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Spanish Phonetics and Phonology in Contact: Studies from Africa, the Americas, and Spain
Edited by Rajiv Rao
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 28] 2020
► pp. 421–450

Chapter 15
Portuguese remnants in the Spanish of Olivenza (Extremadura)

Exploring vowel raising, global speech rhythm, and intonation

| Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
| Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
| University of Hamburg

Olivenza Spanish (OS), spoken in the border zone between Extremadura and Alentejo, is characterized by salient phonological features that can plausibly be interpreted as long-term effects of Portuguese-Spanish bilingualism. We present the results of a formant analysis of unstressed /o/, which is raised to [u] in a quarter of OS cases, and discuss selected outcomes of recent (supra)segmental studies on the variety in question. It is argued that the respective findings speak in favor of interpreting OS as the result, first, of L1 transfer that occurred during the processes of L2 acquisition by the inhabitants of Olivenza after its incorporation into Spain in 1801, and second, of the local dialect’s subsequent convergence with the dominant variety, Castilian Spanish.

Keywords: Olivenza Spanish, Portuguese, vowel raising, speech rhythm, intonation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Historical background and sociolinguistic situation
  • 3.Phonological features of Olivenza Spanish
    • 3.1Segmental features
    • 3.2Raising of unstressed /o/ in OS
    • 3.3Prosody
      • 3.3.1Durational features and global speech rhythm
        • 3.3.1.1Theoretical background
        • 3.3.1.2 Global speech rhythm and lengthening effects in Olivenza Spanish
      • 3.3.2Intonation
        • 3.3.2.1Theoretical background
        • 3.3.2.2A salient melodic feature of Olivenza Spanish: Question intonation
    • 3.4Discussion
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 August 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.28.15gab
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