Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 29-46 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of the International Phonetic Association |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 15 Apr 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2023 |
Abstract
The merger of post-alveolar /s/ and palatal /ç/ into alveolopalatal /ç/ has recently gained growing interest in sociophonetic research, especially in the Middle German dialect area. In Luxembourgish, a Continental West Germanic language, the sound change has been linked to age differences, while its origins remain unclear. Two studies with a regional focus are presented in this paper. The first study examines the merger in the Centre and the South of Luxembourg. The acoustic examination of both the spectral peak and the centre of gravity of a spoken data set of five minimal pairs embedded in read and orally translated sentences from 48 speakers (three generations (old generation, 65-91 years; middle generation, 40-64 years; young generation, 20-39 years; each generation, n = 16), men and women) reveals interesting results related to their regional background. In the old generation, the merger is further advanced in the speech of old men from the former mining region in the South compared to their peers in the Centre, the former leading this sound change. On the other hand, young speakers in both regions produce only alveolopalatal /ç/, the merger being complete in this generation. The second study presents exploratory data from the East and the North of the country. The analysis of this smaller sample (n = 6 speakers) reveals patterns similar to the central region. Pointing to language contact with Romance in the South as cradle and/or catalyser of the merger, these results not only give further clues as to the development in Luxembourg, but also add to a deeper understanding of sound changes in process in complex sibilant systems.
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In: Journal of the International Phonetic Association, Vol. 53, No. 1, 04.2023, p. 29-46.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Regional differences in the evolution of the merger of /ʃ/ and /ç/ in Luxembourgish
AU - Conrad, François
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - The merger of post-alveolar /s/ and palatal /ç/ into alveolopalatal /ç/ has recently gained growing interest in sociophonetic research, especially in the Middle German dialect area. In Luxembourgish, a Continental West Germanic language, the sound change has been linked to age differences, while its origins remain unclear. Two studies with a regional focus are presented in this paper. The first study examines the merger in the Centre and the South of Luxembourg. The acoustic examination of both the spectral peak and the centre of gravity of a spoken data set of five minimal pairs embedded in read and orally translated sentences from 48 speakers (three generations (old generation, 65-91 years; middle generation, 40-64 years; young generation, 20-39 years; each generation, n = 16), men and women) reveals interesting results related to their regional background. In the old generation, the merger is further advanced in the speech of old men from the former mining region in the South compared to their peers in the Centre, the former leading this sound change. On the other hand, young speakers in both regions produce only alveolopalatal /ç/, the merger being complete in this generation. The second study presents exploratory data from the East and the North of the country. The analysis of this smaller sample (n = 6 speakers) reveals patterns similar to the central region. Pointing to language contact with Romance in the South as cradle and/or catalyser of the merger, these results not only give further clues as to the development in Luxembourg, but also add to a deeper understanding of sound changes in process in complex sibilant systems.
AB - The merger of post-alveolar /s/ and palatal /ç/ into alveolopalatal /ç/ has recently gained growing interest in sociophonetic research, especially in the Middle German dialect area. In Luxembourgish, a Continental West Germanic language, the sound change has been linked to age differences, while its origins remain unclear. Two studies with a regional focus are presented in this paper. The first study examines the merger in the Centre and the South of Luxembourg. The acoustic examination of both the spectral peak and the centre of gravity of a spoken data set of five minimal pairs embedded in read and orally translated sentences from 48 speakers (three generations (old generation, 65-91 years; middle generation, 40-64 years; young generation, 20-39 years; each generation, n = 16), men and women) reveals interesting results related to their regional background. In the old generation, the merger is further advanced in the speech of old men from the former mining region in the South compared to their peers in the Centre, the former leading this sound change. On the other hand, young speakers in both regions produce only alveolopalatal /ç/, the merger being complete in this generation. The second study presents exploratory data from the East and the North of the country. The analysis of this smaller sample (n = 6 speakers) reveals patterns similar to the central region. Pointing to language contact with Romance in the South as cradle and/or catalyser of the merger, these results not only give further clues as to the development in Luxembourg, but also add to a deeper understanding of sound changes in process in complex sibilant systems.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104183852&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0025100320000407
DO - 10.1017/S0025100320000407
M3 - Article
VL - 53
SP - 29
EP - 46
JO - Journal of the International Phonetic Association
JF - Journal of the International Phonetic Association
SN - 0025-1003
IS - 1
ER -