Weighing factors responsible for the production of the Catalan vowel /ɛ/ versus /e/ contrast in three districts of Barcelona

Abstract

[eng] Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study investigates the sociolinguistic</p><p>factors associated with the maintenance or loss of the mid-front vowel contrast in the Catalan</p><p>spoken by Spanish-Catalan bilinguals in three districts of Barcelona. It addresses the following</p><p>questions. (1) Is the mid-front vowel contrast kept in all the districts under study? Do we find</p><p>differences across districts and/or age groups? (2) Is an auditory analysis of our data further</p><p>supported by an acoustic analysis? (3) Which sociolinguistic factors help us predict whether the</p><p>contrast is kept or lost?</p><p>Design/methodology/approach: Participants in this study were 36 bilingual children and 36</p><p>bilingual adults who completed a picture-naming task. Participants lived in Gràcia/Eixample (two</p><p>districts with a low degree of Spanish presence) or in Nou Barris (a district with a high degree of</p><p>Spanish presence).</p><p>Data and analysis: The production of words with target /ɛ/ and with target /e/ by each</p><p>participant was recorded along with the answers to a sociolinguistic questionnaire. The spoken</p><p>data were auditorily and acoustically analysed, and then statistically analysed in relation to different</p><p>sociolinguistic factors that could account for the maintenance or loss of this vowel contrast.</p><p>Findings/conclusions: Significant differences were found in the production of children across</p><p>districts but not in that of adults. The children in Nou Barris show an advanced merger between</p><p>/ɛ/ and /e/. The language in the environment seems to be the main factor, as the merger or</p><p>maintenance of the contrast correlates with the language spoken by our participants’ peer group</p><p>and close relatives.</p><p>Originality: This research combines both an auditory and acoustic analysis of phonological data</p><p>with sociolinguistic information about speakers from different districts in Barcelona.</p><p>Significance/implications: This paper contributes to a better understanding of phonological</p><p>variation within Barcelona and the sociolinguistic factors that are responsible for variation among</p><p>its population.</p>