English Syllabic Consonants and the Influence of Dialect on Their Production among Speakers of Slovene

Ruparčič, Maja Ina (author), Stopar, Andrej (mentor)

The master’s thesis investigates the role that the speaker’s native dialect plays in the production of syllabic consonants in their L2, as well as the influence of consonant identity and word frequency on consonant syllabicity. The framework of Government Phonology serves as a theoretical basis for the analysis of syllabic consonants and L1 transfer effects on L2 syllable structure. The empirical study involved native speakers of different Slovene dialects pronouncing English words that contained potentially syllabic consonants. The participants were recorded and categorised based on whether their native dialects exhibited syllabic consonants (as was the case with the Styrian, Pannonian, and Rovte speakers) or not (as with the speakers belonging to the Upper Carniolan, Lower Carniolan, Carinthian, and Littoral dialect groups). The recordings were then analysed in Praat. The results confirmed that the speakers possessing syllabic consonants in their L1 generally produced syllabic consonants in English more frequently than the rest, which was ascribed to the influence of L1 phonotactics. Additionally, when the same speakers articulated a əC sequence rather than a syllabic consonant, their schwas were significantly longer than their peers’. Regarding consonant identity, /l̩/ was found to be more frequent than either /n̩/ or /m̩/, but no marked difference was observed between these last two consonants. Lastly, word frequency did not appear to impact consonant syllabicity. The findings contribute to the existing research chiefly by showing that the speaker’s first language affects consonant syllabicity in their L2. Acknowledging the complexity of the topic, the thesis proposes further investigation into unanswered questions, such as the direction of branching of Slovene syllabic consonants, and provides suggestions for future study.

• Language: English
• Keywords: English syllabic consonants, syllable, phonetics, Government Phonology, phonotactics, Styrian dialect group, Pannonian dialect group, Rovte dialect group
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Year: 2024
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-158283
• COBISS.SI-ID: 198877443
• Publication date in RUL: 02.06.2024

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Angleški zlogotvorni soglasniki in vpliv narečja na njihovo produkcijo med govorci slovenščine

Abstract

Magistrsko delo raziskuje vlogo govorčevega narečja pri tvorbi zlogotvornih soglasnikov v drugem oziroma tujem jeziku ter vpliv vrste soglasnika in pogostnosti besed na zlogotvornost soglasnikov. Zlogotvorne soglasnike in učinke jezikovnega prenosa na zlogovno zgradbo obravnava v okviru vezalne fonologije. V empirični študiji so sodelovali materni govorci različnih slovenskih narečij. Ti so bili posneti pri izgovarjanju angleških besed, ki lahko vsebujejo zlogotvorne soglasnike, in razvrščeni v dve skupini glede na to, ali njihovo materno narečje zlogotvorne soglasnike pozna (kot velja za govorce štajerske, panonske in rovtarske narečne skupine) ali ne (kot pri govorcih, ki pripadajo gorenjski, dolenjski, koroški in primorski narečni skupini). Posnetki so bili nato analizirani v programu Praat. Rezultati so potrdili, da govorci, ki v svojem maternem narečju poznajo zlogotvorne soglasnike, te v angleščini tvorijo pogosteje kot tisti, ki jih ne, kar delo pripisuje vplivu fonotaktike maternega jezika. Razlika med skupinama je bila očitna tudi, ko so prvi govorci namesto zlogotvornega soglasnika besedo izgovorili s polglasnikom; ta je bil v povprečju bistveno krajši od polglasnika drugih govorcev. Dalje je bilo ugotovljeno, da je /l̩/ pogostejši kot /n̩/ ali /m̩/, med zadnjima dvema soglasnikoma pa ni bilo opaziti izrazite razlike. Izkazalo se je tudi, da pogostnost besede ni vplivala na zlogotvornost soglasnika. Ugotovitve dopolnjujejo obstoječe raziskave tako, da pokažejo, da govorčev materni jezik vpliva na zlogotvornost soglasnikov v tujem jeziku. Delo se zaveda, da je tema zapletena in večplastna, zato poda nekaj predlogov za raziskovanje vprašanj, ki so ostala odprta (kot je na primer smer širjenja zlogotvornih soglasnikov v slovenščini).

• Keywords: angleški zlogotvorni soglasniki, zlog, fonetika, vezalna fonologija, fonotaktika, štajerska narečna skupina, panonska narečna skupina, rovtarska narečna skupina