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Phonetics and Phonology of Speaking Styles: Reduction and Elaboration in Speech CommunicationBarcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
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Phonetics and Phonology of Speaking Styles: Reduction and Elaboration in Speech CommunicationBarcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
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The main aim of this paper is the study of the pronunciation of Basque in the Basque speaking channel of TV through the presentation and analysis of phonoiogically crucial data. Where available and convenient, data from other sources will be provided. Special attention will be drawn to the contrast between mass media speech and spontaneous popular speech styles.
A brief survey of what could be expected on theoretical grounds will be the starting point for the exposition of what we actually observe. Our main source of inspiration in this respect will be the works done in this field within the theoretical framework of Natural Phonology.
For the purpose of measuring the degree of correspondence with the expected register the speech of the different types of dubbing will be considered and contrasted with news reports or other types of programs. We will also take into account the presence and use of dialectal pronunciation in TV.
The phonetic and phonological weight of notions like fortition and/or foregrounding and lenition and/or backgrounding will be dicussed in connection with the data under examination.
Sociolinguistic and pragmatic facts (the relative lack of variation in Basque pronunciation, the prestige of Spanish and of certain Basque dialects, the process of standardization of the language and its normative pseudo-phonology, etc.) will be mentioned as possible partial explanation of apparent phonological unnaturalness. The paper will focus on linguistic criteria of phonological productivity, use of phonetic salience, etc. Although both phonetics and phonology will be considered, this work will fundamentally be of a phonological nature due to our background and field of research. We intend to present it as a plea for the complementary phonetic research which Basque linguistics so badly needs.
Bibliographic reference. Elordui, Agurtzane / Oņederra, Miren Lourdes (1991): "Speech styles and the pronunciation of Basque in TV", In PPoSpSt-1991, paper 022.