The Spanish sound system and intonation in contact with Galician

Abstract

This exploratory study presents an approach to the phonetic models of Galician Spanish (GS) by means of a small sample of six female speakers with different linguistic profiles. We analyze the production of stressed vowels, final unstressed vowels, and some intonation contours. Unlike earlier descriptions, we do not find direct transfer from Galician to the GS phonetic system. Our results show: 1) The disappearance of the Galician seven vowel system and some examples of hybridization in wh-question intonation, both of which could be seen as signs of change in GS; and 2) The reduction of the final vowels and direct transfer from Galician to GS in yes-no questions, both of which could suggest preservation of the covert prestige of Galician.