Bilingual Spanish Vowels: The Case of Heritage Speakers

Authors

Megan E. Solon, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow
Nyssa Knarvik, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow
Joshua DeClerck, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow

Faculty/Advisor

Megan Solon

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Previous research on heritage Spanish vowel production has revealed consistent and systematic differences—including asymmetry in the vowel space, condensing and fronting of back vowels, and reduction and centralization of unstressed vowels—as compared to traditional descriptions of the monolingual Spanish vowel triangle. The present study takes another look at heritage Spanish vowels (both quality and quantity), using a group of “homeland” native Spanish-speaking late Spanish-English bilinguals for comparison purposes. Data for both groups were collected via a dyadic, meaning-focused task. Results revealed significant differences between heritage and homeland groups in front and mid-vowel quality, but no differences in vowel quantity. Additionally, both speaker groups centralized unstressed vowels, but no differences were found between groups. The heritage speaker data alone appear quite comparable to those of previous studies; however, the comparison to native Spanish-speaking late bilinguals points to important differences (and similarities) not previously signaled in studies that compare production to monolingual norms.

Recommended Citation

Solon, Megan E.; Knarvik, Nyssa; and DeClerck, Joshua, "Bilingual Spanish Vowels: The Case of Heritage Speakers" (2017). Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Other Graduate Student Scholarship. 1.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cas_llc_grad_scholar/1