Language contact and prosodic interference: nuclear configurations in Occitan and French statements of the obvious

Abstract

This paper examines the intonation of statements of the obvious in two varieties in narrow contact, Occitan and Southern French.They are contrasted with Northern French that has developed independently.As a consequence of intense contact, conservative Southern French speakers use the same rising-falling nuclear configuration as in Occitan, whereas Northern French speakers display a rising pattern that ends in a short high plateau.Less conservative Southern French speakers, who show a tendency towards standard French, also tend to adopt the Northern French pattern but may maintain the rising-falling accent of the Occitan/Southern French contour.

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