Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2021. Vocative melodies in Spanish and English: A cross-linguistic analysis. Languages in Contrast 21(2), 250-274.

This study aims to describe the melodic contours used in Spanish and English calling vocatives in order to identify cross-linguistic similarities and differences. Additionally, it also explores how the sociopragmatic factor of formality may condition contour choices in both languages. 18 speakers of Spanish and 18 speakers of English produced a total of 432 one-word vocatives in formal and informal situations. The analyses of the F contours revealed that, although Spanish and English share multiple melodies in this speech act (e.g. L+H* L%, L* H% and L+H* !H%), some tones are language-specific (e.g. L+H* HL% for Spanish). In addition, a General Linear Mixed Model confirmed that these contours are not equally attested in all contexts and that the formality of the situation can condition their use.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2019 [2021]. El euskera como lengua de ritmo intermedio en el continuo isosilábico-isomoraico: una comparación con el español y el japonés. Anuario de Filología Vasca “Julio de Urquijo” – International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology (ASJU) 53 (1-2), 107-125.

The current study employs multiple techniques (C%, V%, ΔC, ΔV, Varco ΔC, Varco ΔV, nPVI C, nPVI V) designed to detect rhythmic similarities and differences in order to compare the linguistic rhythm of Basque to those of Spanish and Japanese. The analysis of the productions of 24 Spanish/Basque bilinguals and nine speakers of Japanese revealed that although Spanish and Basque have generally been considered syllable-timed languages, the latter resembles moraic languages due to the length and variability of its vocalic intervals. At the same time, the similarities of the rhythmic properties of the euskaldunberri speakers (Basque as L2) and the euskaldunzaharra speakers (Basque as L1) suggest that inter-linguistic rhythmic transfers are not noticeable and that rhythmic characteristic in Spanish and Basque derive from their phonotactic properties and not from other phonological or phonetic processes implemented by the speakers.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2019. Rhythmic Variability in Spanish/English Bilinguals in California. Special issue of Spanish in Context: Prosodic Issues in Language Contact Situations. Eds. Yolanda Congosto & Laura Morgenthaler García, 419-437. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

In this study two techniques were used to analyze the linguistic rhythm of Mexican Spanish/English bilinguals in Los Angeles (California): i)-nPVI, consisting of measurements of durations of successive pairs of vowels, and ii)-voicing ratios, consisting of a function that calculates the voiced and voiceless portions of the signal. The speech of forty-nine participants in five groups was examined: G1)-twelve native speakers of English, G2)-eight Mexican Sp/Eng adult bilinguals who have been in L.A. since childhood, G3)-eleven Mexican Sp/Eng young bilinguals descendants of immigrants and born in L.A., G4)-seven Mexican Sp/Eng adult bilinguals who moved to L.A. as adults and G5)-eleven native speakers of Spanish who have stayed in L.A. for a short period of time. Both methodologies indicate that G1 and G2 show English-like rhythm in both languages while G4 and G5 present Spanish-like rhythm. G3 accommodates rhythm depending on the language. Results reveal how rhythm can suffer attrition and transfer processes depending on the age or length of exposure to the L2. The study also highlights the unique linguistic situation of Los Angeles where members of the Mexican community have different levels of exposure to the Spanish and English languages.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2019. Transferencia y erosión de patrones melódicos en bilingües de español e inglés en California. Boletín de Filología de la Universidad de Chile 54(1), 279-302.

Contact situations between Spanish and English have motivated the study of transfer and variation processes at different levels of the grammar in multiple occasions. Nevertheless, these phenomena have not been studied in detail at the intonational level. This research analyzes the productions of twenty-four bilinguals divided into four groups with different levels of exposure to English and Spanish with the objective of looking for asymmetries and similarities between speakers and languages. The analysis of 488 tonal movements in statements, imperatives and vocatives show that Spanish and English may share multiple melodies. At the same time, bilingual speakers may present modifications due to transfer or attrition processes in their tonal inventories regardless of their affinity and identification with one of the languages. These modifications are the result of different kinds of exposure to each language.

Robles-Puente, Sergio & José Jesús Vilches. 2019. Bilabial fricatives in Mexican Spanish: A sociophonetic analysis. Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics 8(1), 143-161.

Voiceless bilabial fricative productions ([ɸ]) have been widely reported for several Spanish dialects especially in America (Lenz 1940; Predmore 1945; Navarro Tomás 1943; Florez 1951; Boyd-Bowman 1960; Canfield 1981; among others). Most of these sources posit that the bilabial variant [ɸ] is more likely to be found in rural areas, that it is normally produced by speakers with a low educational level and that is generally followed by back (and rounded) vowels. Nevertheless, there is a need to formalize such observations and check to what extent these external and internal factors or others may be impacting the choice of this fricative over the more common [f]. In order to do so, eighteen speakers of Spanish from Guanajuato (Mexico), an area that has been reported to present both variants (Boyd-Bowman 1960), were recorded producing words with ‘f’. The analysis of 126 productions yielded the following results: a) speakers with a lower educational level (primary or secondary education) show more instances of the bilabial fricative [ɸ] than those that have attained higher degrees (university); b) older speakers and males tend to produce the vernacular variant [ɸ] more than younger speakers and females; and c) back round vowels (/o u/) are more likely to trigger the use of the bilabial fricative due to their articulatory similarities.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2019. Sociopragmatic factors and melodic patterns: Spanish vocatives and imperatives compared. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 12(1), 179-204. De Gruyter.

Due to their addressing nature, vocatives and imperatives have been said in multiple occasions to have the same function and similar phonological characteristics. The aim of this paper is to examine the intonational link between these two kinds of sentences in Peninsular Spanish considering sociopragmatic and situational factors like the level of formality and the degree of insistence. In order to do so, twenty-eight native speakers of Peninsular Spanish produced isolated names and verbs in formal and informal settings followed by insistent productions. The phonetic and phonological analyses of 1232 one-word productions indicate that both speech acts share multiple contours; namely L* H%, L + H* HL%, L + H* !H%, L + H* L%, L + H* H%, L + H* LH%. Nevertheless, L + H* L% was the most used contour for both speech acts regardless of the sociopragmatic and situational factors. Interestingly, speakers modified the phonetic properties of intensity and F0 depending on the situation since informal and insistent productions had a higher F0, wider pitch excursions and more intensity than their formal and non-insistent counterparts. As alternatives, L* L% contours were attested in formal imperatives while L + H* LH% and L + H* HL% were more common in informal ones. After L + H* L% contours, L + H* HL% and L* H% were the preferred options in formal vocatives but the latter was hardly attested in informal ones.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2017. Read! - On the Intonational Properties of Short Imperatives in Spanish. Probus: International Journal of Latin and Romance Linguistics 29(1), 163-179. De Gruyter. & Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2015. Fundamental frequency movements in one-word imperatives. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. 137, issue 4 Pt. 2, p. 2267.

In this study, the intonation of one-word imperatives is compared with that of one-word declaratives in Peninsular Spanish in order to establish differences and similarities between them. The analysis of 373 utterances produced by 8 speakers (117 in a declarative context and 256 in an imperative context) demonstrates that the intonational link between declaratives and imperatives is irrefutable since L+H* L% configurations are found in both pragmatic contexts. Nevertheless, imperatives can also show tonal movements not found in declaratives: L+H* LH%, L+H* HL%, L+H* H%, L* H%. Finally, the study demonstrates that due to the limitations short imperative utterances involve, speakers implement tonal movements rarely attested in imperatives with multiple pitch accents.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2014. Prosody in Contact: Spanish in Los Angeles. Doctoral dissertation. University of Southern California. ProQuest.

Spanish and English rhythm and intonation have been described in detail; however, not much is known about them in language contact situations and bilinguals. This study analyzes the phonology and phonetics of these prosodic properties hand in hand in Mexican Spanish/English bilinguals in Los Angeles from a sociolinguistic point of view and reveals how both prosodies can suffer more or less noticeable attrition and transfer processes depending on the age or length of exposure to the L2.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2013. Intonational Transfers in Second Language English Speakers. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. 134, issue 5, pp. 4247-4248.

Previous research on Spanish imperatives has demonstrated that their phonetic characteristics may not differ from those of declaratives. However, under the right conditions, imperatives can be produced with up-stepped patterns where nuclear pitch-accents show higher F0 values than pre-nuclear ones. These circumflex configurations are never attested in declaratives (Robles-Puente, 2011). The current study concentrates on the imperatives and declaratives produced by 31 Mexican Spanish/English bilinguals and reveals that this variety of Spanish, unlike Iberian Spanish and English, allows not only imperatives but also declaratives to be produced without the aforesaid intonational constraint. Additionally, the English productions of the same speakers show circumflex configurations indicating a clear prosodic transfer characteristic of their mother tongue.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2012. Two Languages, Two Intonations? Statements and Yes/No Questions in Spanish and Basque. In International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology (ASJU), eds. Rebeka Campos-Astorkiza & Jon A. Franco, vol. 46, issue 1, pp. 252-262.

This paper analyzes the intonation of statements and yes/no questions produced by Spanish/Basque bilinguals. Results demonstrate that yes/no questions in Gernika Basque, Batua Basque and the Spanish of the area share a characteristic rising-falling pattern (L+H* HL%). This pattern contrasts not only with that found in declaratives but also with the one found in yes/no questions in Standard Spanish. Current findings also indicate that a simplification of the Basque intonational system may be taking place in the area of Gernika presumably due to the influence of Batua Basque or Spanish.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2011. Modeling Imperatives in Spanish. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. 130, issue 4, p. 2553.

The intonation of imperatives in Spanish has traditionally been considered to not differ systematically from that of declaratives. This study shows that given the appropriate contexts, imperatives can exhibit unique phonetic properties. Nine speakers of Peninsular Spanish produced imperatives in response to instructions that elicited different levels of imperativity, along with control declarative items. Results show that while imperatives may fail to differ from declaratives in some conditions, when the context requires a stronger imperative, speakers use intonational configurations not found in declaratives. These include higher F0 values and changes in the overall pitch contour with higher F0 values toward the end of the sentence, different boundary tones and different F0 peak alignments. A perceptual experiment with 13 speakers confirmed the relevance of these intonational modulations by demonstrating that the strategies that were more commonly used in the production experiment were preferred over others to express imperativity. Results can be modeled within the framework of grammar dynamics (Gafos and Benus, 2006. Cognitive Science, 30, 837–862).

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2011. Looking for the Spanish Imperative Intonation: Combination of Global and Pitch-Accent Level Strategies. In Selected Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology, ed. Scott M. Alvord, 153-164. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. www.lingref.com, document #2644.

Recent studies show that Spanish dialects have different ways of expressing imperativity via intonation. However, declarative and imperative intonations have also been equated. This study shows that although declarative-like F0-patterns can be used to express imperativity in Peninsular Spanish, when there is an extra need to convey an imperative meaning, they are abandoned and suprasegmental variables of imperativity emerge. These variables can complement or substitute each other and can happen at the pitch-accent level or at the global level of the sentence. A perceptual experiment also shows the preference of certain variables and F0 configurations over others to express imperativity.

Robles-Puente, Sergio. 2011. Absolute Questions Do Not Always Have a Rising Pattern: Evidence from Bilbao Spanish. In Selected Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology, ed. Scott M. Alvord, 98-107. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. www.lingref.com, document #2638.

The current work presents findings from an instrumental study of Bilbao Spanish, an understudied variety spoken in Northern Spain, demonstrating that low boundary tones can be widely used in Spanish absolute interrogatives. The pattern found in the productions clearly differs from the one found in other Peninsular varieties like Madrid Spanish. Interestingly, due to different pitch movements and peak alignments, the F0 contours produced by Bilbao Spanish speakers are also different from those attested in other varieties that use low boundary tones like Puerto Rican Spanish. The relevance of these characteristics is brought forward by perceptual data as well.

Research Groups and Projects:

EGSEAS (FFI2015-68508-P)

PROESLA (FFI2011-23292)

AMPER

SPAN (USC)