Question intonation of Greek-American simultaneous bilinguals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2015/06/0009/000246Keywords:
bilingualism, intonation, questions, Greek, American EnglishAbstract
This study examines the influence of American English language on the tonal characteristics of Greek polar and wh-questions. Three Greek-American simultaneous bilinguals and three Greek monolinguals participated in a production experiment. The results indicate that Greek polar questions are not radically affected by American English tonal patterns, except for the span and alignment of the boundary tone. The tonal influence of American English is more apparent in wh-questions, which present a different boundary tone. Our findings suggest that simultaneous bilinguals may use tonal features of both languages, which are not however consistent in all question types.
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