Henriksen, N. C., & Killam, J. (2010). The SLA of direct object pronouns in a study abroad immersion environment where use is variable. In Borgonovo, C. (Ed.), Selected proceedings of the 12th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 246–259). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
Geeslin, K. L., & Gudmestad, A. (2008). The acquisition of variation in second-language Spanish: An agenda for integrating studies of the L2 sound system. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5, 137–157.Google Scholar
Geeslin, K. L., & Long, A. (2014). Sociolinguistics and second language acquisition: Learning to use language in context. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, A. A. (2013). The acquisition of Castilian dialectal features during a semester abroad in Toledo, Spain [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.Google Scholar
George, A. A. (2014). Study abroad in Central Spain: The development of regional phonological features. Foreign Language Annals, 47, 97–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghia, E. (2011). Salience in language: The characterization of a complex phenomenon. Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata, 1, 81–103.Google Scholar
Guy, G. R. (1988). Advanced Varbrul analysis. In Ferrara, K., Brown, B., Walters, K., & Baugh, J. (Eds.), Linguistic change and contact: NWAV-XVI (pp. 124–136). Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Hoffman-Gonzalez, A. C. (2015). Language use or non-use in study abroad as an indicator of community membership [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Howard, M., Lemée, I., & Regan, V. (2006). The L2 acquisition of a phonological variable: The case of /l/ deletion in French. Journal of French Language Studies, 16, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hualde, J. I. (2005). The sounds of Spanish. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hualde, J. I., Olarrea, A., Escobar, A. M., & Travis, C. E. (2010). Introducción a la lingüística hispánica. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Institute of International Education. (2016). Open doors report on international educational exchange. http://www.iie.org/opendoorsGoogle Scholar
Isabelli-García, C., Brown, J., Plews, J. L., & Dewey, D. P. (2018). Language learning and study abroad. Language Teaching, 51, 439–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iwasaki, N. (2010). Style shifts among Japanese learners before and after study abroad in Japan: Becoming active social agents in Japanese. Applied Linguistics, 31, 45–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D. E. (2009). Getting off the Goldvarb standard: Introducing Rbrul for mixed-effects variable rule analysis. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3, 359–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, K. M. (2012). What we don’t learn in the classroom: The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence during study abroad [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Kennedy Terry, K. M. (2017). Contact, context, and collocation: The emergence of sociostylistic variation in L2 French learners during study abroad. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39, 553–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knouse, S. M. (2013). The acquisition of dialectal phonemes in a study abroad context: The case of the Castilian Theta. Foreign Language Annals, 45, 512–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lafford, B. A., & Uscinski, I. (2014). Study abroad and second language Spanish. In Geeslin, K. (Ed.), The handbook of Spanish second language acquisition (pp. 386–403). Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar
Li, X. (2010). Sociolinguistic variation in the speech of learners of Chinese as a second language. Language Learning, 60, 366–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, X. (2014). Variation of subject pronominal expression in L2 Chinese. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 36, 39–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Major, R. (2004). Gender and stylistic variation in second language phonology. Language Variation and Change, 16, 169–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLeod, B. (2014). Investigating the effects of perceptual salience and regional dialect on phonetic accommodation in Spanish. In Coté, M.-H. & Matieu, É. (Eds.), Variation within and across Romance languages (pp. 351–378). John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Milroy, J., & Milroy, L. (1978). Belfast: Change and variation in an urban vernacular. In Trudgill, P. (Ed.), Sociolinguistic patterns in British English (pp. 19–36). Arnold.Google Scholar
Quan, T. (2016). Becoming fluent abroad: Examining the interactions of oral fluency, formulaic language, and learner investment in study abroad [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Quino, . (2007). Toda Mafalda (20th ed.). Ediciones de la Flor.Google Scholar
Regan, V. (1996). Variation in French interlanguage: A longitudinal study of sociolinguistic competence. In Bayley, R. & Preston, D. R. (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 177–201). John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regan, V., Howard, M., & Lemée, I. (2009). The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in a study abroad context. Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ringer-Hilfinger, K. (2013). The acquisition of sociolinguistic variation by study abroad students: The case of American students in Madrid [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University at Albany, State University of New York.Google Scholar
Rohena-Madrazo, M. (2011). Sociophonetic variation in the production and perception of obstruent voicing in Buenos Aires Spanish [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. New York University.Google Scholar
Rohena-Madrazo, M. (2013). Variación y cambio de sonoridad de la fricativa postalveolar del español de Buenos Aires. In Colantoni, L. & Louro, C. Rodríguez (Eds.), Perspectivas teóricas y experimentales sobre el español de la Argentina. Lingüística iberoamericana (pp. 37–57). Iberoamericana/Vervuert.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohena-Madrazo, M. (2015). Diagnosing the completion of a sound change: Phonetic and phonological evidence for /ʃ/ in Buenos Aires Spanish. Language Variation and Change, 27, 287–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sax, K. (2003). Acquisition of stylistic variation by American learners of French [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Indiana University, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In Robinson, P. (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 3–32). Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Segalowitz, N., Freed, B., Collentine, J., Lafford, B., Lazar, N., & Díaz-Campos, M. (2004). A comparison of Spanish second language acquisition in two different learning contexts: Study abroad and the domestic classroom. Frontiers, 10, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Study abroad in Buenos Aires. (2019). https://www.goabroad.com/study-abroad/search/argentina/buenos-aires/study-abroad-1Google Scholar
Tarone, E. (1985). Variability in interlanguage use: A study of style-shifting in morphology and syntax. Language Learning, 35, 373–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarone, E., & Parrish, B. (1988). Task-related variation in interlanguage: The case of articles. Language Learning, 38, 21–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, C. (1984). Tiempo real y tiempo aparente en el estudio de una variación lingüística: Ensordecimiento y sonorización del yeísmo porteño. In Schwartz, L. & Lerner, I. (Eds.), Homenaje a Ana María Barrenechea (pp. 175–196). Castalia.Google Scholar
Young, R., & Bayley, R. (1996). Varbrul analysis for second language acquisition research. In Bayley, R. & Preston, D. R. (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 253–306). John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar