Variation in Switzerland

Abstract

Abstract The chapter focuses on the presence and absence of the schwa vowel in the initial syllable of polysyllables (e.g. semaine, genou), a well-known phenomenon in the area of phonological variation. It presents a comparative study of schwa, based on conversational PFC data from 12 speakers originating from three investigation points in Switzerland (Martigny, Neuchâtel, and Nyon). The global results first confirm that schwa is more prone to deletion in the Swiss varieties as compared to Hexagonal French varieties. Second, the results show cross-regional variation in Switzerland: while speakers from Martigny and Nyon seem to employ extreme schwa reduction to a higher degree than speakers from Neuchâtel, speakers from Neuchâtel seem to employ complete schwa deletion to a higher degree than speakers from Martigny and Nyon.

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