1. Anti-hiatus tendencies in Spanish: rate of occurrence and phonetic identification
- Author
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Herrero de Haro Alfredo and Alcoholado Feltstrom Antonio
- Subjects
anti-hiatus tendency ,diphthong ,glides ,hiatus ,vowel sequences ,Philology. Linguistics ,P1-1091 - Abstract
Spanish normative grammar considers any two-vowel combination of /e/, /a/, and /o/ as a hiatus, accepting that they can be pronounced as a diphthong in lower basilects and/or informal registers. This article analyzes speeches of educated speakers, performing an acoustic analysis of 60 segmental and suprasegmental features in 493 vowel sequences. Linear mixed-effects models suggest that two-vowel sequences of /e/, /a/, and /o/ are pronounced as diphthongs in 77.27 % of cases; suprasegmental features (especially duration) are the most reliable cues to distinguish a hiatus from a diphthong in Spanish. These results call for a re-examination of diphthong classification in Spanish.
- Published
- 2024
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