Spanish Sociophonetics

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Back in 1998 Roy Major observed that “of the nearly 200 articles published in SSLA during the last 10 years, only about a dozen focus on phonetics and phonology.” This situation has changed in recent years and judging by current trends, research in L2 phonology is only picking up speed. The seminar will start with a historical background followed by a comparative overview of L1 and L2. Then we will review theoretical approaches and research methods, which should lead to the analysis of current trends. Specific topics that will appear in different readings include the factors that affect rate and ultimate level of acquisition such as age, transfer, individual differences, context of learning, UG, and markedness. We will cover segmental and suprasegmental units and move from the phonological to the phonetic domains as well as from production to perception. This course should be of interest to the sizable number of students currently working on projects related to the sound component of multilingualism, to students looking for a red-hot topic for their upcoming proposals and QPs, or to students just curious about all the fuss and excitement surrounding L2 phonology.