Articulation of non-normative variants of L1 and L2 Spanish trill /r/

Abstract

This study examines within-speaker variability in L1 and L2 Spanish trill production. The Spanish trill is canonically produced with two or more brief contacts between the tongue tip and the alveolar ridge, Although multiple tongue-palate contacts is considered the norm, some non-normative variants across Spanish dialects involve fewer contacts with frication (e.g., tap followed by fricative; sibilant fricative). L2 phonology research shows that English speakers are known to associate frication with /r/ and produce frication for /r/ themselves. However, it is unclear whether these variants are articulated with similar tongue posture to those of native speakers or whether differences are due to aerodynamic factors. Synchronized ultrasound and acoustic recordings of trill production were made for three Spanish native speakers and four English L2 learners of Spanish. Trill realizations will be classified as normative trill, variants involving frication, or other from the acoustic signal. Comparison of tongue contours before, during, and after trill initiation will be carried out to examine the nature of the articulation of non-normative variants.