Afro-Peruvian Spanish intonation: A case of contact-induced language change
Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of Afro-Peruvian Spanish (APS) declarative intonation. APS is an Afro-Hispanic vernacular spoken across some rural villages in the Province of Chincha, coastal Peru. Results indicate that APS does not follow declarative intonation patterns found in most normative varieties of Spanish. In particular, it shows lower rates of downstepping; it presents systematic peak alignment at the word level (both in nuclear and prenuclear positions); and it is characterized by L- boundary tones at the intermediate phrase edges (rather than H- configurations). We analyze these results as the byproduct of contact-induced change, which led to the reduction of Spanish phonological targets in the APS grammar and to a subsequent reconfiguration of its prosodic system.
Publication Title
Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics
Recommended Citation
Butera, B., Rao, R., & Sessarego, S. (2020). Afro-Peruvian Spanish intonation: A case of contact-induced language change. Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 28, 207-226. https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.28.08but
